Given the lack of a work providing a retrospective look at Jean Paul Gaultier's exceptional career, this reference book, illustrated with a wealth of photographs — many of which have never before been published — from runway shows, the design house's archives and print media, constitutes not only an account of the exhibition, but also serve as a reference for fashion history.

Many pictures from the greatest names in photography, including Cindy Sherman, Robert Doisneau, Mario Testino, Pierre et Gilles, Richard Avedon, David LaChapelle, Steven Klein, Steven Meisel, William Klein, Herb Ritts, Helmut Newton, Patrick Demarchelier, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, Erwin Wurm, Tim Walker, Miles Aldridge, Francesco Scavullo, Andy Warhol, Anton Corbijn, Peter Lindbergh, Stéphane Sednaoui, Ellen Von Unwerth, Bettina Rheims, Juergen Teller, Perou, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Roxanne Lowit, Karl Lagerfeld, Mark Seliger, Arthur Elgort, Craig McDean, Sebastian Faena, Alix Malka, SØlve SundsbØ, Ruven Afanador, Michael Thompson, Paolo Roversi, Willy Vanderperre, Thierry Le Goues, Greg Kadel, Sam Levin, Mark Seliger, Nathaniel Goldberg, Mario Sorrenti, Sofia Sanchez and Mauro Mongiello, Kate Barry and Emil Larsson, show the various periods in the work of the couturier.

This large-sized boxed volume (approximately 14 1/2 x 11 1/4") of approximately 424 pages and over 500 illustrations has been produced by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' (MMFA) Publishing Department in English, French and Spanish for the international tour. It is co-published with the éditions de La Martinière (Paris) for its French edition and Abrams (New York) for the English. The catalogue's graphic design has been entrusted to the renowned Montreal agency Paprika, which has been awarded over 600 prizes, including the prestigious Art Directors Club. This volume is sold at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts,and cost $84.95.

A tribute to Jean Paul Gaultier's thirty-five years of design, the book contains an essay by Nathalie Bondil, Director and Chief Curator of the MMFA, as well as by one of the most influential figures in the world of fashion, Suzy Menkes, fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune, who examines Gaultier's visionary reflection of society's evolution in his innovative fashion shows from 1976 to 2010. It also includes several interviews by the exhibition's curator, Thierry-Maxime Loriot, of the MMFA: an interview with fashion historian Valerie Steele, Director and Chief Curator of New York's The Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology), deals with Gaultier's use of corsets, mixing of genders and skirts for men; an interview with the designer regarding his creative process and his work in his atelier; and a second interview with French fashion historian Florence Müller on the early years of Gaultier's design career.

The five sections of the book (Jean Paul Gaultier's Paris, The Boudoir, Skin Deep, Urban Jungle and Metropolis) reflect the themes of the exhibition and feature exclusive interviews conducted by Thierry-Maxime Loriot with many of Jean Paul Gaultier's collaborators, artists and muses, including Madonna, Martin Margiela, Régine Chopinot, Kylie Minogue, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Pierre Cardin, Catherine Deneuve, Inès de la Fressange, Pedro Almodóvar, Carine Roitfeld, Boy George, Juliette Binoche, Mylène Farmer, Marion Cotillard, Mr. Pearl, Pierre et Gilles, Erin O'Connor, Helen Mirren, Antoine de Caunes, Peter Stuart, Josiane Balasko, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro, Polly Mellen, Odile Gilbert, Arianne Phillips, Milla Jovovich, Dita Von Teese, Tom Ford, Arielle Dombasle, Tanel Bedrossiantz, Farida Khelfa, Tonie Marshall, Micheline Presle, Rossy de Palma, Babeth Djian, Stephen Jones, ève Salvail, Yvette Horner, Evelyne Gaultier, Frédérique Lorca, Aïtize Hanson, Denis Gagnon, Jacques Cavallier, Francis Kurkdjian, Victoria Abril, Angélin Preljocaj and Stéphane Sednaoui.

The book also includes a biographical timeline illustrated by Jean Paul Gaultier with previously unpublished personal photographs of his collections, an exhaustive filmography and numerous archival documents.