On April 15, Jean Paul Gaultier officially announced the appointment of Duran Lantink as the house’s new permanent creative director. Following the retirement of founder Jean Paul Gaultier in 2020, the brand had adopted a guest designer format for nearly five years, making this return to a fixed creative leadership a significant milestone in the maison’s evolution.
Born in the Netherlands, Lantink first gained attention in 2018 for designing the now-iconic “vagina pants” for Janelle Monáe. His talent has been widely recognized through a series of prestigious awards, including the ANDAM Special Prize in 2023, the Karl Lagerfeld Prize at the LVMH Awards in 2024, and the Woolmark Prize in 2025, positioning him as a designer of both substance and rising influence.
Lantink’s debut ready-to-wear collection for Jean Paul Gaultier is set to be unveiled during Paris Fashion Week in September 2025, marking the brand’s first RTW show in approximately a decade. His haute couture debut will follow in January 2026.
Commenting on the appointment, Jean Paul Gaultier stated: “I see in him the energy, audacity and playful spirit through fashion that I had at the beginning of my own journey: the new enfant terrible of fashion.”
Lantink also shared his excitement on Instagram, posting a personal reflection alongside a childhood photo:
“This photo was taken of me as an 11year old kid ice skating in my hometown, wearing my very first @jeanpaulgaultier piece, totally obsessed and having no clue I’d end up leading the house one day!
I’m grateful, proud, and incredibly lucky to be trusted with the role of permanent Creative Director at Jean Paul Gaultier. Thank you to everyone who believed in my team and me from the very beginning. Your support has meant everything.
A special thank you to the JPG family for giving me this big opportunity.
I’m excited and ready to begin this new chapter. ❤️”
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At the same time, Lantink announced that he will temporarily put his eponymous brand on hold following his appointment. This decision comes in light of the significant responsibility of overseeing both ready-to-wear and haute couture, allowing him to fully dedicate himself to honoring the couture legacy built by Jean Paul Gaultier and to engage sincerely with the craftsmanship of the maison’s skilled atelier team.
Since suspending its RTW line in 2014, Jean Paul Gaultier had focused exclusively on haute couture. After the founder’s retirement, the house invited a series of high-profile guest designers to interpret the brand’s DNA on the couture stage — including Chitose Abe, Glenn Martens, Olivier Rousteing, Simone Rocha, and most recently, Ludovic de Saint Sernin. In June 2024, Nicolas Di Felice was tapped as the guest couturier for the Autumn/Winter 2024 couture collection.
In parallel, the brand has introduced capsule collaborations with creatives like Lotta Volkova and Shayne Oliver, contributing to its slow and steady reintegration into the broader fashion landscape.
Today, Jean Paul Gaultier’s RTW business has been revitalized through key retail partnerships with Mytheresa, Saks, Nordstrom, and its own e-commerce platform — now boasting a wholesale network of approximately 100 global stockists.
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