Anything that could be was made from, trimmed with or accessorized with fur – heaps of fox-skins dangled from heads and waists and bags, croc-skins were turned into jackets and mink into scarves. At times, there was so much fur on the catwalk it seemed Gaultier was throwing down a deliberate challenge to Peta.
When it wasn’t fur, it was printed like fur. Tiger-stripes, leopard-spots and zebra-stripes patterned trench-coats, short skirts, shirts and jackets.
Amongst the jungle, however, there were intriguing goat-skin thigh-boots, bags, hats, corsets and jackets, all hand-carved with intricate flower, bird, foliage and tiger motifs. These turned out to be the work of a young Central Saint Martins graduate, Kim Lewis, 27, who caught the eye of a JPG scout in Portobello Market.
Kim has been making her own goatskin jackets and boots for several years now and has built up a sizeable private clientele as well as selling on her website, www.kimikored.com. Before she knew what was happening, Kim was whisked off to Paris the day after Boxing Day to meet Jean Paul himself.
He was entranced with her work and commissioned several dozen different pieces.
Kim spent much of the last six weeks in a tiny village deep in the heart of Java, where she and a team of artisans hand-carved all the designs destined for the catwalks of Paris.
Photographs by Getty
Jean Paul Gaultier autumn/winter 2008/2009 collection
Photographs by Reuters
