Deemed as the pinnacle of runway shows, Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fall/Winter 1995 collection has left a lasting impression on fashion for 25 years. Known officially as “Horsewomen and Amazones of Modern Time,” the “Cyber” collection combined creative freedom with eclectic visions of the future to create a world that superseded our own. Gaultier was one of the first designers to grasp the importance of technology. At the time, Gaultier had been working on costume design for the 5th Element, a film that takes place in the 23rd century of New York. To no surprise, he would adapt this futuristic dystopian for his use. Models were seen walking the runway in garments embroidered to mirror computer chips, jumpsuits, inspired by the work of Uta Cirelli, patterned with exuberant colored dots and shaped to fit the body, and shawls that looked like they could have been pulled out of Mad Max. Factors of architecture also made their way to this cyber couture. Breast plated armor, which looked like football padding, embellished with beads that lit up, was verdigris and based on an opera’s roof. There was a particular fluidity of time behind Gaultier’s designs for this collection. Though, for the most part, taking place in the future, Gaultier’s designs would integrate aspects of 12th century Greece, then use back zips from 19th-century dresses, and arrive in the future all at once. To Gaultier, there was a certain sense of humor behind traveling in time. He’s able to play with tradition because he knows the tradition and knows the craft behind the tradition, which makes his message all the more potent.

Written by Leonardo Hurtado