Jean-Paul Gaultier is leaving the fashion industry after 50 years. Here's a look back at the legendary designer's career, from dressing Madonna to starting his own haute-couture house.

Legendary designer Jean-Paul Gaultier retired from the runway in January.

His final show commemorated his 50th anniversary in the fashion industry. A post on the couture legend's Instagram read: "This show celebrating 50 years of Jean Paul Gaultier's career, will also be his last. But rest assured, Haute Couture will continue with a new concept."

The show was set at the Théâtre du Chatelet in Paris.

Gaultier became known as one of the most innovative designers in fashion history.

He became a world-wide sensation after dressing Madonna for her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour.

Gaultier was born April 24, 1952 in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, France.

In an interview with The New Yorker, Gaultier described his home life as "modest." His father was an accountant and his mother was a clerk. He was an only child.

Source: Biography

Gaultier said he spent a lot of time growing up with his grandmother, who lived nearby.

He said that his grandmother was more "interesting" than his mother, and was someone whom he always admired.

According to Gaultier's profile in The New Yorker, his grandmother provided wellness counselling to the locals, and let him sit in on the sessions.

Specifically, toward the women who were facing relationship problems, she would tell them to try and spice up their wardrobe, introducing Gaultier to the potential power fashion could have — especially in its ability to shape, form, and repair relationships.

Gaultier would draw before and after photos of the women, showing what they looked like when they came in and then what they looked like after they took the advice. From his grandmother, Gaultier also was introduced to corsets — something that would come in handy when he would start to design some of Madonna's most iconic looks in the 1990s.

Source: New Yorker

Growing up, Gaultier loved fashion, art and design. As a young boy, he would send sketches to the famous couture stylists of the day.

One of the designers he sent his work to, Italian fashion designer, Pierre Cardin, loved the sketches that the young Gaultier did. As result, when Gaultier was just 18 years old, in 1970, he left high school early to work as a studio assistant to Cardin.

Source: New Yorker

A year later, Gaultier worked for designer Jacques Esterel, and soon after, designer Jean Patou.

Gaultier told the New Yorker that one of the best about working with Patou was that it matched his expectations of working in fashion.

He also told the outlet that the 1945 film "Falbalas" by Jacques Becker made him want to go into fashion. The film is about a Parisian dressmaker who seduces his best friend's fiancée. The film provided a detailed look at the fashion industry of the time, and shaped Gaultier's ideas of what that world would be like.

"The House of Patou, headquartered in a spectacular eighteenth-century building, made him feel that he was living in his favorite film," the publication wrote.

In 1974, he made his way back to Cardin, where he managed one of the designer's boutiques in Manila, Philippines.

Gaultier designed and produced ready-to-wear clothes for the American market.

He told the New Yorker that his boyfriend a the time, Francis Menuge, was the one who encouraged him to start his own line, something he did two years later.

According to Vogue Australia, Gaultier began to dress the first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos, who was known for her style and spending. The outlet said that the young designer was so popular in the country that he had trouble obtaining an exit visa from the government.

In 1976, Gaultier launched his own line and presented his first collection with nine models at a Paris planetarium.

He used his own money, and the money of his friends and family to help fund the collection, as reported by the New Yorker. His cousin helped knit sweaters, the concierge of his apartment sewed, and Menuge designed the accessories and handled business arrangements. There were nine journalists at his first show.

In his first collection, he became the first person to mix motorcycle jackets with dresses, putting a model in a tulle skirt, which created a look that has now become one of his most famous.

His work became so popular that, within two years, his pieces were sold in some of the most popular boutiques in Paris.

Source: The New Yorker, Vogue Australia

In 1982, Gaultier opened his own fashion house. Vogue Australia reported that he was the one who 'made garbage bags and tin cans fashionable.'

Rather than focusing on luxury and opulence, his work was about what he saw on the streets around him. Throughout his earlier years, he was known as the enfant terrible (a French expression which roughly translates to being an "unruly child" in English).

In 1980, he released a collection designed around the idea of "throwaway beauty." He used garbage bags and tin cans as motifs, the latter of which has since become his signature. To open his fashion house, he received an investment from Japanese company Kashiyama.

Source: The New Yorker

In 1983, he put lingerie at the forefront of his fashion shows, with his signature corset dresses.

He was known for wearing kilts with Breton striped sweaters and for having runway shows with spectacle.

He was known for using a diverse set of models to show his work, the most notable being Farida Khelfa who, at the time, became one of the first models of North African decent to have prominence in the fashion industry, as reported by the New Yorker.

In 1985, Gaultier opened his first boutique in Paris.

A year prior, he designed a collection of skirts for men, further pushing the boundaries of what was deemed "traditional" at the time in the fashion industry.

"It was not a gay statement — quite the contrary," he told the New Yorker. "Men were changing— they were not so macho. So I thought, why not?"

In 1985, Gaultier hired Martin Margiela as a design assistant. Margiela stayed until 1987, when he expressed interests in opening his own line. Margiela went on to open Maison Margiela, one of the most famous French fashion houses of the modern era. Gaultier called Margiela one of the best assistants he's ever had.

Source: I-D

Gaultier met Madonna in 1987 after her concert at the Parc de Sceaux, just outside of Paris. That moment changed Gaultier's life as he knew it.

The two had been mutual fans of one another's work. Gaultier loved her music, and Madonna had previously worn one of his outfits to the 1985 American Music Awards.

Only a few years before they met, Gaultier was working on corset dresses. As a child, he once made a bra for one of his stuffed bears. Corsets and lingerie had always been an inspiration for the designer, now Madonna would put his ambition to the test.

The pop singer asked him to design 358 costumes for her 1990 Blond Ambition tour. This was the beginning of Gaultier as an icon, legend, and haute couture master.

Gaultier's designs received acclaim and launched the designer into the international fashion spotlight. One of his most notable creations for Madonna was the the pink corset body suit she wore over black trousers.

He designed the costumes for her 2006 Confessions World Tour, as well.

Tragically, Gaultier's partner Menuge was diagnosed with an AIDS-related illness and died in 1990, the year Madonna's tour kicked off.

Gaultier told the New Yorker that he found it hard to move forward with his business after Mengue's death, especially since Mengue was, not only the love of his life, but also the one who handled his business affairs. But the designer did not give up.

He said Mengue encouraged him to start his own couture line. At the time, couture houses were closing, not necessarily opening, but that didn't stop Gaultier from trying.

In 1992, he published a pictorial autobiography called "A nous deux la mode."

From 1990 to 1992, Nicolas Ghesquière, the now artistic director at Louis Vuitton, worked as an assistant to Gaultier.

After leaving Gaultier, Ghesquière held many fashion jobs before he was the creative director of Balenciaga in 1997. Today, he is the artistic director at Louis Vuitton, a position he assumed in 2013 after Marc Jacobs retired from the house.

Source: Business of Fashion

In 1993, Gaultier launched his brand's first fragrance known as 'Classique' which has since become known for its body sculpture bottle design.

In 1992, he launched Gaultier Jeans, and a line of accessories and perfumes. One year later, "Classique" was released.

In 2018, Kim-Kardashian West was accused of copying Gaultier's famous design, in which he criticized the reality star for doing so. She told Cosmopolitan,"It's iconic and celebrates the woman's body, but my inspiration was a statue. I wanted [mine] to be really personal with my exact mold, but I've always loved the Gaultier bottles."

Source: Vogue UK

In 1996, Gaultier was ready to try something else and met with Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH.

Shortly before Gaultier went on to open his eponymous couture house, he interviewed with LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault for the prospect of becoming the head couturier at Dior.

Arnault instead gave the Dior job to John Galliano who, at the time, was at Givenchy. Arnault offered Gaultier Galliano's old position at Givenchy, but Gaultier was not interested.

"I thought Givenchy was very bourgeois," he told the publication. "I loved Saint Laurent, Dior, Cardin. Givenchy was not a dream of mine. So I told Mr. Arnault no, I was not dreaming of Givenchy."

Source: The New Yorker

Later that year, Gaultier opened his haute couture house. Today, his house is one of eleven to be formally recognized by France's Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture — the body which governs high fashion in France.

It's not easy to start an haute couture house in France. The New Yorker detailed the intense process to be recognized by the couture syndicate.

To start, one must design made-to-order clothes for private clients, and hire no less than 15 full-time craftspeople. Then, twice a year, the designer must present a collection that has at least 35 outfits and the collection must include both evening and day wear. In addition, couture is oftentimes so expensive that very few people actually buy it.

"Couture houses almost always operate at a loss; they exist to showcase the designers' most unencumbered fantasies," the publication wrote. "Most customers can only afford something from a designer's ready-to-wear line — or a perfume — whose brand has been made more valuable because he or she designs couture."

His first couture collection was shown in 1997 and actress Nicole Kidman bought one of the first pieces. From there, he dressed a slew of high-profile stars.

In addition to Nicole Kidman, he has also dressed Cate Blanchett, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, French actress Marion Cotillard, Coco Rocha, Dita von Tesse, and Solange Knowles. He was also an early mentor to designer Martin Margiela, founder of Maison Margiela.

In the 80s and 90s, Gaultier did much more than fashion and beauty.

In 1988, he recorded an album called "Aow Tou Dou Zat" which topped the European dance charts, and was the cohost of a successful British television show called "Eurotrash" from 1993 to 1997.

In 2001, he was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in France, the highest order someone can receive in France for merits of military and civility.

"Gaultier changed so many things: the creative process, sexuality in fashion," then-Balenciaga creative director Nicolas Ghesquière, Gaultier's former-assistant, told WWD.

Source: Vogue

In 2003 he was appointed as the head designer of Hermès, a position which he held until 2010. He had succeeded his former assistant Martin Margiela

At the time, Hermès took a 30% stake in Gaultier's line, according to Women's Wear Daily. They later increased their stake to 45%.

His first collection with Hermès was the fall 2004 collection, however, WWD reported that the designer "failed to ignite the king of spark to the house's that other designers brought to iconic French houses, such as John Galliano at Christian Dior and Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton. Christophe Lemaire."

He was replaced by Christophe Lemaire.

Source: WWD

In 2003, he sponsored an exhibit at the Costume Institute of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art entitled 'Braveheart: Men in Skirts.'

According to the museum's website, the exhibition"examines designers and individuals who have appropriated the skirt as a means of injecting novelty into male fashion, as a means of transgressing moral and social codes, and as a means of redefining an ideal masculinity. In an unprecedented survey of "men in skirts" in historical and cross cultural contexts."

It also featured work by designers Vivienne Westwood, Dries van Noten, Rudi Gernreich, and Gaultier's own work.

Source: The Met

Gaultier designed costumes for films and was nominated for a César Award.

In addition to designing tour costumes for Madonna in 1990 and 2006, and Kylie Minogue in 2008, he also designed film costumes, and was nominated for a César Award for his work on the 1997 film "Fifth Element."

He also worked on the film "The Cook, the Thief, HIs Wife, and Her Lover" which was released in 1989, and "Bad Education" which was released in 2004.

In 2010, Target partnered with the designer.

The partnership was through the retailer's designer collaborations, which highlighted notable designers in the industry who designed collections for the store.

Gaultuer's collection paid tribute to American women "celebrating the forces of style both past and present in American pop culture." It was available from March 7, 2010 through April 11, 2010.

Source: Target

International museums have showcased his work. In 2011, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts collaborated with the designer for the 'The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk.' exhibit.

"I wanted something very, very alive," he told the New Yorker. "I didn't want something dead—a museum can seem dead, the clothes are very old, it's like a funeral."

He wanted the exhibition to showcase what interested him, which was,"flesh, ethnicity, different kinds of global beauty, cinema, my interest with Madonna, tattoos, the Parisienne, the male as object, all that kind of thing," he said.

Source: The New Yorker

In 2011 he released his first-ever swimwear line with lingerie brand La Perla.

At the time, Women's Wear Daily reported that bras in the line ran for about €500 ($554), and up to €1,500 ($1,664) for a dress.

Source: Vogue UK, WWD

In 2012, he became the first fashion designer to become a jury member for the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

This was the same year he launched a collection memorializing British singer Amy Winehouse, less than a year after her death.

Source: Screen Comment, Britannica

That same year he was appointed as Diet Coke's creative director and he helped with some of the company's advertising campaigns.

In his new role he also designed new bottles for the company.

He stopped designing ready-to-wear fashion in 2015, announcing that instead, he would focus solely on haute couture.

Gaultier told the Associated Press that he left ready-to-wear because "too many clothes kill clothes," nodding toward the idea that fashion was changing.

He was tired of the commercialization of his merchandize and wanted to, instead, focus on film, theatre, and couture.

"Fashion has changed. A proliferation of clothing. Eight collections per season — that's 16 a year," he told the Associated Press, as reported by Business of Fashion. "The system doesn't work... There aren't enough people to buy them. We're making clothes that aren't destined to be worn."

Source: Business of Fashion

In 2018, he returned to his love for the theatre and staged a cabaret show that was loosely based on his life.

The show was called "Fashion Freak Show" and took place at the Folies Bergere theater in Paris. The show is currently touring throughout the world.

As a child, Gaultier told The New Yorker that his grandmother would let him watch broadcast performances at the Bergere theatre.

In 2019, Gaultier released a collection with the streetwear brand Supreme, which was an instant hit.

He followed in the footsteps of Louis Vuitton which released a collection with the streetwear brand in 2017. Gaultier's collection included logo T-shits, jackets, backpacks, sneakers, and cargo suit vests.

In January 2020, Gaultier announced that he would officially retire from fashion. His haute couture show during Paris Fashion Week was his last show.

"I have opened all my drawers, taken back all my old collections," he said in his goodbye note. "I have used my archives as material. Goodbye, the brand-new; hello, the brand old. What I did at the beginning with no resources, I do today with my inheritance to give life to new creations."

The show featured an all-star set of models including Karlie Kloss, Bella and Gigi Hadid, and his muse Farida Khelfa. Attendees included Lady Gaga, former first lady of France Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and the designer's former assistant, Nicolas Ghesquière.

Source: New York Times

Gaultier stepped away from a legacy as one of the most influential and innovative designers of the modern era, paving the way for a new crop of creatives to follow in his footsteps.

"There is not one kind of beauty," he wrote in an Instagram post. "There are many kinds."