Ludovic de Saint Sernin Embraces Violent Euphoria for Jean Paul Gaultier SS25 Couture

Turning the Runway into a Land of Gods and Monsters

By Jesse Scott

Ludovic de Saint Sernin has always brought a particular unbridled passion to design. But even for those accustomed to the drama, ferocity, and sex appeal of his shows, his Spring-Summer 2025 narrative for Jean Paul Gaultier was particularly memorable. Passion, sex, and chaos unfolded in a violent Babylonian euphoria. "Flashbacks crackle like crashes of heavenly thunder," the poetic show notes read. "First, arrows, shot by a randy Cupid; blood pulsed from the heart to the loins. Memories of who they were and where they were going melted away, supplanted by burning lust."

This statement, it could be posited, actually understated the delicious depravity of the show as Saint Sernin explained to guests, his inspiration for the collection was an "eclectic band of star-crossed voyagers lost to red-blooded passion on rough open seas." Beautifully uniting the tumultuous energies, iconic characters, and diverse inspirations that have defined both his own brand and the Gaultier house, Saint Sernin unveiled an unfiltered tour de force collection as technically precise as it was titillating.

Mermaids and cupids, sirens and sailors danced together in a hedonistic storm on the runway. Saint Sernin gave each look a name, envisioning a rich backstory for the character that played out in a sumptuous flurry of silk, "crocodile skin," and stilettos.

The first look, entitled Mélusine (a legendary mermaid from northern French fiction), seemed to symbolize the siren call that brought Saint Sernin's ship to its delightful demise (Look 1). Wearing a duchesse satin bodice with sharply structured hips and an organza mermaid skirt armored in tarnished metal netting, the model embodied the seductive danger that has lured seafarers to their deaths throughout centuries of mythology. She was shortly followed by "John Swann," whom Saint Sernin envisioned as "a gay matey setting his sights on the strapping sailor manning the rig." Wearing capri pants and a lethal corseted jacket with nappa leather lacing, he represented some of Gaultier's most iconic narratives given a distinct Saint Sernin sensibility (Look 3). Meanwhile, "Anne Bonny" distilled aristocratic elegance alongside raunchy flair; a cashmere opera cape in rich oak was worn with a sharply cut white "shantung" corset anchored to the bodice with a quasi-transparent silk halter.

Sheer was a key protagonist. "The Net" entangled us in a dark nautical fantasy, with strands of hand-crocheted yarn winding around the body in an alluring cage (Look 12). Meanwhile, "L'Empreinte" envisioned a violent eroticism in mermaid form (Look 11). A nude tulle slip with what Saint Sernin described as "volcanic sand crystal beading" was paired with an evocative "mooring rope" draped around the arms. Woven of silk thread and embossed with an astounding 50,000 brass pearls, the rope exemplified Saint Sernin's tremendous attention to detail and emphasis on exceptional craftsmanship. It was rivaled by the bridal look, La Mariée (Look 29), a fanciful masterpiece combining an exquisitely embroidered ostrich feather écru paneer with a goose-feathered corset, a mermaid skirt, and a silk organza train. Of course, in Saint Sernin's land of gods and monsters, this was no innocent bride-to-be. Instead, she "lifted her veil to touch lips with the ship's captain, their hands off the helm."

Entitled the "Premonition," Look 18 elucidated the denouement of Saint Sernin's fantasy. "Naufrage" (shipwreck) was emblazoned in tubular crin on a halterneck drape of seductive scarlet mousseline paired with a pleated mermaid skirt. "Naufrage" was also the title of the collection. In Saint Sernin's words, "as the chorus of moans rose and fell alongside the mounting waves, a bolt of lightning cracked down the galleon's mast, breaking the vessel apart and flinging a mass of spent bodies to the sea's boiling foam. Even then—bobbing on the open water with mouths full of salt, noses full of smoke—they still believed they were the unfortunate victims of a fate that couldn't have been avoided; that there was nothing they could have done…wasn't there?"

Amidst the debauchery and depravity loomed death. Were Saint Sernin's protagonists victims, willfully blind perpetrators, or both? Does it even matter? And as they sank into the abyss, did they dream of doing it all again? These were just a few of the questions that guests were left to ponder.

To return to Saint Sernin's show notes, the collection had a "pulse that beats that delicious curse of temptation that Eve unlocked when she bit into the apple's flesh." With Saint Sernin holding it, I would gladly bite that apple time and time again, even relishing the delicious destruction to follow. A sweet sweet surrender to all things sensual, Jean Paul Gaultier Spring-Summer 25 saw sartorial sophistication and thematic bacchanalia unite in a sinful marriage. Visionary for the current flashpoint but deeply cognizant of the glories in Gaultier's past, it is a collection that won't soon be forgotten.