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Jean-Paul Gaultier has unveiled first details and images for his upcoming debut animated fiction feature tapping into his collections and experiences in the Paris Fashion world. The images have not been made available to share publicly.
The Untitled Jean-Paul Gaultier Project is being produced by nWaves Studios, the Belgium-based animation production house behind family hits such as Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness and Bigfoot Family.
The project is based on an original idea by writer Emilie Frèche, sparked by her own experiences growing up with parents and extended family members in the fashion industry.
The fairytale-style story revolves around a fashionista young moth who escapes a provincial thrift store run by a retired model called Kiki, and makes her way to Paris with ambitions to pursue a career in haute couture.
“She is quite desperate because she only has dirty moths around her who eat old sweaters all day long,” explained Frèche.
“She dreams of dressing herself and spends her day flipping through old copies of Vogue. One day a young stylist comes through the door, and she will leave with her and live incredible adventures in Paris.”
In the early stages of production, the movie is three years away from completion.
Screenwriter and director Benoît Philippon, best known internationally for 2015 fantasy animation Mune: Guardian of the Moon, is attached to direct. Producer and nWaves president Matthieu Zeller is leading the production.
Gaultier joined Frèche, Zeller and Philippon in a special presentation of the project at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on Thursday.
The designer said the idea had been presented to him out of the blue.
“I was very happy, flattered even… I never expected to be offered such an experience, I’m supposed to be in retirement,” he said.
Philippon said the characters and storyline would tackle themes of diversity and marginalisation dear to Gaultier’s heart.
“Across all my collections, I’ve always shown different physiques, races, colors, hair, ways of walking…Difference isn’t an obstacle. On the contrary, it’s a strength, a quality,” seconded the designer.
This ethos, Philippon said, had nourished the final screenplay and storyline, and the idea of a moth succeeding in the fashion world against the odds.
Zeller unveiled first images for the setting of the thrift store as well as key characters including fashion designer Jean-Paul Vatel (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Gaultier), and the retired model Kiki, who once worked with him many years ago.
The look of Kiki, who is a sort of godmother figure to the moth, has been inspired by long-time Gaultier collaborator, the Spanish actress Rossy de Palma.
Zeller revealed she is down to voice the character, in Spanish, French and English.
The female moth character will find place for herself in Vatel’s studio, when she uses her ability to eat clothes to create a unique new look.
No details were revealed about the name or look of the moth protagonist or who might voice the character.
Philippon revealed that the clothes hanging up in the thrift shop and mannequins in the fashion workshops will also be brought to life.
Further characters will include the so-called “petites mains” (little hands), the name for the seamstresses who work haute couture studios in Paris, as well as a sinister group of insect exterminators, known as the moth busters.
Madonna is also set to make an appearance in a fashion show scene which seven Madonnas walk down the catwalk in different iconic outfits made by Gaultier for the performer across her career.
Zeller said the look of animation is largely inspired by rough sketches by Gaultier as well as works from his past collections and memorabilia from his personal archive.
“We’ve been working closely with Jean-Paul for close to a year. We’ve had a lot of meetings, back and forths about the screenplay, the storyline, the styles, you’re going to see many different styles with different outlines,” he said.
The presentation also revealed 3D mock-ups for scenes in the fashion workshop on the eve of big show. There was also preliminary artwork for different settings in Paris, including the upmarket Avenue Montaigne, which will be home to Jean-Paul Valet’s fashion house, as well as the Place de Concorde.
The latter location will be the backdrop for an extravagant fashion show, which will be “the climax” of the drama.
“Our aim is to make a film that has the 3D nWave signature with incredible special effects but where there will also be simple sketches and lines… we’ll go from the most sophisticated, to the most simplest form of animation,” said Philippon.