The Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 2023 Haute Couture collection created by Haider Achermann expressed his modern vision with in body-sharp tailoring, and crisply-scissored drape.

The convergence he found began with Gaultier’s tailoring. “To go back to the essence of his work, which was perfect. People forget how immaculate his tailoring was. His work was magical. So I tried to go back to the pure lines, to find a calmness and moment of grace. Because I believe his work was magical.”

The whiteness of the cuffs on immaculate black trouser suits, cut sometimes with tailcoats and conceptual plackets of frogging, sometimes reduced to pure minimal outline. One skinny-trousered two-piece came with a diagonal slash across the jacket and a hip-level obi-cummerbund—a stunning aesthetic fusion of Ackermann and Gaultier in one look.

Ackermann draped extraordinary serpentine gowns and varieties of chic coat dresses with contrasting linings. It made it sink in how rare it is these days that outstanding drama and chic minimalism go together. Somehow, high fashion now has gotten hitched up with pantomime. That was Ackermann’s intention: to bring the subject of haute couture back to the clothes.