Jean Paul Gaultier has announced the next collaborator in its guest designer program: Shayne Oliver.
Oliver, who co-founded Hood By Air in 2006 (he left the brand in 2023 to focus on his creative collective Anonymous Club), has created a collection of ready-to-wear inspired by "utilitarianism, femininity, power and play" for the inimitable French label.
“I didn’t want the collection to be about swag-ifying something high brow," Oliver told Business of Fashion. "It felt more organic for me to critique the things I find important in the modern wardrobe, and amplify that."
The 50-piece collaboration stays true to the aesthetic that first catapulted Oliver into the limelight during his time at Hood By Air. Preliminary images provide glimpses at what appears to be a T-shirt and sheer dress printed with sportswear-inspired logos and warped with exaggerated proportions — garments that meld Oliver's streetwear sensibility and cerebral, conceptual design ethos.
The collection is set to drop on May 6, the same day as the Met Gala. Gaultier and Oliver will reportedly host an after-party that nigh fêting the collab.
In 2020, Gaultier stepped down from designing his house's haute couture collection, instead enlisting a guest designer each season. Past participants have included Saçai's Chitose Abe, Y/Project's Glenn Martens, and most recently, Simone Rocha.
And while Gaultier officially ceased ready-to-wear operations in 2014, collaborators like KNWLS, Jimmy Choo, and Lotta Volkova have unofficially resurrected the business with relatively accessibly-priced collections inspired by JPG's couture shows.
