- After 50 years in the fashion industry, legendary designer Jean-Paul Gaultier is retiring.
- He announced his retirement via Instagram with a caption that said his Paris Fashion Week show would be his last.
- Karlie Kloss and Bella Hadid walked in Gaultier's final fashion show. France's former first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy sat in the front row.
- Throughout his career, he became known as one of the most innovative designers in fashion history, known for his corset designs and lingerie-inspired looks.
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After 50 years in fashion, legendary designer Jean-Paul Gaultier has retired. The designer announced his retirement via Instagram on January 17, in which he said that his couture show during Paris Fashion Week would be his last.
"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."
Over the course of his career, he became known as the "enfant terrible" or, in other words, the "bad boy" of fashion. He caught international attention after designing over 300 costumes for Madonna's 1990 Blond Ambition Tour, including a pink corset which she wore over men's trousers.
Gaultier was also known for his lingerie-inspired designs and pushing gender norms. He designed the costumes for many films and theater shows such as the movie "The Fifth Element" and has worked with performers from Beyoncé to Nicole Kidman, who was one of the first to buy a piece from his couture line after it opened in 1996.
Keep reading to learn more about one of the most notable haute couture designers in fashion history.