October 2, 2012
Olé Meets Ooh La La! in Madrid for Gaultier Exhibition
Mark Thompson READ TIME: 2 MIN.
MADRID, Spain - It's Gaultier time again!
Celebrating Gaultier's bold, ground-breaking global vision and extraordinary virtuosity, "The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk" will make its European premiere at Madrid's Fundacion Mapfre from Oct. 6, 2012 - Jan. 6, 2013.
Over 120 ready-to wear and haute couture ensembles spanning 35 years will be on view along with excerpts from films, music video, and fashion shows, plus photographs by some of the world's leading fashion photographers and contemporary artists.
New additions for Spain will include a specially-conceived grouping that illustrates how some of Spain's most cherished cultural icons, from toreros to flamenco dancers, have influenced the couturier's work.
Plus Gaultier's eye-catching costumes for films (Kika, Bad Education, The Skin I Live In) by Pedro Almodovar (from sketches to final versions) will be installed in a dedicated gallery to their collaborations also exclusive to the Madrid venue.
According to Exhibition Curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot, "From transforming the torero's high-waist pants and boleros in PVC, leather, beaded with jet or denim, or by "Gaulterizing" the flamenco dress and mantilla with extraordinary drama, color, and flare, the additions especially conceived for Spain will further highlight the many unexpected ways Jean Paul Gaultier has redefined the boundaries of fashion."
Adds Loriot, "From swashbucklers and samurais, to chic rabbis and madonnas, Jean Paul Gaultier's diverse influences for his couture and ready-to-wear collections have always been eclectic, surprising and daring. As someone who initiates trends instead of following them, you discover in his work his passion for different types of beauties. No matter your age, shape, skin color, or gender is, everyone is welcomed in his universe."
A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The author of the novels WOLFCHILD and MY HAWAIIAN PENTHOUSE, he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in numerous publications.
