In anticipation of the upcoming Costume Institute exhibition, “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” we’ve digitized collections from which pieces were selected for the show or catalog. This collection was presented in October 1996, in Paris.
Jean Paul Gaultier is an endlessly inventive designer whose imagination takes him, alternatively, to places of great sophistication, and others more wild. Let’s just say he’s not afraid to challenge good taste and decorum. He did this with abandon for Spring 1997. Breasts were exposed seemingly gratuitously, but the back was were the action was; thongs and hosiery tops peeked out over waistlines. The show infamously concluded with Nikki Uberti, the bride, flashing the audience in a flower-bedecked G-string. What lies beneath—whether the body bare or lingerie—has always fascinated Gaultier.
A good number of this season’s outfits were convertible, and models multitasked, dressing, unzipping, and otherwise altering their looks as they walked the runway. These surely must have required careful and ingenious construction, but it remains difficult to imagine that women would need or want such flexibility, especially when there were impeccable suits and jackets hidden in the mix. Anyway, Gaultier’s trompe l’oeil “suits” expressed the designer’s signature charm and humor in a more elevated way. His signature Breton stripes were worked into the lineup, making it self-referential—with a wink.
Adding a touch of silken ease were full-legged “pajama” looks that had a soft glamour and a 1930s movie vibe. Also chic were a series of deceivingly simple sheaths near the close of the show. When the model turned, she revealed that they were of the “business in the front, party in the back” variety (think of a vest worn backward). One long, sleeveless ivory version was bow-tied at the nape of the neck and paired with black pants. It was the picture of elegant simplicity coming and going, as well as a bit of calm after this storm of a show.
