Jean Paul Gaultier
Founder of Jean Paul Gaultier, retired from the runway in 2020
Jean Paul Gaultier is a French designer who founded his house in 1976 and became one of the defining voices of Paris fashion, known for blending street culture with couture and for playful challenges to gender codes. He retired from the runway in January 2020; the house, owned by Puig, has since worked with guest couturiers and in April 2025 appointed Duran Lantink as permanent creative director.
| Role | Founder, Jean Paul Gaultier |
|---|---|
| First collection | 1976 |
| Hermès | Creative director of womenswear, 2003 to 2010 |
| Retired from runway | January 2020 |
| Brand owner | Puig |
| Born | 1952, Arcueil, France |
Who is Jean Paul Gaultier?
Jean Paul Gaultier, born in 1952 in Arcueil near Paris, is a French fashion designer often described as the enfant terrible of Paris fashion. His collections mixed androgyny, sailor stripes, corsetry and influences from street style and many cultures, and he brought humour and provocation to haute couture.
Career
Gaultier began as an assistant to Pierre Cardin in 1970, without formal fashion training, and presented his first collection under his own name in 1976. His reputation grew quickly through the 1980s, and in 1990 he designed the cone bra corset for Madonna's Blond Ambition World Tour, one of the most recognisable stage costumes in pop culture.
- 1970: joins Pierre Cardin as an assistant
- 1976: first collection under his own name
- 1995: launch of the fragrance Le Male
- 2003 to 2010: creative director of womenswear at Hermès, succeeding Martin Margiela
- January 2020: final haute couture show in Paris
In January 2020 he announced that his couture show that month would be his last. The Spanish beauty and fashion group Puig, which had bought the fragrance licence and gained control of the business in 2016, then introduced a programme of rotating guest couturiers. Designers including Chitose Abe of Sacai, Glenn Martens, Olivier Rousteing, Haider Ackermann, Simone Rocha, Julien Dossena, Nicolas Di Felice and Ludovic de Saint Sernin each created a collection.
Influence on the fashion business
Gaultier's house is a well-known example of a fashion brand whose largest business is fragrance. Industry coverage of the 2025 creative appointment noted that perfume dwarfs the size of the fashion operation, with Le Male among the best-selling men's scents in Europe. The guest couturier format also became a widely discussed way to keep a founder's house culturally relevant after the founder steps back. In April 2025 Puig ended the rotation by naming Dutch designer Duran Lantink permanent creative director for ready-to-wear and couture, while Gaultier himself is no longer involved in creative direction.
Beyond clothing, Gaultier took his work to the stage with the Fashion Freak Show, a cabaret-style production staged at the Folies Bergère in Paris in 2018.
Why it matters
Gaultier helped make inclusivity, gender fluidity and street references part of mainstream luxury long before they became common marketing themes. His succession, from founder to guest designers to a permanent creative director under a beauty-led owner, is a useful case study in how heritage houses manage creative continuity and brand value after the founder retires.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Jean Paul Gaultier?
Jean Paul Gaultier is a French fashion designer who founded his house in 1976 and became known for irreverent, gender-fluid designs such as Madonna's cone bra corset. He retired from the runway in 2020.
Who designs Jean Paul Gaultier now?
After Gaultier's retirement the house invited a series of guest couturiers, beginning with Chitose Abe of Sacai. In April 2025 owner Puig named Duran Lantink as permanent creative director for ready-to-wear and couture.