By Sarah Skubala
When Jean Paul Gaultier was four years old, he asked his parents for a doll, and they gave him a bear instead. Several years later, he watched a televised revue at Paris’ iconic Folies Bergère with his grandmother Marie. The next day he took the feathers out of his mother’s duster and went to work on the bear, his first muse, eventually adding makeup and a cone-shaped bra made of paper.
The elements of Jean Paul’s life are lovingly and fabulously celebrated in Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show, a childhood dream come true for Gaultier, first performed in 2018 at the Folies Bergère. It’s a spectacular revue that fuses fashion, cabaret and dance in an homage to beauty in all its forms. The show was touring in Osaka when Artistic Director Louise Bezzina saw it and decided to bring it to Australia as the headliner for this year’s Brisbane Festival.
Featuring two hundred of Gaultier’s designs, it’s a fashion extravaganza set to a soundtrack of party hits arranged by Chic’s Nile Rodgers (‘Le Freak’ is one of the opening songs). Everything about this show is larger than life, and the Southbank Piazza was the ultimate venue to house the grand spectacle. Giant screens across the back of the stage complemented the live action so well that at times it was hard to know what to look at!
Gaultier and the team assembled a dynamic cast of nineteen international performers who wowed on stage with fearless performances as an ensemble, particularly in Eurthymics’ ‘Sweet Dreams’ segment and the grand finale on the platform staircase. Choreography was by Marion Motin, a former dancer for Madonna, and there were two Australians in the cast including Cooper Terry whose energetic presence drew the eye every time he was on stage, and Katie Baring-Gould who performed a dazzling aerial act. Other notable performers included Max Cookward playing a young Jean Paul Gaultier. Their solo dance to ‘Smalltown Boy’ by Bronski Beat was particularly mesmerising. Lea Vlamos and Verity Wright performed while they were conjoined via their long, plaited hair and stringy silken corsets, a technically impressive feat.
An absolute highlight was the catwalk segments, especially in Act Two. Clever video designs by Justin Nardella and Renaud Rubiano saw Catherine Deneuve on screen introducing each model as they strutted down the runway both in the flesh and projected up on the screens to the backing music of ‘It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World.’ The scene culminated in vocalist Demi Mondaine, who radiated Lady Gaga vibes, belting out the song while Vlamos performed a strip tease. (This show is rated 15+ for its partial nudity and racy content.) For music enthusiasts, original cast member Mondaine can be heard on the show’s official soundtrack which was released as a double CD in 2019. Other highlights included a vogue-off to Madonna’s ‘Vogue’ (of course), a foray through London’s Punk scene to ‘London Calling’ and the segment where a random audience member was selected to strut the runway to the sounds of Ru Paul’s ‘Supermodel.’
To introduce the finale, the man himself appeared on the big screen in a chat to camera en francais with subtitles, which was a lovely, personalised moment. For those keen for more, there is a documentary about the making of the show called Jean Paul Gaultier: Freak and Chic. It screened on 8th September as part of the Festival, but for those who missed it, it is available to watch on Amazon Prime. There are still a few more chances to catch Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show and lovers of fashion, culture and music should not miss it.
Image: Genevieve Girling
