Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture show kicked off on January 29 with a scream that sent chills through the room. Next came a crew of sensual-looking shipwrecked models wearing structured, lace-up corsets, bodycon-draped gowns with revealing cutouts and one tulle slip dress covered in 50,000 brass pearls. Models twisted and turned through the dark runway at Jean Paul Gaultier’s famous Paris headquarters, each with their own personality.
Just a few days prior, inside Jean Paul Gaultier’s atelier in Paris, de Saint Sernin held up a photo of Disney’s Ariel from The Little Mermaid when she first learns to walk, comparing it to one of the looks he created for the collection—a glammed-up version presented it as a bubble-like draped gown with pleated jersey voile that resembled rope. The theme of the collection? The French word “naufrage,” otherwise known as “shipwreck” in English. De Saint Sernin was particularly inspired by a 1997 Jean Paul Gaultier look in which the model wears a boat on top of her head (and he recreated his own version of it, too).
“I wanted to emulate what I think is one of Jean Paul’s biggest qualities, which is to be a storyteller,” said de Saint Sernin. He is the eighth guest designer to take the helm at Jean Paul Gaultier’s couture line since the designer retired in 2020, and he’s definitely one of the most memorable when it comes to themes. He founded his own namesake line in 2017, and briefly took over as creative director of Ann Demeulemeester for one year in 2023. “For me, it was important to create a collection that is set in a specific universe and tells a very unique and beautiful story that makes you feel like you’re traveling into a new experience.”
De Saint Sernin began by sketching each look from head-to-toe, complete with an outline of each model he had in mind to wear it. “The idea was to tell the story of these incredible icons and muses of Jean Paul and I, the muses that we shared together: the mermaids, the sailors, the pirates. We put them together on this stunning boat,” he says. “And then they get distracted because they’re all falling in love with each other, getting to know each other, hanging out with each other, and stories unfold, storylines get created between them. They lose control of the boat and they all land on the shore. Then they come out onto the runway.”
The Ludovic de Saint Sernin aesthetic can be described as sexy Goth-lite, with plenty of lean silhouettes, eyelets, crystals, corseted silhouettes—a signature Gaultier look. For couture spring 2025, the designer put captain figures in eyelets, plus modern-day little mermaids in white, luscious, voluminous fabrics. New techniques were on view as well, like covering feathers with a special coating to make them appear wet, or decking wool tartan out in crystals. “The movements of the chiffon fabric… that’s all pleated—like movements of waves crashing into each other, which is absolutely insane,” de Saint Sernin says. He also worked with a specialist to get a print of crocodile skin onto latex.
“Each look has its own story,” he added. “There’s a storyboard about who the character is, what they’re wearing, and why they’re wearing it. Sometimes it’s even inspired by history or a tale.” Sernin also referenced in this collection Herb Ritts black-and-white photo of Cindy Crawford wearing a towel, photographed from behind.
Jaws dropped in the front row as naked looks went by—like the burgundy mermaid skirt paired with a top that was made of cursive brass wire to spell out “naufrage,” or the barely there anchor emblem that served as a top for one of the gowns. All the same, the designs, flourishes, and references were very much within de Saint Sernin’s wheelhouse. If you weren’t familiar with his work before, you’ll definitely know it now.
