In Jean Paul Gaultier’s Animated World, a Moth Flies Into Fashion’s Bright Lights

WINGS OF DESIRE: If a rat can become an acclaimed chef in Paris, as was the case in “Ratatouille,” can a moth break into the fashion industry?

The world will find out when a new animated feature film, with Jean Paul Gaultier as its artistic director, is released in 2027.

The untitled project was teased last week at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival along with sketches of some characters, one inspired by Spanish actress Rossy de Palma, and another dressed in Gaultier’s signature sailor stripes.

Couture seamstresses known as “petites mains” figure as characters, with insects cast as villains — the “moth busters” — according to press materials shared by Franco-Belgian studio nWave.

An animated Madonna is also set to make a cameo appearance in a fashion show scene wearing some of the iconic Gaultier outfits she wore on tour.

“Jean Paul brings us funny anecdotes and ideas that are perfectly suited to animation,” said nWave president Matthieu Zeller, explaining that Gaultier’s “free, whimsical, nonserious outlook” lends itself perfectly to mainstream animation.

He brings “an unparalleled depth of visual and conceptual ideas, coupled with a cinematic approach to fashion that is both captivating and accessible,” Zeller added.

The film, in the early stages of production, is billed as a blend of fashion, action and comedy.

WWD broke the news last February that Gaultier, who retired from the runway in 2020, had been tapped for the film project. “Animation allows for boundless creativity, where the impossible can come to life,” he said. “I immediately connected with the script, which echoes my lifelong dedication to celebrating diverse forms of beauty.”

The screenplay, by writers Emilie Frèche and Amanda Sthers, sees a young moth, an aspiring fashionista, escape her dreary life working in a provincial thrift store. “She is quite desperate because she only has dirty moths around her who eat old sweaters all day long,” Frèche explained. “One day a young stylist comes through the door, and she will leave with her and live incredible adventures in Paris.”

NWave Studios has created digital animation for 30 years and is behind such films as “The Queen’s Corgi,” “Bigfoot Family” and “The Inseparables.”