Berlin
New show at the Friedrichstadt-Palast: Costumes by Gaultier
The fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier presents costumes for the new show in Berlin’s Friedrichstadt-Palast. photo
© Jens Kalaene/dpa
In just under a week, the most expensive production to date will celebrate its premiere in the house on Friedrichstrasse. On board: the French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier. “I’m very excited,” he says.
Artists dance at lofty heights in a kind of crystal-shaped cage, wearing tights Latex-look costumes: In just under a week, the new show “Falling | In Love” will celebrate its premiere on October 11th in Berlin’s Friedrichstadt-Palast.
“I’m very excited,” said French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier to the German Press Agency at a press event in Berlin. Gaultier helped develop the show.
It is already finished, but perhaps there will still be small improvements, said the 71-year-old. According to the theater, the play has a production budget of almost 14 million euros – making it the most expensive production to date at the house on Friedrichstrasse. “This time we have 100 million Swarovski crystals on stage,” said artistic director Berndt Schmidt. These were incorporated into the stage design and costumes.
Gaultier as visual design director
The Friedrichstadt-Palast is known for its glittering revues. Gaultier took on the role of visual design director – meaning he was responsible, along with others, for costume and set design. The designer had already designed the costumes for the show “The One” in 2016.
The new show will tell about a character named You. In her search for love, You is rejected and just wants to sink into the ground. “The gray asphalt of civilization crumbles beneath his feet,” it was said. You fall into another reality and see in the hidden garden of love what he has never seen before. The story is inspired by the poem “The Garden of Love” by the Englishman William Blake (1757-1827).
During his journey, the protagonist, who is alternately played by two deaf actors, gets to know different worlds. “It’s about colors, different types of colors. Each living environment will have its own symbolically color,” said Gaultier about the idea behind his costumes. “Falling in Love” has been showing in previews since September 21st.