Jean Paul Gaultier Confirms Ludovic de Saint Sernin as Next Guest Couturier

by · WWD
Jean Paul Gaultier and Ludovic de Saint Sernin.ADAM PETER JOHNSON

PARIS – Jean Paul Gaultier said Monday that Ludovic de Saint Sernin would create a one-off couture collection for the Puig-owned fashion house next January.

This confirms a WWD report on Sept. 9 that the Paris-based designer, whose signatures include low-slung pants with corset lacing in lieu of a front zipper, was approached about the project.

De Saint Sernin becomes the eighth guest couturier at Gaultier after Nicolas Di Felice, Simone Rocha, Rabanne’s Julien Dossena, Haider Ackermann, Olivier Rousteing of Balmain, Diesel’s Glenn Martens, and Sacai’s Chitose Abe.

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Following his retirement from the runway in 2020, Gaultier came up with the idea of the couture house inviting different designers to interpret his vast and eclectic oeuvre, achieved over a career spanning 50 years.

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It’s quickly become a highlight of couture week — and has further fueled interest in Gaultier’s numerous contributions to fashion and pop culture.

De Saint Sernin certainly shares Gaultier’s pioneering penchant for free expressions of sexuality of all kinds, body positivity, gender fluidity and inclusivity. (Gaultier first put men in skirts back in 1984.)

Ludovic De Saint Sernin Fall 2024 Ready-to-Wear Collection at New York Fashion Week.Giovanni Giannoni/WWD

Born in Brussels and raised in Paris, de Saint Sernin graduated from the École Supérieure des Arts Appliqués Duperré in Paris, where he studied womenswear. After cutting his teeth at Dior and Balmain, he launched his eponymous label in 2017.

It started out “initially quite queer, gay, sex positive, and that’s amazing, it’s my core fan base,” he told WWD in a 2021 interview.

Among his signature pieces is a pair of eyelet-studded, laced-crotch briefs that has established a new category of luxury underwear for men. For his spring 2022 lineup, his first showing during women’s fashion week, de Saint Sernin presented as much menswear as womenswear, and on models of various genders. 

The one-off collection for Jean Paul Gaultier is expected to be unveiled during the next Paris Couture Week, scheduled for Jan. 27 to 30.