Ludovic de Saint Sernin Is Jean Paul Gaultier's Next Guest Designer
Following the likes of Nicolas Di Felice, Simone Rocha, Haider Ackermann, Olivier Rousteing, Glenn Martens and more.
Ludovic de Saint Sernin has officially been named Jean Paul Gaultier’s next guest designer. The Paris-based fashioner will become the latest name to create a one-off couture collection for the Puig-owned label during Paris Couture Week in January of next year.
The news comes after WWD reported on rumors that de Saint Sernin, known for his sensual styles and provocative cuts, was approached about designing a collection for Gaultier. Now that the collaboration is official, de Saint Sernin will become the eighth guest designer for Gaultier, following Nicolas Di Felice, Simone Rocha, Rabanne’s Julien Dossena, Haider Ackermann, Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing, Diesel’s Glenn Martens, and sacai’s Chitose Abe.
Notably, Gaultier has invited a high-profile designer into his atelier each season since his retirement from the runway in 2020. Their goal is to reimagine his expansive archive, one that he built over a 50-year career, while implementing notes of their own design codes into his universe.
De Saint Sernin is an ideal candidate for the job. The Brussels-born, Paris-raised designer, who graduated from Paris’ École Supérieure des Arts Appliqués Duperré and previously worked for Dior and Balmain, boasts an affinity for gender fluidity and sexual expression akin to that of Gaultier. De Saint Sernin’s Fall 2024 collection, for instance, included myriad skin-revealing cuts, chainmail details and BDSM-like leather harnesses decorated with Robert Mapplethorpe’s work.
De Saint Sernin’s Jean Paul Gaultier collection will debut during the next Paris Couture Week, which is presently scheduled to take place from January 27 to 30.
