Excited about the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition, The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From Sidewalk to Catwalk, that’s about to open at The Barbican? Of course you are, and thanks to MATCHESFASHION.COM’s collaboration with Vintage King Cameron Silver, founder of cult LA boutique, Decades, you can get your hands on a piece of archive Gaultier too. ‘I wanted to do something with our Gaultier collection that I’ve accumulated over the past few years’, the fashion forager, who counts Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts and Dita Von Teese as loyal customers, told us during the Decades pop-up’s launch event at Matches’s Marylebone High Street shop on Monday. 

It was US Vogue’s Sarah Mower that got the ball rolling on the collaboration, which sees 85 dresses, corsets and other JPG classics from throughout his career, on display and available to buy from £187-£3000 at the luxury boutique during the exhibition. ‘Sarah put me in touch with Matches and five minutes later it was happening’ Silver said, and then ‘one of the head buyers from Matches came over to LA and we curated my collection based on what would look best in the boutique with what’s in store now’.

Such is the enduring quality of Gaultier’s designs, the vintage pieces don’t look out of place alongside the spring 2014 collections on display. ‘I think that his DNA is very clear. You get that it’s Gaultier’ Silver says of the designer’s ability to stand the test of time. ‘You can’t go wrong with a tailored jacket or a beautiful trench, or something with corsetry or a kilt. These are the perennials in fashion that he just twists a little bit’.

Having accumulated an enviable stash of Gaultier over the years, Silver must want to keep some of it for himself. ‘The men’s sequin suit that’s in the window - I had to wear before it came here’, he laughs. 'I said if it doesn’t sell it’s coming back with me and going in my closet!’.

Shop and see the Decades Jean Paul Gaultier pop-up and MATCHESFASHION.COM’s Marylebone High Street boutique and check out their online installations from 2nd April, and see The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From Sidewalk to Catwalk at The Barbican from 9th April – 25th August.