Jean Paul Gaultier’s Offering
Jean Paul Gaultier’s offering is always a surprising French vision, and we’ll tell you where it was set up this 2023.
Jean Paul Gaultier is a renowned fashion designer, who today is more than recognized for being the majority shareholder of Puig perfumes. Besides creating dresses for singer Madonna in the 1990s, he has designed costumes for many films by directors such as Luc Besson, Pedro Almodóvar, Peter Greenaway, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. He also has a great love for Mexican traditions, particularly for the Day of the Dead.
This love has intensified every year, and since 2019, Paul Gaultier has set up his own Day of the Dead offering. This tribute is a manifestation in which the grandeur of the Mexican popular, traditional, and pre-Hispanic imagery becomes a celebration translated into altars where he has left his unique imprint.
In the past, the offering has been placed at the Frida Kahlo Museum, the Anahuacalli Museum, even on the Paseo de la Reforma, and in 2022 at the Sofitel Mexico City Reforma Hotel, whose facade shone with the characteristic yellow of the season.
But this year, in 2023, his offering was placed at the Museum of Popular Art, and all of us can witness the marigold flowers and the universe of mysticism and the scent of copal and candles generated by Jean Paul Gaultier’s altar. It’s always quite playful to see how a Frenchman appropriates pre-Hispanic aesthetics and characteristics to bring his own offering to life.
Jean Paul Gaultier’s Offering characteristics
What characterizes Paul Gaultier’s offerings on the Day of the Dead is that he places his perfume notes and, above all, his peculiar and distinctive bottles. This year, they designed an alebrije in collaboration with an alebrije workshop led by Benito Fu and Mauricio Mercado.
The monumental alebrije also participated in the Alebrijes Parade that took place on October 21 on Paseo de la Reforma. The offering proposal is faithful to the museum’s style and incorporates pre-Hispanic aesthetic and artistic elements, as well as toys, wax, fiber weaving, and reed sculptures, which are crafted by Mexican artisans participating in this project.
The installation will be at the entrance of the Museum with three floral arches accompanied by artisanal elements. Upon reaching the central courtyard of the Museum, we can see the alebrije designed by Gaultier’s studio, framed by an altar with artisanal elements and brand codes. To complete the installation, on the roof of the courtyard, we see skeletons made of reed accompanied by marigold flowers that enhance the installation.
Jean Paul Gaultier’s Offering
Where: Museum of Popular Art (MAP); Revillagigedo 11, Colonia, Cuauhtémoc.
When: Until November 5, 2023, from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
How much: $60
Sundays: Free admission
