Although Jean Paul Gaultier halted ready-to-wear collections in 2014, Tokyo fashion fans will have a chance to purchase 16 reproductions from the Eighties, including a denim bra top, tartan scarf dress, tattoo T-shirt and marine-striped turtleneck.
The looks were culled from the archives of Onward Group, the French couturier’s Japanese partner since 1981, and will be sold alongside an original tote bag and limited-edition cushions at Onward’s new store, Kashiyama Daikanyama.
Consider the reproductions, sold in very limited quantities, as souvenirs for a special exhibition taking over several floors of the boutique from Sept. 14 to Oct. 13. Called “Expanding Fashion,” it will feature a display of 13 iconic couture ensembles, and a special cut of footage from “Fashion Freak Show,” the designer’s autobiographical cabaret show that recently stopped in London after a nine-month run in Paris at the Folies Bergère. (It’s headed to Moscow next.)
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Onward has also installed a café, dressed in sailor stripes and serving up special sweets. One corner of the eatery will be dedicated to photos by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, who collaborated closely with the madcap designer on his campaign imagery.
Kashiyama Daikanyama brings fashion, food, design and art together in a five-story building of stacked glass boxes. Attractions include a fashion market, restaurant, bar and gallery.
The Onward Group detected Gaultier’s talent in the mid-Seventies and appointed him as dedicated designer of its Paris boutique, Bus Stop. He signed a stylist agreement with the Japanese fashion firm in 1978, two years after his runway debut, and signed a license agreement in 1981.