Party with Jean Paul Gaultier at La Grande Fête

Fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier will be in San Francisco to celebrate the opening exhibition of The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier at the de Young Museum on Friday, March 23, 2012.  The party, La Grande Fête, will take guests "backstage" into the wild and wonderful world of Jean Paul Gaultier, fashion's enfant terrible, where they will have the chance to party and mingle with him.  There will be fashionable mingling, delectable food, flowing cocktails and drinks, music and dancing to celebrate this outstanding event.  

Jean Paul Gaultier & Madonna.  Photo by Herb Ritts.

Body corset worn by Madonna, Blond Ambition World Tour, 1990 Dazed & Confused, April 2008 © Emil Larsson

Gaultier's exhibit will include over 130 haute couture and prêt-à-porter looks, as well as sketches, photographs and infamous clips of his designs worn by style icons such as Madonna, Lady Gaga and Kylie Minogue.  The designs will be dramatically displayed in scenic contexts ranging from the boudoir to graffiti streets and the catwalk.  Animated mannequins talk and sing in playful and outrageous vignettes, enhancing the artistry and culturally revolutionary work of Gaultier.  The exhibit will be on display at the de Young from March 24 to August 19, 2012.

Jean Paul Gaultier. Cages collection, Calligraphie gown haute couture fall/winter 2008-2009 © Patrice Stable/Jean Paul Gaultier

Photo by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

The exhibition is The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk is organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in collaboration with the Maison Jean Paul Gaultier.  Get the first look at the de Young's Gaultier exhibit and attend the unforgettable opening night party.  La Grande Fête is a party you won't want to miss.

Jean Paul Gaultier. Fishnet tights, Parisiennes collection haute couture fall/winter 2010-2011 © Patrice Stable/Jean Paul Gaultier

La Grande Fête is on Friday, March 23, 2012 from 8:00 pm to 12:00 am at the de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.  Ticket cost is $250 for members and $300 for non-members.  There is also a VIP event on Thursday, March 22nd for high donors and sponsors.

Agnyss Deyn and Jean Paul Gaultier for the Ma Dame perfume campaign.  Photo by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

There is information at de Young's FaceBook site on how people can win tickets to the event.  They would need to send pictures of themselves dressed in their most outrageous Gaultier getup to submissions@famsf.org for a chance to win tickets.  Submissions are due by March 20, 2012 at 5:00 pm.
Some of the submissions to date: