Jean Paul Gaultier to stop ready-to-wear collections

The French design house has announced that it will cease to produce ready-to-wear collections.

(AFP PHOTO/Pierre Verdy)

Jean Paul Gaultier has announced that he is stopping both his women's and men's ready-to-wear collections.

Instead the designer will dedicate his time to producing haute couture collections as well as fragrances for which the house is well known.

The brand's final ready-to-wear collection for spring/summer 2015 will be presented later this month in Paris.

On the decision he told WWD:

"Commercial constraints, as well as the frenetic pace of collections don't leave any freedom, nor the necessary time to find fresh ideas and to innovate."

"This is a new beginning, I will be able to express again my creativity fully and without constraints."

The closure of the ready-to-wear arm of the business is likely to result in job losses at the label with a few dozen employees affected according to WWD.

Gaultier's fashion background is an unusual one; he never formally trained as a designer. He launched his first collection in 1976 and held the role as creative director at Hermes from 2003 to 2010.