Jean-Paul Gaultier is a French fashion designer. Self-taught, he started as a design assistant for Pierre Cardin in 1970. His first independent collection was shown in 1976. Gaultier is known for his streetwear-inspired ready-to-wear (he did not do couture until the 1990s) and his gender-bending approach; in his early years, he was often called the enfant terrible of French fashion.
In addition to designing for his own labels, Jean-Paul Gaultier has been creative director at Hermès since 2003.
In 2014, Gaultier announced he would no longer do ready-to-wear, but would concentrate on couture and the perfume collection.
Fragrances were introduced in 1993 with Jean-Paul Gaultier, later known as Classique. Le Mâle followed in 1995, Fragile in 1999. All three were known for their unusual compositions and innovative packaging.
The Jean Paul Gaultier license is held by Shiseido subsidiary Beauté Prestige International. In 2016, the license moved to Puig, and older fragrances other than Classique & Le Mâle were eliminated.
Collector bottles of Classique & Le Male
Jean-Paul Gaultier releases limited editions of Classique & Le Mâle in which the torso-shaped bottles are decorated or "dressed" for the season. In 2010, Ma Dame joined the mix, in 2014 Le Beau Male. Some recent versions: Summer 2005, Summer 2006, Kilt Collector Edition 2006, Valentine's Day 2007, Summer 2007, Le Male Scuba Edition 2007, Summer 2008, Summer 2009, Summer 2010, Summer 2011, Summer 2012, Classique Belle en Corset, Sailor Girl / Sailor Guy, Summer 2013, Anchor keychain editions, Summer 2014, Capitaine Collector, Le Male Tattoo, Pirates, Summer 2015, Summer 2016.
Recent fragrances from Jean-Paul Gaultier
Recent releases include Gaultier2, aka Gaultier to the power of two (2005), Fleur du Male (2007), Gaultier2 Eau d'Amour (2008), La Cologne Fleur du Male (2008), Monsieur Eau du Matin (2008), Ma Dame (2008), Ma Dame Eau Fraiche (2009), Classique X (2010), Le Mâle Terrible (2010), L'Extrait Classique X (2010), Kokorico (2011), Classique X L'Eau (2012), Kokorico by Night (2012), Le Beau Male (2013), Classique Intense (2014), Ultra Male (2015), Le Male & Classique Essence de Parfum (2016), Scandal (2017), Le Male In The Navy (2018), Scandal By Night (2018), Classique Cabaret (2019), Scandal A Paris (2019), Le Beau & La Belle (2019).
Where to buy
The Jean-Paul Gaultier fragrance line can be found at department stores and online fragrance discounters.
Website
Further reading
See all articles on Now Smell This tagged Jean-Paul Gaultier.
Read The Way We Live Now: 07-08-01: Questions for Jean-Paul Gaultier; An Artist? Moi? and The Triumph of the Repressed, both at the New York Times.