Paris Runway Watch: Gaultier Mashes Up the Globe

March 10, 2010 Comments (0)

Always a lover of the international, Jean Paul Gaultier showed one of his  best collections this time with a clearly stated theme of combining influences from all over the world, or at least from his favorite style-inspiring places in the world- Greece, Morocco, India, Russia, China, and Mexico- leading to an extravaganza of intense colors, embroidery, and wild details that would be pretty hard to pull off, to say the least, but had designers and stylists staring with their mouths agape, dreaming of new possibilities.

There’s never been a better time for Gaultier’s message that influences come from and reverberate around the world- we are an interconnected globe now and anyone, anywhere could watch a live telecast of the show and think of their own mash-ups of local and international styles.

The shoes were extreme, mixing up Chinese embroidery and cowboy boots, extreme pointed toes hovering over recessed platforms, and even curled up genie toes.  Naturally, Gaultier threw in some simply sexy, strappy platform heels for good measure (and customers), but the real message was in the fearless embracing of many styles, many places, and many pasts that was reflected in his diverse cast of models (a despicably rare happening these days).

For fall, we can look forward to traditional influences from all over the globe  being fearlessly embraced to make modern styles.  Watch out for embroidered silks especially, as China becomes a major style player getting lots of attention in Paris.

Laura Rose