Gaultier snares his exotic birds in cages

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

PARIS (AFP) — Jean-Paul Gaultier's exotic birds of paradise all came complete with their cages at his couture show for next autumn-winter on Wednesday.

Whether in slinky second-skin satin sheaths slit tantalisingly to the thigh or shrugged into a luxurious fur jacket like a wolf pelt, the cage provided an outer protective layer between the garment and the outside world.

Gaultier offered it as the new accessory to supplant brag bags and jewellery and designed to complement the outfit: in metal or leather, satin-covered guipure as elaborate as wrought iron gates or adorned with feathers.

"Twenty years ago I was already doing corsets like cages," the designer reminisced after the show which was rapturously received, not least by the singer Janet Jackson....