French cuisine sometimes comes with plenty of sauce. So do their shows, I guess. Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show is very saucy.
How can I sum it up? Well, that only takes three words really … Ooh la la! Big time.
This show is a global hit and we are one of only a handful of countries to get it. That it’s exclusive to Brisbane is thanks to Brisbane Festival artistic director Louise Bezzina, who was looking for something a bit different – and it is that. Different and naughty but also very entertaining.
The show was the Brisbane Festival opener last Friday night and it’s on in the South Bank Piazza until September 15, which gives you plenty of time to see something quite unusual. How to describe it? It’s like the Folies Bergere, Moulin Rouge, Crazy Horse Paris and Paris Fashion Week had a baby and they called it Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show.
It documents Gaultier’s 50-year career and celebrates an audacious and joyful legacy that transcends boundaries and prizes individual expression, paying homage to those who inspired him.
The spotlight is trained on the trailblazing designer’s fearless integration of queer aesthetics, his pioneering androgynous and gender-fluid style and his unwavering commitment to LGBTQIA+ causes, local communities and diverse artistry.
On stage the show emulates a grand party with a pumping playlist, a giant video wall and a runway exuberantly celebrating the diversity of body shapes, ages, races, gender preferences and styles for which Gaultier was famed.
It also features a showstopping couture piece by Queensland Indigenous designer Grace Lillian Lee – the creative powerhouse behind Brisbane’s Festival’s 2021 First Nations Fashion: Walking in Two Worlds, who was handpicked by Gaultier to take part and was there on opening night.
Bezzina introduced Lee’s work to the famed designer when she previewed Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show in Osaka, Japan, in 2023.
Gaultier was struck by Lee’s design aesthetic – which includes body armours and corsetry techniques – and invited her to collaborate with him in Paris in January 2024 on the couture piece which is debuting on stage at the show’s Brisbane season. How cool is that?
Gaultier himself couldn’t make it to Brisbane for his show but he does sign off at the end of it, on the big screens, so we get to see him. Actually, the show itself almost didn’t get here either.
I was wondering why the show was an hour late starting on opening night. It turns out the sets and costumes had only arrived after being held up on a ship transporting them from France. That must have given Bezzina and her team some anxious moments. Still, the audience wasn’t aware of that and the show was seamless. Okay, one dancer did fall over but it was so fleeting that I thought it was part of the show.
The show is pretty racy at times, particularly in the beginning. I’m not going into the details but there are lots of bums and boobs and simulated sex but, hey, it’s French. And isn’t everything better in French. So Frenchy, so chic, right?
The production showcases more than 200 of Gaultier’s original couture pieces, soundtracked to disco, funk, pop, rock, new wave and punk hits that inspired the genre-defying designer. It’s this soundtrack that was a highlight for me.
If you are of a certain age this is the soundtrack of your life … David Bowie, Bronski Beat, Sex Pistols, Madonna, Prince and, of course, Plastic Bertrand. Everyone went crazy when they cranked up Ca plane pour moi. And you can guess the theme song … Le Freak by CHIC.
Bringing Paris to Brisbane in this revue-style production is a cast of actors, dancers and circus artists – alongside film cameos from celebrities and special guests – who embrace and embody sexy, sassy and larger-than-life characters.
There are Australian connections too. This flamboyant production is led by acclaimed director Simon Philips, who serves as the production’s artistic advisor. Joining him is NIDA-trained Australian Justin Nardella, who takes on the roles of set designer and video co-designer. Also, fellow Australian Garry McQuinn is the international lead producer.
The heart of the production is a tender and compelling narrative. We are invited behind the scenes into a world of excess, poetry, freedom, inclusion and magic.
There’s singing with chanteuse Demi Mondaine out front and like everyone else she appears only partially clad at times. I didn’t know where to look.
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I loved the show and I love this venue. The South Bank Piazza is cavernous but it’s also a very relaxed experience, especially if you are in a booth or one of the cabaret tables. Although if you get a table maybe don’t get one too close to the stage/runway because you are bound to see more than you may want to see. Depending on how kinky you are, I guess.
The show is, as I said, risqué and is definitely for 15+. Having said that it’s not offensive. It’s just bloody French … n’est-ce pas?
Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show is on at the South Bank Piazza until September 15.
brisbanefestival.com.au
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