Olivier Rousteing has been appointed the next guest couturier for Jean Paul Gaultier and will present the one-off collection at Paris Couture Week next July. Every year, Jean Paul Gaultier invites a carefully chosen designer to create a special collection reinterpreting house codes through a unique lens. Rousteing, currently creative director of Balmain, follows in the footsteps of Chitose Abe from Sacai and Y/Project's Glenn Martens who created collections for Autumn/Winter 2021 and Spring 2022, respectively.
In a statement, Olivier discussed how the opportunity is close to his heart and how Jean Paul Gaultier's boundary-pushing collections shaped his personal life and design style: "I think he helped many people from my generation to feel free to be who they wanted to be." He continued "I’ve always been obsessed with and inspired by the Jean Paul Gaultier world."
Fashion has seen many designer switch-ups of late, including Versace and Fendi switching ateliers and, when Alber Elbaz of AZ Factory passed away, designers from world-renowned brands each created a tribute piece combining AZ Factory codes with those of their own brands.
Jean Paul Gaultier presented his last collection in January 2020. Explore his iconic creations at the retrospective taking place at Dubai Expo.
