From Madonna To Arielle Dombasle, These Are The Muses Of Jean-Paul Gaultier

We owe it to Jean-Paul Gaultier for the makeover of the celebrated accordionist Yvette Horner. Muse of his early years, she represented everything that the designer loved - she was out of the ordinary.

The French actress and singer is a longtime friend of Gaultier, having made frequent appearances on his runways. 

There is perhaps no Madonna outfit more iconic than the conical-breasted bustier she wore in 1990. Gaultier designed the costumes for her Blond Ambition World Tour, launching himself and the music legend into pop culture history. In a previous interview, the designer even confessed to having asked Madonna for her hand in marriage three times. Despite her refusals, the two iconoclasts have remained close friends, with Gaultier creating more memorable looks for Madonna, including her 2018 Met Gala gown. 

The Spanish actress has walked in Gaultier's shows for over 20 years, and even briefly guest-starred in his Fashion Freak Show, a remarkable retrospective on the designer's wild life. She has also fronted several of his perfume campaigns. We can't decide which of their many collaborations is the most extreme, but one thing is certain, the duo are inseparable. 

Another talented and longtime muse of Gaultier, the singer-songwriter rarely makes public appearances, but broke the rules for the designer's final Haute Couture show just a few days ago. 

Born to strict immigrant parents in Lyon, Farida Khelfa fled to Paris at the tender age of 16 to start a new life. It was Jean-Paul Gaultier who first featured her in one of his shows, and for many years she has been one of the most emblematic figures of the house. Like Farmer, Khelfa returned to the runway for Gaultier's last show earlier this week. 

Singer, lyricist, painter, TV presenter, actress, model, friend of Salvador Dalí... Amanda Lear's CV is as multi-dimensional and complex as her character. She seems to have done anything and everything, and can boast of having been, amongst her thousand and one lives, one of the muses of Jean-Paul Gaultier. She reignited her modelling career to appear on the designer's runway in 2012, and is often spotted on his arm as a guest at events. 

The model has been a constant presence in Gaultier's circle since the 1980s, and together the duo have broken many gender boundaries, embracing androgyny and gender fluidity long before such issues became hot topics. 

Another icon who greatly embraced androgyny, David Bowie directly inspired this one-legged jumpsuit look in Gaultier's Spring/Summer 2013 collection, and the designer once commented of the star, "He was demonstrating that a man could be powerfully feminine, he didn't have to aspire to be John Wayne". 

The 2014 Eurovision winner was recruited by Gaultier to close his Fall/Winter 2014 collection, again demonstrating the designer's fearlessness in pushing boundaries, and since then the pair have attended several AIDS benefits together in support of a mutual cause. 

The multi-hyphenate and former French first lady has modelled for Gaultier several times, including this show-stopping look for Haute Couture 2002. She is a fixture in his front row, and also interviewed the designer about his career in a documentary on his career. 

The burlesque star very well embodies the sensual side to Gaultier's creations, appearing on his catwalk for Spring/Summer 2019, and also in his Fashion Freak Show.