Ludovic de Saint Sernin will be the eighth guest designer for Jean Paul Gaultier. He is also the youngest.
Jean Paul Gaultier and Ludovic de Saint Sernin. Photo: Adam Peter Johnson/ Courtesy of Jean Paul Gaultier
At the time he was born, in 1990, fashion’s original enfant terrible, then around 38-years-old, had presented his luscious “Adam and Eve, Rastas Aujourd’hui” (Rastas today) collection, which featured giddy male and female models walking as couples; the likes of Helena Christensen and Rossy de Palma in colorful suits, floral corsetry and dance club ensembles. True to form, there was humor, performance and innuendo on a level we rarely see today.
Yet de Saint Sernin, who launched his label in 2017 and took the reins of Ann Demeulemeester for one season last year, designs from a provocative perch and his liberated ideas of gender result in clothes that are sometimes minimalist, sometimes glam, often body-bearing. It takes no stretch of the imagination to see him exploring any number of Gaultier’s iconic creations.
On the metaphoric heels of Nicolas Di Felice (Julien Dossena and Simone Rocha among other recent alums), de Saint Sernin will be the first guest designer to show men’s looks. This will also be his first foray into Haute Couture, and even though the Spring show is not until January, such immense preparation helps explain why he is skipping the runway this week.
Speaking exclusively with Vogue from Jean Paul Gaultier HQ, the designers embraced their generational divide, exuding a kind of ease that suggested they are like-minded—whether looking back or looking ahead.
Jean Paul, how did you discover Ludovic’s work?
I only knew his work, not him personally. I am always interested in what new designers are doing. I remember that I was very surprised when I saw one of his first collections because there was this very audacious thing about what he was doing with men. And I love that he makes this kind of provocation, but…
