Two of fashion’s most provocative personalities are teaming up. Today, former Gossip frontwoman Beth Ditto and legendary fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier herald the launch of a ‘corset tee’, a tongue-in-cheek replica of Madonna’s corset from the singer’s 1990 Blonde Ambition tour. The oversize dress-length t-shirt is available to buy from Ditto’s website with a portion of proceeds going to benefit Girls Rock Camp Foundation, a charity which helps girls develop life skills, creative expression and collaboration.
The garment is part of a wider plus-size clothing line that the singer is launching, which is inspired by her “love of vintage” – we’re told to “expect silks, custom prints, embroidery and Beth’s first-hand understanding of fit”. This collection stems from Ditto’s desire to create clothes for women who share her body size. “This line is by us, for us, period,” she says, “It’s my lifelong dream to get to design real clothes for big people, clothes that are comfortable and cool!”
However this t-shirt isn’t the first time Ditto and Gaultier have collaborated. At Paris Fashion Week in October 2010, the singer opened the designer’s SS11 show in a laser-cut silver ribbon dress and closed it in rose-appliquéd corset with a performance of “River Deep, Mountain High” sung a cappella. This collaboration is founded, more than anything else, on mutual love. “Jean Paul is the most generous, positive person,” says Ditto. “He truly loves women of all sizes and ages and knows how to make everyone feel gorgeous.” This sentiment is reciprocated by Gaultier who says, “Big girls are beautiful and Beth is super beautiful! Long live the beauty with shapes, boobs and bottoms. This is a new concept, a loose fit corset. And Beth fits it perfectly.”
Earlier this year, Ditto made another foray into fashion by making a surprise appearance at New York Fashion Week in September, walking in Marc Jacobs’ SS16 show in a silk cady dress. “It was a factory of madness!” she said in an interview for the Winter 2015 issue of Dazed, “There was so much going on. Have you seen The Muppets Take Manhattan? It was sort of like watching that unfold.” For the issue, Ditto was shot by Jeff Bark wearing – among other garments – custom-made pieces by emerging designers Ryan Lo and Claire Barrow.
The Beth Ditto ♥ Jean Paul Gaultier shirt is available exclusively at www.bethditto.com and her line is out in February, 2016.
