Cross-Continental Collaboration – Jean Paul Gaultier x Grace Lillian Lee

In June 2023, Brisbane Festival Artistic Director Louise Bezzina visited Osaka to witness Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fashion Freak Show. Describing the experience, Bezzina said, “There was something so special about it, it’s irresistible. Gaultier is a true original and an incredible influence for generations and seeing the couture and the designs called for the merging of global and local art.

“The collaboration is rare and beautiful, a fusion of Indigenous artistry with high fashion. This Australian premiere event will help spark broader cultural dialogues, promote cross-cultural understanding, and shine a spotlight on Australia’s incredible Indigenous design and visual arts.”

Jean Paul Gaultier spoke with Australian Financial Review – Life & Leisure, “When I saw her work I thought, it’s a corset!” Gaultier said. “It made me very emotional.” Although he has always insisted that fashion is not art, he considers Lee’s work a rare exception “What she is doing, it is art. It is like Iris van Herpen. She is an artist. She does not use plaster, she uses fabric. But it’s the same as art.”

Grace is one of Australia’s leading Indigenous artists and fashion designers. The multicultural artist is known for her contemporary interpretations of traditional weaving and her groundbreaking collaborations with Indigenous communities that create platforms for cultural expression and celebration through fashion. Grace was invited to collaborate directly with Jean Paul Gaultier in Paris earlier this year to exchange knowledge, designs, and inspirations. This collaboration is set to further propel Grace’s practice, build her growing international profile and expose the world to the knowledge and beauty of Australia’s First Nations artists.

“The opportunity to meet with and collaborate with Jean Paul Gaultier has been the most surreal and exciting opportunity of my career so far, when I was told the news I was speechless and emotional, it still seems surreal to me. Because I’m working with THE Jean Paul Gaultier, I wanted to make this piece unforgettable, which he has allowed me the freedom to do, which was both liberating but also daunting."  

“When I met Jean Paul in Paris at the start of this collab, he told me to create what I wanted. He didn’t want to give me too much direction because he appreciates that as an artist sometimes the best outcome comes from just being guided by freedom.” The newly developed couture piece draws on Grace’s signature weaved style, which bears similarities to the traditional corset often referenced by Jean Paul, and further develops Grace’s practice through the use of acrylic finishes and French fabrics. 

The resulting piece is unique, innovative, and visually stunning. “The piece I’ve created to be a part of the Fashion Freak Show has gone through many iterations, across a wide scope of inspirations, but the final piece that you’ll see in this show, I’m very proud of. I believe I have balanced my signature weave style with the new direction I am exploring, using acrylic to help me portray my vision. “For years people would tell me my weaves looked like snakes, and I didn’t like this. 

For this piece, I have fully embraced the ‘snake’ feel of the weave and have drawn inspiration from how I perceive Medusa. Medusa has many meanings to many people, but to me I wanted to portray her through my work as a woman of strength, embracing the snakes that she is famously known for and embodied femininity. “Jean Paul suggested I could reference the traditional corset, imperiali satiné duchesse in saumon so while I was in Paris I sourced the fabric from the famed Marché Saint-Pierre in Montmartre. 

This is my way of paying tribute to Jean Paul and his incredible legacy as well as the ongoing legacy he is leaving providing these opportunities to artists like me.” More of Grace Lillian Lee’s work is on display as part of Brisbane Festival. Featuring eight ethereal Shields and Armours, each evoking Grace’s totem, Koysemer (moth), The Dream Weaver: Guardians of Grace is a homage to lineage. From the symbolism of the Koysemer to her Chinese name, Yuklan (Jade Orchard), each piece details her story, including lace patterns from her namesake’s blouse, weaving a narrative that transcends time.