Jean Paul Gaultier Femme Tight Lycra and Leather Lace-Up Dress
View Similar Items
Jean Paul Gaultier Femme Tight Lycra and Leather Lace-Up Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 40 (EU)Bust: 14 in (35.56 cm)Waist: 10 in (25.4 cm)Hip: 14 in (35.56 cm)Shoulder to Hem: 32 in (81.28 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Material Notes:Lycra, faux leather, lacing.
- Condition:VG+.
- Seller Location:Long Island City, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: AU13020537033
Jean Paul Gaultier
Endeavoring to tear down gender stereotypes and sartorial norms on the catwalk, making underwear outerwear, putting men in skirts and models of all shapes and sizes on the runway, the wildly provocative French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier has created transformational clothing designs that draw on numerous influences and boldly merge haute couture with street sensibility.
An only child raised in the suburbs of Paris, Gaultier didn’t have a formal fashion education. But he loved to sketch and was drawn to clothing, citing the corsets in his maternal grandmother’s closet as having a formative impact on his creative direction. He’s said that some of his earliest fashion work was for his teddy bear, and later he would send his sketches to designers he revered, including Pierre Cardin.
Gaultier began his career in 1970 as an assistant to Cardin, who admired the sketches the 18-year-old had sent for his appraisal. After Gaultier had his first runway show in 1976, featuring unconventional statements like pairing motorcycle jackets with ballerina skirts, it didn’t take long for his star to rise. His playful but exquisitely crafted reimaginings of classic Parisian styles — the striped mariner shirt, the trench coat — soon became recurring themes of Gaultier’s eponymous house, which he founded with his life partner and business associate Francis Menuge in 1982. “He was absolutely peerless for the longest time in the late ’80s and early ’90s,” fashion editor Tim Blanks told the New York Times. This was the period of Gaultier’s most iconic designs.
In 1984, Gaultier’s “Boy Toy” collection challenged men’s fashion with striped shirts and skirts — and sold around 3,000 of them. He was hailed for spectacle-laden runway shows and superb tailoring. Gaultier began to work with Madonna during the late 1980s, and, at the pop star’s request, he designed the costumes for her 1990 “Blond Ambition” tour. Her pink corset became a cultural touchstone of the era.
Gaultier continued to expand his brand, debuting his first couture collection in 1997 and creating costumes for film and stage. He was nominated for a César Award for Best Costume Design for The City of Lost Children (1995) and then a second for Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element (1997).
From 2003 to 2010, Gaultier was the creative director for Hermès. The first international exhibition of his work, “The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk,” debuted in 2011 at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and toured to cities including Stockholm, New York City, Dallas and London. He presented his last ready-to-wear collection in 2014 and in 2020 stepped down from his couture line, ending his boundary-pushing, industry-shaping reign with a raucous show of more than 230 outfits formed from fragments of collections from across his 50-year career.
One of fashion’s enfants terribles, Gaultier has never sought out pretty for pretty’s sake. Instead, he has challenged the traditional ideals of beauty. Today, the designer's vintage clothing designs — experimental undergarments cut from lace and suede, leather-trimmed evening dresses and jackets of denim, plastic or striped jersey — are as punk as they are high fashion.
Browse a wide range of Jean Paul Gaultier clothing and accessories today on 1stDibs.
- 1994MaisonMartinMargiela PlungingOpenChestSlinky BlackBiasRuchedHalter SlitDressBy Maison Martin MargielaLocated in Chicago, ILWith the original hand-sewn off-white unbranded rectangular label of Paris-based Maison Martin Margiela, this asymmetrical plunging v-neck black jersey pullover gown was designed in 1994 by Belgium fashion-designer-cum-artist Martin Margiela. In his early deconstruction style, it partly appears to be a ruched halter dress that is positioned on a bias to add curves to shape the waist, while its open overlapping wrap skirt enables ample draping on one side that conceals a high slit from the waist down. Recalling the construction found in two of Martin Margiela's seminal collections--both the upcycled-split 1950s ballgowns of Spring/Summer 1991 and the draped "Stockman" garments of Spring/Summer 1997--this stretch-viscose dress is likewise a bodice with a split skirt, while its 3/4-length sleeves can recall Margiela's famous "shouldered arm bands" if worn with protruding breasts fully exposed. The top has a wide deep gapping chest or back, along with the option to position the looped "halter" cord that hangs from the torso in one of several ways by pulling over the head. For example, if the dress is worn "backwards" with the brand label resting on the upper chest, the cord from the ruching that is positioned in back can be pulled overhead and under the arms, which can secure the front shoulders of the top by pulling the loop overhead again in the other direction to rest on the back of the neck--like the Martin Margiela Spring/Summer 1997 "Stockman evening dress" in the museum collection of TheMet (see our pic of its smaller open-front black halter and half skirt with the neck strap worn this way.) No doubt the buyer will try more creative ways, too! You may be inspired by our other listing for arguably one of Martin Margiela's best Artisanal Line 0 pieces--a couture body harness--that, like his fashion manifesto, enables endless repurposing of button-down tops to create a plunging v-neckline with a distinct rolled collar. The Italian-size 42 dress...Category
1990s Italian Aesthetic Evening Dresses
- Balenciaga NicolasGhesquiere SilkFlowerPrint StructuredShortSleeve BiasCutDressBy Balenciaga, Nicolas GhesquièreLocated in Chicago, ILWhile at Balenciaga in late 2007, Nicolas Ghesquiere designed this 100%-silk bias-cut paneled dress that explodes with a grey and pale-yellow flower print and features unique technic...Category
Early 2000s French Aesthetic Evening Dresses
- Alexander McQueen corset lace and chiffon cocktail dress, c. 2002By Alexander McQueenLocated in London, GBAn Alexander McQueen corset cocktail dress from the Autumn/Winter 2002 "SUPERCALIFRAGILISTIC" collection. The dress features a ruched bust with flutter cap-sleeves, lace-up detailing contouring the hips, boned bodice and spider-web like lace with dragonflies making appearances throughout. ‘Ryder on the Storm’: Winona Ryder...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Valentino US 8 Navy Lace Midi DressBy ValentinoLocated in Amman, JOValentino Navy lace midi dress. Additional information: Material: Polyester Features: Lace detailing Size: US 8 Overall Condition: Gently used Note: Minimum th...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Maxi Dress
$150 Sale Price45% Off - 1990s Louis Feraud Black Cerimony Floral Velvet Vintage Long DressBy Louis FeraudLocated in Brindisi, BtLouis Feraud vintage women dress. Black color, 100% polyester. Long model, floral applications in velvet, adjustable waist belt, collar with flou...Category
1990s German Evening Dresses
$1,147 Sale Price20% Off - Oscar de la Renta 1990's Red & Purple Satin & Velvet Color Block Dress-Size 8By Oscar De La RentaLocated in West Palm Beach, FLOscar de la Renta 1990's Red & Purple Color-Block Dress - 8. This dress is in excellent condition and is long sleeved. The top part is velvet and the ...Category
1990s American Evening Dresses and Gowns