Last week, legendary French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier announced that his upcoming haute couture runway would be his last. Shocked fans and the industry insiders went into a tailspin of disbelief. After 50-years, the 67-year old designer said he would be stepping away after a lifetime of creating and disrupting the fashion industry.
Holding the prestigious final runway slot at Paris Fashion Week, the show featured an astounding 170-pieces and a runway of superstars. Gaultier called the outfits his “first upcycling haute couture collection” and urged all in attendance to recycles their clothing. He said, “Goodbye to the spanking new, hello to the spanking old!”
The audience was packed with stars, models, and celebrity friends and patrons, while the runway was studded with familiar faces like Dita Von Teese, Carlie Kloss, Bella and Gigi Hadid, Canadians Coco Rocha, Winnie Harlow, and Paul Mason.
Mason, better known to the world as Fashion Santa, took to the runway first as part of a mock funeral, with this dramatic gothic look.
Then, to our surprise and delight, as the closing male model! Mason wore vintage-inspired wide-leg denim trousers with armour inspired jewelry and his highly recognizable white beard acted as the finishing touch on Gaultier’s final look.
“Having the opportunity to walk in the final show for such a legendary designer is a dream and an honour,” states Paul Mason. “I’ve always been so inspired by his fearlessness as a man who unapologetically carved a new path for couture. It’s been an incredible journey for the world to bear witness to.”
The moment marked a significant time for Mason, who began his career over 30 years ago and shot to international fame after becoming Fashion Santa and promoting high fashion brands by way of taking selfies for charity, during the holiday season in 2015. Mason credits Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber for being instrumental in his persona becoming a global phenomenon after the two posed for a selfie together in 2015. We interviewed Paul Mason this past winter right after a campaign shoot with Indochino, in the lobby of the now-closed Four Seasons Hotel.
Read more about Canada’s beloved Fashion Santa here!
Author Profile
- Helen Siwak is the founder of EcoLuxLuv Marketing & Communications Inc and publisher of Folio.YVR Luxury Lifestyle Magazine, PORTFOLIOY.YVR Business & Entrepreneurs Magazine, and digital women's lifestyle magazine EcoLuxLifestyle.co. She is a prolific content creator, consultant, and marketing and media strategist within the ecoluxury lifestyle niche. Post-pandemic, she has worked with many small to mid-sized plant-based/vegan brands to build their digital foundations and strategize content creation and business development. Helen is the west coast correspondent to Canada’s top-read industry magazine Retail-Insider, holds a vast freelance portfolio, and consults with many of the world’s luxury heritage brands. Always seeking new opportunities and challenges, you can email her at helen@ecoluxluv.com.
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