To start Jean Paul Gaultier's show today, Gossip's lead singer Beth Ditto hit the runway in a laser-cut silver dress, the strips rippling over her plentiful curves. Gaultier was one of the first designers to put bigger models on his runway, and there were a couple in the lineup tonight, Crystal Renn among them. But the size debate was just one thing on a very crowded agenda. Gaultier's catwalkers wore Joan Jett wigs, and her most famous songs were on the soundtrack. A rock 'n' roll attitude seemed to infuse the show's styling, too. In addition to their spiky hair, the girls accessorized with lace body stockings and Dr. Martens with the backs cut away.
As for the clothes themselves, they were all over the map. On the designer's wide-ranging playlist: jackets with squared-off shoulders, showgirl lingerie, jumpsuits, nautical stripes, palm-print dresses, leather biker jackets, a rose-print cape, and even one metal breastplate. His signature trenches came with accordion pleats. Some of it you could picture on Jett, other parts not so much. If it all made sense in the mind of Jean Paul Gaultier, it was a bit less clear from the sidelines (even with the 3-D glasses he'd provided with his invitation). Beth Ditto's a cappella performance as she came back down the runway for the second time was captivating, but it didn't offer any solid clues.
