An enfant terrible appeared in a new guise on July 6, as designer Olivier Rousteing of Balmain took a one-off shot at a couture collection for the house of Jean Paul Gaultier. Such was the excitement surrounding the event that roads were blocked, tangling traffic in all directions. The show was – what else? – fashionably late. That may have had something to do with Kim Kardashian who arrived tardily with her daughter North West in outfits referencing the 1992 heyday of Madonna and Gaultier, who sat in the front row sipping champagne and laughing almost all the way through. Assuming the classic Gaultier codes – such as structured tailoring, Breton striped nautical tops and the conical bra – Rousteing let his hair down with an infectious and tongue-in-cheek homage to the great man, who retired from couture in 2020 after a 50-year runway career. Who is the richest woman in the world right now? (No, it’s not Kim K) It was all about the quirk. Rousteing took Gaultier’s torso-shaped perfume bottle “Le Male”, which features a metal strap under the nozzle – and turned it into several looks. Garnering applause from the enthusiastic audience, one model strutted forth with a metal choker, striped glass top and tin micro mini. Elsewhere the famed pinstriped men’s tuxedo jacket, with its voluminous proportions, was reimagined beneath a body-shaped corset. There were genuinely touching moments, such as when two models walked together in pregnant conical bra looks in black and flesh, touching their bellies. That was seen as a political statement supporting lesbians having medically assisted reproduction, something the French parliament allowed last year. Beyond homage, this couture was definitely very Rousteing. He fused his personal styles with the Gaultier house codes and many of the looks – flowing capes, caps and layering – echoed ones seen before on the Balmain runway. In purely aesthetic terms, many of the looks veered off into pastiche or costume. Nobody seemed to mind. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kim Kardashian (@kimkardashian) A blond Kardashian and her daughter spurred a whirr of paparazzi snaps while walking up the stone steps of central Paris’ Gaultier HQ dressed in the image of Madonna when she controversially appeared – with exposed breasts – with Jean Paul Gaultier at a 1992 AMFAR fundraiser in Los Angeles, California. Inside Dream Kardashian’s fabulous life, from baby Bentleys to Amazon ads The styling was flawless in Kardashian’s homage, channelling the pinstriped Gaultier dress that at the time spawned headlines around the world. Her version was a touch more tame, with skin-coloured inserts instead of cutaways. Daughter North wore a waistcoat, just like the couturier did as he held hands with his then best friend, for whom he designed several garments including the famous conical bra Madonna wore for her Blond Ambition tour. The Gaultier faithful, such as Spanish actress and muse Rossy De Palma, were out in force to support the effort – alongside a sprinkling of RuPaul’s Drag Race stars , including Symone and Gigi Goode. Want more stories like this? Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .