From the uniform of the masses to the dreamlike fashions showcased in his runway shows, Jean Paul Gaultier remains convinced that fashion will always have a special place in our lives: “It’s about a need for visual recognition, staking a claim.”

But the couturier refuses to be defined as either political or provocative. A man of conviction, he sees himself more as a revolutionary, systematically calling into question clichés, standards, codes, conventions and traditions.

He turns, shifts and flips them around - even destroys them - in his bid to reinvent them.