Jean-Paul Gaultier became fascinated by fashion early in his youth. He missed school repetitively to spend time at his grandma’s house listening to the gossip of ladies and drawing fantasy fashion collections. His grandma,a tarot card reader and hairdresser was to be a key influence in his work and his life.

He started his fashion career in year 1970, working after school at the Pierre Cardin house.After few setbacks, Gaultier was associated with Jacques Esterel and at the house of Patou. He moved to Pierre Cardin in year 1974 and became the organization's representative in The Philippine.

Moving to France in 1975, Gaultier accumulated the funds required to present his first collection with the help of associate and "love of his life," Francis Menuge. His collections drew greatly on the street scenes of Paris and London. They were playful, funky and astonishing, and were met with much critical acclaim.

At last, in year 1997, he got the funding essential to comprehend his life's dream of introducing his own haute fashion design collection. It, too, was extensively acclaimed.

He is a businessman, the artistic force behind his label, and a blatant self-promoter. He is popular for his jaunty trenchcoat, sailor sweater, electronic jewelry, and, of course, the cone-shaped corset made popular by Madonna. His confrontational designs are creative, witty, and sometimes weird, but were always interesting.

The idea of Jean-Paul Gaultier's Summer/spring 2005 collection returned to one of his preferred inspirations; Africa. Animal prints, bold colors and embellished details reappear during the show.