SS96 Jean Paul Gaultier ‘Muscle’ Trompe L’Oeil Suit Jacket

French designer Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring 1996 collection set focus on themes of love, beauty and the expression of one’s body. Titled “Cyberbaba”, the show drew inspiration from both the late 1960s hippie movement and new millennia’s tech-centric attitude. While contrasting in theme, Gaultier unveiled a psychedelic indulgence through space-age design, using trompe l’oeil prints as his daring muse. Skin fitting silhouettes were accentuated by free-flowing bottoms, all of which were plastered with graphics, including his infamous ‘X-ray’ motifs and ‘Safe Sex’ prints. In all, the showing stands as a quintessential work of Gaultier’s career, further proving his borderless abilities.

 

Debuting in the Spring of 1996, this iconic suit jacket sports Gaultier’s ‘muscle’ graphic atop a pinstripe base. Using lines to depict a chiseled abdomen, chest, back, legs and blurred crotch, a feature only found on the suit iteration, the Trompe L’oeil technique is manipulated to create a 3D effect as if the wearer’s is naked. Accented by concealed button closures and a draping cut, slit pockets sit atop the torso in pair with padded shoulders and back pull tab. Tagged a size medium, this piece is in great condition throughout.