1994

#ThrobackSunday – spring / summer 1994

This show is such a fundamental base for today’s hype brands like Gypsy Sport, Eckhaus Latta and Pigalle Paris. Back in the years, Jean Paul Gaultier was a real enfant terrible of fashion. One of his first collections, Les Tatouages from 1994, is uptil today a symbol of diversity in fashion. The show was full of unexpected and bewildering references that included men in skirts, hip-hop denim volumes, Joan of Arc–style armor, tattoo trompe l’oeil tops and yes, even corsets. The bold, Indian and African tribal nods played a significant role in this fierce outing of models (for example Stella Tennant and Naomi Campbell, who back then were still the newcomers) and Gaultier’s close friends (like the eccentric and charismatic Rossy De Palma). In my opinion, this collection has not only defined the extravagant chic that Jean Paul Gaultier represents throughout his fashion career – this collection is up-to-date a loud and warm welcome to everybody who wants to be in fashion, of whatever size, skin colour or culture they are.

The 90’s. Aah. The free spirit. And grunge. These are the keywords that really make me think about this amazing era of creativity, defiance and a kind of “I don’t give a F word” attitude. Perry Ellis from 1994 is the perfect example. It was the collection that got Marc Jacobs fired from this American fashion house, which is currently slowly dying and becoming a forgotten brand. It was the show, idea, that made his career. With Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love in the newspapers and their music dominating both the radio and MTV, a 29-year-old Jacobs sent flannel shirts, printed granny dresses, Dr. Martens and knitted beanies down the runway. “Grunge is ghastly,” Suzy Menkes declared later in her fashion show report, and Jacobs indeed lost his job, but this was one show that the critics and the Perry Ellis company definitely got wrong. In other words, to those who think Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent is innovative – as you, he is not.