MADONNA LOVES JEAN PAUL GAULTIER AND JEAN PAUL GAULTIER LOVES MADONNA AND DIET COKE

Posted by Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large

I had one of those surreal moments just now at the launch of Jean Paul Gaultier for Diet Coke in Paris. There we were at the Crazy Horse on Avenue Georges Cinq, the red velvet womb of a basement cabaret club beloved of the kinky fashion set, and I'm chatting to Jean Paul Gaultier - who is looking youthfully slim and handsome a mere 12 days before his 60th birthday - when I pop out the question planted in my mind by Lucy Dunn, a senior editor at Grazia, the other day. Nothing happens in the world of fashion, feminist culture and celebrity without Lucy getting a sniff of it first, and this despite the fact she is in a field with three boys and a skateboard at present. Really, the woman is astounding.

So I ask him, "Jean Paul, I hear you are designing costumes for the forthcoming Madonna Tour?"
Or MDNA. Or whatever she is calling herself at the moment. "But ow do yoo knoaw?" he responded in his lovable Franglais looking visibly surprised at my obviously inside information. "Aha!" I answered, cryptically. The answer came in the affirmative "Well, yes. Yes I am. You are verrry well informed! Mebbee you know as much as me!" Then he giggled, but in a manly way, deep and throaty.  

He said a bit more, but I'm writing it up for a piece in Grazia that comes out on May 1. But, guys! JPG for Madonna! Again, 22 years after he did it the first time for her Blond Ambition Tour in 1990. I was a mere teenager when this happened. And it did HAPPEN to me. I was there at Wembley, strung out on cola bottles and crisps to keep my energy up so I could wait for hours to see Madonna- the most powerful star on planet earth. Jean Paul Gaultier's work for Madge was seared onto my mind both conscious and unconscious F O R E V E R. 

Almost instantly I had a black leather corset all-in-one swimsuit type thing with cone shaped boobs run up for me by a man called Steve, which he made out of an old leather trench coat . I wore it out clubbing and kept my money, keys and bits and bobs in the cone booby parts. The cone shaped tit parts of my leather Madonna and Jean Paul Gaultier inspired club wear doubled as my handbag.  Of course I started a trend at Troll and Trade, the two clubs I attended on a religious basis.  

Can't wait to see what JPG and MDNA come up with together. In the meantime.... 

Madonna cavorting in JPG during her Blond Ambition tour, 1990 (image from www.film.com)

Mmmmm.....(image from nickverreos.blogspot.co.uk)

Of course, JPG also worked with Madonna on her 2006 "Confessions" tour. That Equestrienne lady and her "show ponies" are go! Quite possibly the best take on equestrian EVER...

(image from blogs.sun-sentinel.com)

THE WEEK IN FASHION: 19th-23rd MARCH

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

First up this week, huge congratulations to British fashion's Fairy Godmother, Lulu Kennedy who made the trip to visit the Queen at Buckingham Palace to receive her MBE yesterday. Naturally, it was up to former Fashion East participants to dress Lulu for the occasion- it was Michael van der Ham and Roksanda Ilincic for the palace and Jonathan Saunders for the Madhatters tea party at The Sanderson. .

Lulu Kennedy at the palace (image from telegraph.co.uk)

Stella at yesterday's launch in her SS12 pjs, with Phillip Odowu and Jessica Ennis (image from dailymail.co.uk)

In other big British fashion news this week, Stella McCartney has finally unveiled the Team GB kit for this summer's Olympic and Paralympic games- the very first time that a fashion designer has had the role. This was no quiet launch either- a fashion show starring some of the UK's biggest medal hopes including Victoria Pendleton and Jessica Ennis took place at The Tower of London. It's Stella's biggest collection yet, comprising 590 different items of kit catering for over 900 athletes and all their various sports. So far, it is Stella's reinterpretation of the Union Jack which has caused most concern. The Daily Mail reports that 'there is a worrying lack of red from the Union Jack', while Hadley Freeman at The Guardian noted 'the running pants for women with the flag in a gynaecological spot, (are) surely an offence that could result in one being sent to the tower'.

I'm quite a fan of the red trainers myself. Jessica Ennis in her Stella/ Adidas kit

Madonna by Mert and Marcus (image from www.imageamplified.com)

The Mantyhose in action (image from www.imageamplified.com)

You thought all fashion hybrids had been explored? The jegging, the tregging and the shoot (shoe boot) to name but a few. Well, this week Emilio Cavallini and Madonna brought 'mantyhose' to the world. That's 'tights for boys' to you and I. Interesting. The new invention is exhibited in the video for Girl Gone Wild, directed by Mert and Marcus. It's the second single from the forthcoming MDNA album.



Ever since Carine Roitfeld left the helm at French Vogue, it's been great fun finding out about her latest project. We loved her book, Irreverent and now it seems that September will be the next time our Carine radars go into overdrive. She told WWD this week her new magazine will be launched then. They also found out the following...

"Although she couldn’t be pressed on the name, she said it will come out twice a year and resemble a book. There will be no “front of the book” section and its emphasis will be “fashion with a lot of freedom.”

Carine at the Chanel couture in Tokyo this week (image from www.wwd.com)

Karl in the pilot's seat on the Chanel jet plane (from www.wwd.com)

Chanel has decamped to Japan this week for a series of events to big up the brand in the Far East. Remember the airplane created for the January couture show in Paris? Well, that was transported to a Tokyo park for a repeat performance. Also on the agenda was a party to launch Karl Lagerfeld's collaboration with Carine Roitfeld on a photographic exhibition entitled "The Little Black Jacket'. Sarah Jessica Parker, with son in tow, and Alice Dellal were among those who've joined Chanel for the festivities.

Grazia's Paula Reed has been in Tokyo. Here are a few of her best pics...

Karl with his right hand woman, Lady Amanda Harlech 

Clemence Poesy with the cherry blossom

A guest at the couture show in the traditional Japanese kimono (all images from Paula's instagram)

Barely a week goes by without some new comment on the photoshopping/body image debate, this week's most lovely contribution comes from The Economist's Intelligent Life magazine which has put Cate Blanchett on its cover, completely free from computer aided enhancement. Like she needed it anyway. This is what Intelligent Life editor, Tim de Lisle, had to say about the cover:

"Cate Blanchett, by contrast, appears on our cover in her working clothes, with the odd line on her face and faint bags under her eyes. She looks like what she is—a woman of 42, spending her days in an office, her evenings on stage and the rest of her time looking after three young children. We can’t be too self-righteous about it, because, like anyone else who puts her on a cover, we are benefiting from her beauty and distinction. But the shot is at least trying to reflect real life. It’s a curious sign of the times that this has become something to shout about"

Image from Intelligent Life

THINGS FOR THE WEEKEND:

Image from www.Vogue.co.uk

Tonight is Sport Relief in the UK. From a fashion perspective, that means Kate Moss, Stella McCartney and David Gandy on our screens in a special episode of Absolutely Fabulous. That has to be worth a donation, doesn't it?

I heard about the Horniman Museum's The Body Adorned exhibition earlier this week and I can't wait to go. I love walking around London, seeing what everyone is wearing and trying to identify all the style tribes. The Body Adorned looks at how Londonders have come to create their own trends and ways of standing out, as well as the history which has impacted on those decisions. Here's the trailer for the exhibition, I'll hopefully be reporting back from there sometime soon...



We can finally see series 5 of Mad Men from Tuesday on Sky Atlantic- hurrah! We love these ads from the 1960s which The New Yorker has dug up to get us even more excited about the return of Don, Joan and co. Have a wonderful sunny weekend!

What would she say about mantyhose? 

Pyjamas to rival Stella's (all ads from www.newyorker.com)