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Gaultier Honored as Rule Breaker
from: fashionwiredaily.com
by Renata Espinosa
Fashion, like art, has always been a place for people with their own vision to make a statement, with the hopes that others might see it and celebrate it. At the end of the day, designers need to sell clothes, of course, so they’re hoping that others appreciate that vision. But that doesn’t mean they have to play it safe, or that people want the same thing. Quite the contrary. It’s in fashion that many look to find something cutting edge and something that looks to the future.
Not all designers do this - after all, risk-taking is not always the most financially savvy move in the industry - but those that do have a special place in fashion, and are the ones that get remembered: Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Jean-Paul Gaultier, who was honored last night, October 26, at Fashion Group International’s annual Night of Stars gala themed "The Rule Breakers."
Gaultier, who was given the "Superstar" award, stood alongside his date for the evening, Lauren Bacall, as they reflected on what exactly it means to be called a rule breaker.
"What are the rules?" said Jean-Paul Gaultier. "Who makes the rules?" fired back Lauren Bacall. "Exactment!" said Gaultier. "[The rules] are only the reflection of what’s happening in life, in society, so there are no real rules in fashion."
Other "rule breakers" receiving awards last night included designers Rick Owens, Tomas Meier, Hussein Chalayan and Alber Elbaz.
"I’m very honored to be in a group of people I respect - Jean Paul Gaultier and Rick Owens, Tomas Meier and Hussein Chalayan," said Alber Elbaz, who designs for Lanvin and has single-handedly revived the label over the past several years. "People respect your work, and you work so hard and you do so much, and when it people notice it, it’s always so great. I do what I can, I do what I know, I do what I feel. I just do! I don’t work with rules, so I don’t feel I have to break them."
The star-studded event included plenty of rule breaking guests, both in fashion and outside of it, including JOAN JETT, Jennifer Hudson, Jane Krakowski of "30 Rock," Tilda Swinton and Linda Evangelista. Andre Leon Talley, wearing an unforgettable red smock reminiscent of a headmaster’s gown, was on hand to receive the "Fashion Oracle" award, while the most infamous fashion rule breaker of them all, Simon Doonan of Barneys New York, hosted the evening’s ceremony.
For musicians like JOAN JETT, who broke ground in the ‘70s by being a fierce female rocker amidst a musical landscape mostly dominated by men, admitted she hardly considered whether or not she was following or breaking rules and just did what felt right to her.
"I don’t even know what the rules are!" said Jett. "I’m probably breaking them all the time and don’t know. I think you have to do what is right for you, and not really follow the crowd for the sake of following the crowd. If it’s something that works for you, and everyone else is doing it, then great. But don’t not break the rules just because you’re worried that someone is going to say something about what you’re wearing. I’ve always idolized David Bowie, because I thought he was really, really outside the box, even in the context of the music he was doing, with artists like Gary Glitter and others in England at the time. He was sort of beyond, and so different with every album he put out, and I really respected that."
Marylou Luther, a member of Fashion Group International and editor of the Internationl Fashion Syndicate, offered her own definition for the rule breakers.
"They’re the people who are not afraid to go their own way - as the song goes, ‘to do it their way.’ There’s Jean Paul Gaultier, with his bullet bras for Madonna, and Rick Owens is amazing - he’s gone from goth to being a big star. He used to wear high heeled boots at his shows!"
Tilda Swinton, dressed in Lanvin, is arguably the actress who takes the most risks with her own style on the red carpet and has even served as muse to designers Viktor and Rolf. She pointed out that true rule breakers are never self-consciously going out of there way to identify themselves as such.
"I think the rule breaker is in the eye of the beholder," she said. "It’s hard for people to actually stand up and say, ‘I am a rule breaker,’ because if they’re that interested in being a rule breaker, then they’d probably be more like a rule keeper."
And does she think it’s harder to break the rules these days - have they all been broken already?
"I think there’s always room for complaint, and always room for enthusiasm, though I’m sure that things were much worse in the Middle Ages!"
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