Eccentric, exuberant and a tad explicit; a review of Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show

6 August 2022, by Martha Strachan

In this week’s blog, Costume Society Ambassador Martha Strachan reviews Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show at the Roundhouse Theatre, Camden.

Not your usual clean cut and polished musical, no, Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak show is far more than a musical, it’s an extravaganza, cabaret, catwalk, revue, and circus all in one, with plenty of fashion and flesh on show throughout. The Costume society attended the preview of the great designer’s reimagined show at the Roundhouse Theatre in Camden, London, and as you may expect from Gaultier, the show is all kinds of wonderful and weird.

Renowned as the ‘enfant terrible’ of the fashion world, the infamous French designer Jean Paul Gaultier began his ascent in the fashion world in 1982. His playful creativity, master tailoring and provocative juxtaposition between street style and couture has seen Gaultier challenge fashion, beauty, and gender norms throughout his career. In 1984, Gaultier’s ‘boy toy’ collection explored the ‘Marinière’ within men’s fashion, reinterpreting a classic French garment. The same year, he introduced his iconic Conical bra design which went on to become a staple look within his brand, and famously features in Gaultier’s costume design for Madonna’s Blond Ambition Tour in 1990. In 1993, Gaultier produced his sensual perfume, ‘Classique’ and a few years later, in 1996, Gaultier made his entrance into Haute Couture, continuing to combine fashion genres with sassy humour and French finesse.

Jean Paul Gaultier not only is the author of the show but also the director, and of course, the costume designer. Gaultier retired from mainstream fashion in 2020 after 50 years of service, but as this show illustrates, his work is far from over. Fashion Freak show is not a conclusion of his career but bring it full circle. It tells the tale of Jean Paul Gaultier’s colourful life and fantastical mind and embodies, even amplifies, every iconic feature that makes up his brand. Many new exclusive outfits are revealed including some of his most famous looks, think, French sailors, sexy bustiers, provocative bondage, bold punk and of course plenty of conical bras.

Fashion Freak Show was first performed at the iconic Parisian cabaret music hall Folies Bergère in 2019, and rightfully so, the show continues to capture Parisian chic and French cheeky raunchiness. Much of the dialogue is in French (with plenty of English translation), the iconic can-can dance makes an appearance and one act even pays homage to Josephine Baker who famously performed at Folie Bergère in 1926. For this edition, Gaultier has collaborated with the late actress, scriptwriter, and director Tonie Marshall, who co-directed the show, and choreographer Marion Motin.

The show takes up residence at this iconic location for a limited series of only 52 shows and has lovingly been reworked to pay homage to its host city, London, which has always had a place in Gaultier’s heart. Jean Paul Gaultier shared “After a two-year hiatus, I cannot think of a better place to celebrate the return of the show than my favourite city. London is dear to my heart and has always been a constant source of inspiration. I have been coming here since my youth and have been greatly influenced by British music, theatre and cinema throughout my career from ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ through Punk and New Wave - and I keep coming back. I hope that audiences will enjoy the show as much as I did creating it.”

The Round House theatre, Camden, could not be a better place for the show’s character; The Victorian industrial architecture compliments the mysterious underworld tone of the show, while the circular auditorium allows you to see the catwalk closely and adds to the circus feel of the performance. The show even pays homage to Camden’s beloved Amy Winehouse, nicely connecting the show to it’s surroundings.

The energetic music, from disco to punk, and from pop to rock, reflects the music scene that would have inspired Gaultier’s throughout his life. The music, alongside the well-designed lighting, transforms the round house auditorium into an imaginary nightclub meets cabaret show that lives inside Gaultier’s mind. The audience is taken through 50 years of pop culture, all through the eyes of this legendary designer.

Of course, above anything else, the costumes are the stars of the show. The 18-strong cast of dancers, singers and circus artists take to the stage in countless costumes as outlandish creatures, scandalous provocateurs and powerful high-fashion models. In fact, in the first scene the audience is met by a panorama of life size teddy bears and one, Gaultier’s childhood bear Nana, is in the conical bra bustier, where in which the audience learn Nana was the first to wear the iconic look, not Madonna.

Gaultier designed every ensemble of the show, from new pieces to iconic numbers from his archives, each costume is uniquely Gaultier. Some recreate catwalk moments while others are metaphors illustrating Gaultier’s thoughts and feelings. For example, the trio of conjoined outfits refers to the love between Gaultier and his late boyfriend, and business partner, Francis Menuge.

The first half of the show is mostly autobiographical, taking the audience through Gaultier’s life, from boyhood, making clothes for teddy bears, to riotous nights out and the conception of his fashion house. Amongst the colourful extravagance there are tender and serious moments too. A melancholy cover of ‘under my skin’ addresses the death of Gaultier’s boyfriend Francis Menuge, who died of AIDS complications in 1990. This is followed by a performance dedicated to safe sex where dancers clad in the pride colours give condoms out to the audience.

A highlight of the show, especially for fashion enthusiasts, must be the catwalks. In one scene we see the backstage of the catwalk as well as the runway, therefore see the cast as they quickly change costumes as well as striding in their fabulous ensembles. This captures the chaotic reality of the fashion industry, a reminder of Gaultier never takes himself too seriously. The catwalks feature many famous garments and allows the audience to see some significant Gaultier pieces as they would have looked at Paris Fashion Week in the 1980s through to the 2010s.

Not for the faint hearted the show has some very explicit dance sequences, however at the core of the show it celebrates both fashion and the body. With dancers of different body types and ethnicities as well as costumes that exaggerate and show off the human figure the show looks to empower the audience.

The show features video clips in-between the various dancing and singing acts. These videos, on semi-transparent screens that seem to fly on and off stage, set the scene and tell the story of the show throughout, and feature some of Gautier’s French fashionista friends such as Catherine Deneuve and Rossy de Palma.

Considering the Costume Society’s year of menswear, Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak show is a fascinating and fun way to explore gender, sexuality and beauty through extravagant costume and performance.

Fashion Freak Show opened on Friday 15 July and runs until Sunday 28 August 2022. To book tickets and find out more click here. To see footage of the show click here.

Take a Look at Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show’s Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

If you would like to read more about Jean Paul Gaultier here is an article from our archive: The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk