Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) to Present First Jean Paul Gaultier Multimedia Retrospective

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) will present The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, the first retrospective devoted to the celebrated French couturier who launched his first prêt-à-porter collection in 1976 and founded his own couture house in 1997. Opens June 17, 2011..

Gaultier is renowned for his multicultural aesthetic, and has succeeded over the last three decades in capturing the mood of the times with creations that reflect issues facing contemporary society and his curiosity about all cultures and counter-cultures. By challenging the status quo and erasing borders, he has invented a new way to make and wear fashion. He is also the only couturier today to privately own his couture house, which he founded in 1997.

Organized by the MMFA in collaboration with the Maison Jean Paul Gaultier, and marking the 35th anniversary of the designer’s own label, the retrospective premiering at the MMFA features roughly 120 haute couture and ready-to-wear garments for women and men spanning from 1976 to 2010.

After its initial presentation at the MMFA (June 17 to October 2, 2011) in Montreal, Canada, the exhibition will travel to the following U.S. museums:

Dallas Museum of Art (November 13, 2011 to February 12, 2012)
de Young Museum, San Francisco (March 24 to August 19, 2012)

Celebrating the boldness of Gaultier’s always topical, multi- and counter-cultural design aesthetic, the exhibition is divided into five thematic sections: “Paris,” “Fusions” “Multi-Gender,” “Eurotrash/X- Rated” and “Metropolis.”

A major portion of the exhibition will explore the designer’s special connections with music, film, and dance through his legendary collaborations with today’s leading pop/rock stars including Lady Gaga, Madonna, and Kylie Minogue, film directors including Pedro Almodóvar, Peter Greenaway, and Luc Besson, and choreographers including Maurice Béjart and Régine Chopinot, among others.
Excerpts from runway shows, concerts, music videos, dance performances, and TV interviews and shows (Eurotrash and Absolutely Fabulous) along with original, never-before-seen photographs by leading contemporary artists and photographers including Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Pierre & Gilles, and David LaChapelle on view will further bring to light Gaultier’s eclectic scope of inspiration and global vision.

www.mmfa.qc.ca