Jean-Paul Gaultier entrusts next haute couture collection to Olivier Rousteing

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Roberta HERRERA

Published
March 8, 2022

Olivier Rousteing will design Jean-Paul Gaultier’s next haute couture collection. Ever since the enfant terrible of the fashion industry was spotted at the Balmain fashion show on Wednesday, rumors began to circulate about a possible collaboration with Balmain’s artistic director. The Jean-Paul Gaultier label has now confirmed that Rousteing is indeed its new guest designer for the haute couture collection. His work will be unveiled in July. 

Fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, who sold his brand to the Spanish Puig Group in 2011 and stopped producing his ready-to-wear collections in 2015, brought an end to his career with a final haute couture collection in January 2020 presented through a memorable show at the Théâtre du Châtelet.

Since then, the fashion house led by Antoine Gagey re-introduced ready-to-wear by launching a sailor-themed collection in May 2021 created in collaboration with five emerging designers (Ottolinger, Palomo Spain, Lecourt Mansion, Alan Crocetti and Marvin M’Toumo). In addition, the company restructured its e-commerce site at the end of 2021, which offers ready-to-wear capsule collections designed around the brand’s strong identity. 

The label has also revived haute couture by commissioning young, acclaimed designers to reinterpret the Jean-Paul Gaultier codes. The first to step forward in this series of collaborations was Japanese designer Chitose Abe in July 2021 followed by Y/Project’s Belgian creative director, Glenn Martens, in January 2022.