Jean Paul Gaultier at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts

Corcirico ensemble for men Haute Couture Fall Winter 2011/2012 collection Jean Paul Gaultier

This men's haute couture ensemble from Jean Paul Gaultier's Fall/Winter 2011 line is one of the additions to the exhibition The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk. This exhibition which was curated by Nathalie Bondil and Thierry-Maxime Loriot of the Montreal Museum of Fine Art opened yesterday at the Dallas Museum of Art. To read more about Gaultier's design aesthetic and this exhibition, read my article in Vintage and Modern here.

Photo credit: Photo by Patrice Stable courtesy of Jean Paul Gaultier

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

The Art of the Interview

Nathalie Bondil, Jean Paul Gaultier and Thierry-Maxime Loriot at the MMFA
Photo courtesy of the MMFA

Conducting an interview is like a dance. There is a back and forth between interviewer and interviewee that requires finesse and sensitivity. Your senses have to be on high alert, gauging their mood and reactions to your questions, listening to their responses, coming up with the next question..... Depending on their willingness to participate, it can be exhilarating or it can be like pulling teeth.

To my utter surprise and delight, my interviews with Nathalie Bondil, Director and Chief Curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Art and exhibition curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot fell into the exhilarating category. Generous with their time, charming and articulate, they made my job in writing for Fashion Projects look easy. My interview with Nathalie Bondlin was published on Fashion Projects on Wednesday and can be read here.  And my interview with Thierry-Maxime Loriot was published today and can be read here.

And although I did not interview Jean Paul Gaultier directly, I was at the back of a group of about ten journalists and I can attest to his sweet, funny and humble nature. The one thing he said that has stuck with me was this:  "Be yourself. Have confidence in yourself. Live your dream." 

Jean Paul Gaultier's Teddy Bear with a Shell Bra
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk

Dita von Teese for The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier
Photo courtesy of the MMFA

My review of the exhibition The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk has been published at Fashion Projects.  My interview with Director and Chief Curator Nathalie Bondlin will be published on Wednesday and my interview with Exhibition Curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot will be published on Friday of this week.

This exhibition continues at the MMFA in Montreal until October 2, 2011. Thereafter it will travel to the Dallas Museum of Art (November 13, 2011 – February 12, 2012), The  Fine Art Museum of San Francisco, de Young (March 24 – August 19, 2012), Fundacion Mapfre in Madrid (September 26 – November 18, 2012) and Kunsthal Rotterdam in the Netherlands (February 9 – May 12, 2013).

Notice of copyright: 
All text and images on this blog are the copyright of Ingrid Mida, unless otherwise noted. The copying of posts, images and/or text without proper attribution is violation of copyright and legal action will be pursued.

Scenes from the Preview of The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier

MMFA, The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier
Photo by Ingrid MIda 2011

JPG Smart Car
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Press waiting to preview the JPG exhibition
Photo by Ingrid Mida

As I waited outside yesterday at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts to enter the press preview of The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier, I was feeling a bit jaded. Although it has been said that "fashion is for everybody", sometimes that world can be a bit insular. And while my niche in writing about art and fashion is a unique one, it still requires me to have a thick skin.

Red carpet shoes
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Luckily it was not long before my spirits were lifted. At the press conference, Nathalie Bondil, director and chief curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts talked about her vision for the exhibition of Jean Paul Gaultier's work. She saw beyond the provocative and humourous aspects of his work, identifying him as a contemporary artist with an important but subtle message about the dictates of beauty, where "everyone can wear his fashions regardless of size, age, gender, or sexual identity". She thought that this was something society needed to hear and initiated the exhibition which was funded by the museum, (an important distinction in my mind compared to marketing oriented exhibitions funded by the fashion house). Although Ms. Bondil described herself as "not a fashion person", she is both beautiful in looks and spirit. When one well known fashion diva walked in twenty minutes late to the conference and started up the self-serve espresso machine, Ms. Bondil laughed and said "Je me recommence" (I start again). And at the end of the day, I had a one-on-one half hour interview for Fashion Projects with Ms. Bondil and she was as articulate, gracious and fresh as if it was her first interview.

Nathalie Bondil, JPG, and Thierry Maxime Loroit
Photo courtesy of the MMFA

Jean Paul Gaultier being interviewed for TV in the Skin Deep Gallery
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

Jean Paul Gaultier laughed often and was both humble and sweet. He said "I am no longer l'enfant terrible. I am just the old terrible."  He worked hard to convey his message that "there is not only one type of beauty".   I'm not sure how many other journalists appreciated his humanist approach to fashion, but it was refreshing to hear it spoken.

On the steps of the MMFA
Photo by Ingrid Mida 2011

I have so much more to share about The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier and will follow up in upcoming posts with links to my review and interview for Fashion Projects as well as photos and video clips.

This exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts opens to the public on Friday, June 17, 2011 and runs until October 2, 2011. It will later travel to Dallas, San Francisco, Madrid and the Netherlands.