Born in Acueil, a self-contained, working class suburb of Paris in 1952, of a bookkeeper farther and secretary mother John Paul Gaultier was an only child. In the 1960 as a teenager John Paul was obsessed with fashion especially the costumes from Moulin Rouge and often pretended to be ill to stay off school, draw and have gay fantasies of men wearing feminine clothes. During this time Jean Paul Gaultier began detailed drawings of whole collections including accessories taking inspiration from Yves Saint Laurens and Christian Dior, and after designing clothes for his mother, he sent off his designs to fashion houses around Paris.
At the age of 18 years although still at school Jean Paul Gaultier went to work for Pierre