Medium: Antique Chinese silk, bugle beeds, seed beads, stones, brown suede, and leather

Date: Fall 2001

Country: France

Credit: Museum purchase

Even the most dissident of Jean Paul Gaultier's designs are meticulously constructed, and his mastery of technique shifted flawlessly from ready-to-wear to couture. Designs such as this one, from an early couture collection, showcase his interest in Chinese fashion. Here, high-waisted suede trousers are paired with a converted vintage qi pao. Beaded and reconstructed to transform into a bodysuit, the qi pao exemplifies Gaultier's career-long interest in recycling cast-off garments, a technique he attributes to his early work with Pierre Cardin

Object Number: 2005.68.2