This trench coat gown from Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fall/Winter 2011 Haute Couture collection reimagines the timeless trench through the lens of couture drama. Cut in flowing black mousseline silk, it cascades with cinematic grandeur, the double-breasted front and razor-sharp collar giving way to an open back. The sleeves are constructed with bold cross-pleats that begin at the nape of the neck, fanning outward like wings, a masterstroke of tailoring that heightens the theatrical silhouette.

As worn on the runway by Andrej Pejić, the gown encapsulates Gaultier’s exploration of androgyny making more than an evening gown: it was a living embodiment of Gaultier’s take on gender-fluid couture.

The Fall/Winter 2011 Haute Couture show, staged in July 2011, was steeped in the world of ballet—drawing inspiration from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. The trench gown was one of Gaultier’s “signature twists,” taking a classic staple and elevating it into high drama within this balletic fantasy. Elsewhere in the collection, feathered ensembles, tutu-inspired skirts, pointe shoe ribbon gowns, and even stilettos designed like ballet slippers brought the stage to the runway, while Pejić and Jon Kortajarena blurred the lines of gender with their roles as both danseurs and ballerinas.

This piece captures the essence of the collection’s narrative: the duality of swan-like grace and darker transformation, refracted through Gaultier’s genius for reinvention. At once armor and costume, gown and trench, it is a garment that belongs not just to fashion history but to the stage of myth itself.