Oliver Rousteing for Jean Paul Gaultier by Pablo Saez for S Moda El Pais AOC Fashion

The 2022 guest designer collection by Olivier Rousteing for Jean Paul Gaultier is modeled Marie-Agnès Diene, with styling by Juan Cebrian. Photographer Pablo Saez [IG] is behind the lens for the September 2022 issue of S Moda for El Pais. / Hair by Shaila Moran; makeup by Thomas Lorenz

Speaking about his interpretation of Gaultier — unseen by the founder until the show — Olivier Rousteing had multiple references, including prints from Jean-Paul Gaultier’s groundbreaking FW 1994/95 show. “I’m of Ethiopian descent,” he explained in July.

“And as a kid, I was so, so happy that someone could talk about my country and my culture as well.” He continued, “The thing that I feel about Jean-Paul is that he was ahead of his time. Today we talk about no boundaries, we talk about different shapes, we talk about inclusivity, diversity but Jean was the first to actually push for what we are fighting for today.”

Those patterns are not featured in this S Moda fashion story.

What is featured is a tribute to the Gaultier-designed ensembles that Madonna wore on her Blonde Ambition Tour in 1990. In his July comments, Rousteing spoke to his deep concern for women and female liberation worldwide — starting with American women.

“You can see the reference to the dress of Madonna from the time,” which was in the early 1990s, he pointed out. “Then, she could have her nipples out, where[as] in 2022, weirdly we cannot let the woman be free as much as she was. I think in the world that we are right now, when, what happened in America as well, the power and the freedom of women is so important,” the designer continued, referencing the US Supreme Court Dobbs decision

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392, 597 U.S. ___ (2022), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, issued on June 24, 2022, in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion.

AOC is deeply involved in women’s reproductive health and body autonomy issues for many years, and thank Olivier Rousteing profusely for his comments. In the spirit of his comments let me underscore the BIG, BIG fight coming in America on the mind-boggling concept of Personhood legislation.

Personhood Legislation is a Death Knell for Women’s Rights in America

If you are hearing that pro-choice and pro-body-autonomy voters in our three parties are galvanized by this situation, that is true. All political analysis of our primaries — including yesterday’s in New York State and Florida — confirms that Democrats, Independents and pro-choice Republicans are voting hard on this topic.

However, we must be clear-eyed about the determination of Republican right-wingers led by the right-wing of the Catholic Church and the Opus-Dei-rich US Supreme Court — very grounded in the uber-conservative organization Opus Dei.