What could be more iconic in fashion that a conical undergarment?
Jean Paul Gaultier and Madonna proved that by making a cone bra the centerpiece of the pop star’s 1990 “Blond Ambition” tour, cuing up a long, unforgettable collaboration built on overt innerwear-as-outerwear fashion statements.
But their shared penchant for provocation reached yet another zenith on Sept. 24, 1992, when the two participated in a benefit event for amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
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Madonna strolled out onto the runway with the famous French designer, ultimately peeling off her black jacket to reveal her bare breasts neatly framed by the leather harness topping the pinstriped dress she wore underneath.
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WWD reported that the singer “was dressed in black with her gold tooth as her only accessory.”
Well, until “the Eccentric One decided to take things over the top for the finale of the 90-minute show.”
“It was like a coming attraction: As everybody’s been reading ad nauseam, Madonna’s boobs are about to go into wide, wide release,” this newspaper reported in a double-page spread under the headline “Hollywood Exposed.”
The gesture drew thunderous applause from the audience of more than 5,000 guests, and the event raised nearly $700,000, illustrating how Gaultier used his platform to raise awareness and funding for a key American charity. He does the same in his native France as ambassador for Sidaction, which also supports the fight against AIDS.
Speaking to Fashion TV, Gaultier described his racy fashion show as “French-y,” but with multiple influences, from Africa, England, Spain and the U.S.
“Everybody is influenced by the States,” he declared. “We are all like that, and I think it’s very good.”
Writer Jackie Collins applauded Madonna’s daring: “She’s really a strong woman and we don’t have enough of them around. She does things her way.”
Other celebrity characters in the fashion spectacle included Raquel Welch, Faye Dunaway, Billy Idol and Dr. Ruth Westheimer in a black latex nurse’s uniform.
Madonna’s breast-baring dress was last displayed at Gaultier’s big retrospective at the Grand Palais in Paris in 2015.
That showing included its precursor: In 1971, the first dress he ever made — for Aïtize Hanson to wear in a modeling contest — inspired her to twirl, ultimately exposing her breasts and foreshadowing Gaultier’s career-long exploration of the female body’s topography.