CinéMode par Jean Paul Gaultier

An interview with the fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier on the occasion of the CinéMode exhibition featuring his creations at the Cinémathèque Française.

To what extent was cinema at the origin of your career?

Cinema is entirely at the origin of my career. When I was 12, I saw Jacques Becker’s film Falbalas (1945) and decided I wanted to be a fashion designer. The film includes a fashion show and when I saw it I said, “I want to do that”. I always treated fashion as a show. My shows were very cinematic and I often drew inspiration from the cinema in my collections.

Fashion and cinema are often associated. What do you think these two disciplines have in common?

Fashion and cinema are the reflection of a society. There is no revolution in fashion without a change in society.

You have designed several film costumes. Do you think there is a difference between costume and fashion?

When I create my collections I am a director, I write the script, I do the casting. When I work for the cinema, I make Gaultier for a director and a story.

The CinéMode exhibition continues through January 16th, 2022 at the Cinémathèque Française.