Jean Paul Gaultier Showroom
Gaultier's fishnet trench
Chain-gang Chic
X really does mark the spot at Jean Paul Gaultier, and after Saturday's X-rated, XXX 'xtravaganza of an 'xhibition (yes, I am aware that is at least one witless pun too many) I was interested how the clothes looked close-up and personal. The quality was, of course, impeccable - bands of organza and velvet seemed to be worked seamlessly into tight little crepe dresses, while the angular shoulders of Gaultier's signature tailored jackets were created by a band of material running up the back of the arm, folding over at the sleeve-head and tucking neatly into the armhole like origami. The nicest details of all, I thought, were the slits in narrow velvet and wool skirts, adjusted by means of concealed zips to reveal as little (or as much) as the wearer desired. X's were worked into everything, from darting insertions across the hearts of strict closed-neck day dresses, to transfer prints on jacket linings, to the triple-X superimposition of crossed belt-buckle, hatched applique and X-shaped folding on a taffeta dance frock. My favourite piece, however, was slightly less low-key: the ultimate heavy-metal biker jacket rendered in black chain-mail, edged in silver loops and studded with seriously tough-duty silver spikes. Perfect for the couture punk in us all.