Jean-Paul Gaultier (French: [ʒɑ̃ pɔl ɡotje]; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer who, in 1982, founded his eponymous fashion label. From 2003 to 2010 he also served as the creative director at French luxury house Hermès for womenswear. He co-presented the television series Eurotrash with Antoine de Caunes.\n', 'Gaultier grew up in a suburb of Paris. His mother was a clerk and his father an accountant. It was his maternal grandmother, Marie Garage, who introduced him to the world of fashion. He never received formal training as a designer. Instead, he started sending sketches to famous couture stylists at an early age. Pierre Cardin was impressed by his talent and hired him as an assistant in 1970. Afterwards he worked with Jacques Esterel in 1971 and Jean Patou later that year, then returning to manage the Pierre Cardin boutique in Manila for a year in 1974.\n', 'His first individual collection was released in 1976, and his characteristic irreverent style dating from 1981 has led to his being known as the enfant terrible of French fashion. Many of Gaultier\'s subsequent collections have been based on street wear, focusing on popular culture, whereas others, particularly his haute couture collections, are very formal, yet at the same time unusual and playful.\n', '

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