It was at the grand rex in paris that jean-paul gaultier chose to present his final ready to wear collection. a highly anticipated show, which all the international press came to bid their farewells, to his talent and the 38 years of his work. the chosen theme was: the election of miss jean-paul gaultier! evidently miss france as well as miss weather girl, miss fashion editors, miss tour de france, and even miss tuxedo were part of the show. a show, yes, but with fashion that is always creative, inventive, with all the jpg basics presented like the “marinière”, the corset, the biker jackets or the tuxedo… not forgetting to mention, all ages of women parading the catwalk at rex. ex-model and ex miss, they all exuded the jpg essence. the couturier will still do fashion shows but only for haute couture. interview: jean-paul gaultier: the shows are alive and mean life, the clothes are not hanged, but they are worn by beautiful models, and muses that move! i really realized my dream, so i’m really lucky, i’m not complaining, on the contrast, i’m extremely happy. i’m very happy, happy because i’ve been doing my prêt a porter line for 38 years! and i’d like to say that i’ve met so many amazing people, had so many wonderful moments, discovered new things, so much enthusiasm, some scary moments but always with adrenaline, creativity, and freedom, which is the most important. catherine deneuve : he succeeded to create a magical play, always an extraordinary show, full of fantasies and funny things and of course incredible clothes. rick owens: and i’m thrilled, i mean he was such an influence on our generation, he’s one of the cultural icons of our generation, and i’m thrilled, he’s making another radical move, he’s eliminating the cake and he’s only focusing on the icing, i love that. suzy menkes: it’s important to realise that we’re not just celebrating tonight, but we should celebrate jean-paul for everything he has done for fashion, and for society through his clothes, throughout his life, and so he’s more than a designer, he’s creative in all senses. jean-paul gaultier: let’s leave it to the young ! look, i’m 62 and without a doubt the young can continue and it’s already happening, a lot of them are already doing interesting things and i’m going to concentrate on new adventures and continue my couture line, amongst other things. music from the show