Butterflies and bombast at Jean Paul Gaultier Couture

OMG. That stands for Oh My Gaultier after today's couture show. Following last season's swipe from reviewers, how did French fashion's enfant terrible-turned-institution make his case?
 
By doing nothing differently. Vindication comes with the fact that his label is currently being celebrated with a global exhibition that lands in London this April, he has a new book coming out, and the technical talent and bombast with which he made his name are still there in spades.
 
Spring 2014 chez Gaultier was overblown and overwhelming. It was brilliant. It thumbed its nose at the tastefully subdued direction couture has taken, but lost none of its wearability for that. There is a core that will always wear Gaultier, after all, and his gift for precise pattern-cutting is of the golden age variety. 
 
Taking butterflies as a motif, the designer reworked their outlines as silhouette, structure and surface adornment. Impeccably sharp and sexy Helmut Newton-esque tailoring had shoulders that echoed wings; mille-feuille ruffled skirts were made from thousands of whispering wing shapes sewn as layers to give immense volume; and beading bristled as butterfly shapes were picked out on blouse and gowns with pagoda hips and bow-shaped shoulders, or used as decorative pins to hold chrysalis-esque strands of pearls in place on a sheer tulle floor-length gown.
 
The criticism levelled at Gaultier over the years has been that he hasn't followed trends. It's true, there's no ascetic feminine minimalism to be had here. You might not even call it chic, delighting as he does in being beautifully brash (Dita vin Teese walked in a turquoise butterfly corset, while the bride exit had a feather Mohawk). 
 
But Jean Paul Gaultier ploughs his own furrow, and does very well on it. And he does it with such glee and technical wizardry, such attention to detail and craftsmanship, that it is no use faulting him. Not when a show is as enjoyable as this. 
 
Click the gallery to see every look from the Jean Paul Gaultier spring 2014 couture collection.