Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 1993 Ready-to-Wear Collection

Editor’s note: As part of Vogue Runway’s ongoing efforts to document the history of fashion shows, we kicking off the year by adding newly digitized shows to the site. This spring 1993 ready-to-wear collection was presented in Paris at the Cirque d’Hiver on October 16, 1992.

Just what constitutes tradition in the universe of a rebel? As Jean Paul Gaultier was so associated with counterculture in the ’90s, it’s difficult to parse the title of his spring 1993 show: Gaultier Classics Revisited. That said, we can isolate some material markers starting with denim, a go-to material for the designer. He worked it up here into new versions of the cone bra as well as voluminous dungarees with a low crotch, high waist, and deep cuffs that seemed to borrow from hip-hop.

The marinière, which was part of Gaultier’s personal uniform, also got an airing: Christy Turlington appeared in an embroidered gold mesh tank dress over a striped short-sleeve dress, and Claudia Mason sported one under her pinstripe jacket. Deconstruction is another beloved JPG motif; near the start of the show, Eve Salvail wore a dress with a shirt body and a hem made of an upside-down pair of trousers. It was accessorized with Dr. Martens and a necktie, androgyny being another cornerstone. Elsewhere, Gaultier extended pants to just under the armpits for men and women. (He’d stick with this Empire silhouette for fall 1993’s Chic Rabbis show.)  

Most fabulously, he took his scissors to woven materials and cut them into strips that were then knitted, knotted, or crocheted together. A good example of this is Look 27, a shirtdress with solid fabric sleeves and a body knit from the shirting material with fringe at the hem. 

In theory, it’s not much of a jump from strips of fabric to strands of hair. How else to explain the passage of garments made from imitation hair? At the time, the Chicago Tribune suggested this passage of looks was “obviously a spoof on the ’70s thing happening in fashion elsewhere, and maybe even on the musical Hair.” But it seems the designer was keeping things at a skin-deep level. “There is nothing so pure and simple as a naked woman dressed with just her hair,” Gaultier told Vogue.