Monika Sawicka and Pulp Magazine join The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in celebrating the fashion world of Jean Paul Gaultier.

The exhibition’s various sections provide a thematic approach to the world of Jean Paul Gaultier, tracing the influences, from the streets of Paris to the world of science fiction, that have shaped the couturier’s creative development. Holding up a mirror to the society that has marked his times, this exhibition, which Gaultier considers his “biggest show ever,” is punctuated by many excerpts from videos, some of them previously unreleased, as well as many never-before-exhibited prints from the greatest names in fashion and art photography, including Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Robert Doisneau, Richard Avedon, Herb Ritts, Pierre et Gilles, Mario Testino, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin, Ellen von Unwerth and Bettina Rheims, to name just a few.

      1. The Odyssey of Jean Paul Gaultier
      2. The boudoir
      3. Skin Deep
      4. Punk Cancan
      5. Urban Jungle
      6. Metropolis

As the fashion business becomes more homogenous, often losing creativity because the financial stakes of being wrong are just too high, it’s important to honor and celebrate a vision like Gaultier’s that has stayed true to creative principles and vision.

In probing the links between perversity and beauty for Pulp #3, styled by Juliana Schiavinatto’s treats from the Gaultier archives, we are reminded that the designer consistently honors women’s sensual, goddess power — making him popular with Madonna and Gaga both. His mix of femininity and flowers with straps and buckles — captured here by photographer Arkan Zakharov — defines ‘woman’ as a force to be reckoned with in the 21st century.

If only Gaultier is right, the vision is music to our ears. In reality, the odds are against us. Anne