The Enfant Terrible Who Put Lingerie on Stage
Jean Paul Gaultier sent his first sketch to Pierre Cardin at the age of seventeen. By thirty-eight, he had created the most recognizable piece of lingerie in modern history.
The Cone Bra
On April 13, 1990, at the opening night of Madonna's Blond Ambition World Tour in Chiba, Japan, the singer appeared in a pink satin corset with dramatically pointed, cone-shaped cups. The audience — and soon the world — was stunned.
The design was Gaultier's. He had been experimenting with corsetry-as-outerwear since 1984, drawing on the exaggerated bullet bras of the 1950s and the punk aesthetic of underwear worn over clothing. But it was Madonna who gave the idea a global stage.
Fashion critic Suzy Menkes wrote: "The burgeoning sexual freedom of women, seeded in the 1960s, culminated in Gaultier's costume design for Madonna's 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour."
The Story Behind the Design
What most people don't know: Gaultier first sketched the cone bra silhouette for a teddy bear. The childhood toy inspired the exaggerated, almost cartoonish geometry that would become his signature.
Underwear as Outerwear
Gaultier didn't just put lingerie on a pop star — he made it high fashion. His runway shows throughout the 1980s and 1990s featured:
- Corsets worn as jackets over business suits
- Bras as evening wear with formal skirts
- Visible garter belts and stockings as part of the outfit, not hidden beneath it
- Male models in corsets and skirts, challenging gendered clothing norms
He was among the first major designers to cast models of different ages, sizes, and ethnicities on his runway — a practice that wouldn't become mainstream for another two decades.
The Legacy
Gaultier retired from ready-to-wear in 2015 and from couture in 2020. But his impact on lingerie is permanent: he proved that intimate garments could be powerful, playful, and public. Before Gaultier, lingerie was something you wore under your clothes. After Gaultier, it was something you could wear instead of them.
"The Jean Paul Gaultier woman is strong. She doesn't need to hide." — Jean Paul Gaultier