Jean Paul Gaultier Offends with Amy Winehouse Fashion Show
Fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier sent a bunch of Amy Winehouse lookalikes down a runway in Paris Fashion Week on Wednesday – and Amy’s dad Mitch Winehouse was none too pleased. “The family was upset to see those pictures,” Mitch Winehouse told The Sun. “We’re still grieving for her loss, and we’ve had a difficult week with the six-month anniversary of Amy’s death.”
He added: “It portrays a view of Amy when she was not at her best, and glamorizes some of the more upsetting times in her life.” (The models held cigarettes, for one.)
Gaultier disagrees that the show was offensive; “She was an icon of fashion and truly, the sense of how she mixed the clothes — it was great,” he said. “It is very joyous.”
Gaultier is no stranger to controversy; he defended John Galliano last year when Galliano went on a pro-Hitler rant and was fired by Dior.
Do you think the fashion show was in bad taste? Perhaps it took place too oon after Amy’s death – but the intention here is clearly not to mock or offend. (The NY Daily News reports that a barbershop quartet even sang Amy’s songs during the show.) The models look cool and edgy, showing off the retro style Amy was known for.
Amy’s dad was also upset that Gaultier used Amy for inspiration but did not even offer to make a donation to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which helps youth battling substance abuse in the U.K. We agree he could have made a donation!
