Jean Paul Gaultier

April 24, 1952, Jean-Paul Gaultier was born in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, France. He never received formal training as a designer but instead started sending sketches to famous couture stylists at an early age. Designer Pierre Cardin was impressed by his talent and hired him as an assistant in 1970. Gaultier's first collection was released in 1976 and he quickly established a reputation in fashion as an irreverent character, an 'enfant terrible' of French fashion. Much of Gaultier's inspiration for preterit porter show is derived from the street and pop culture while his Haute Couture collections are very formal, yet playful. Gaultier is also well known for his longtime costume collaborations with Madonna during the nineties. He designed both the infamous cone bra for her Blond Ambition Tour in 1990 and the wardrobe for her Confessions Tour in 2006.

Jean-Paul Gaultier's first fragrance, Classique, was introduced in 1993, followed by Le Male for men two years later. Both were very successful commercially and led to subsequent scents including the floral women's perfume Fragile, the unisex 'fragrance for humanity' Gaultier (pronounced Gaultier to the power of two), and the fresh but masculine Fleur du Male.