Jean Paul Gaultier

There were rumors circulating in September of this year that the next designer to be featured in Target’s Designer Collaboration series would be the avante guarde designer Jean Paul Gaultier, but no one in either camp would confirm this.

Today however, October 20th, it was officially announced that yes, Jean Paul Gaultier, the man who first created the cone bra for Madonna, is the next designer for Target%uFFFDs series.

Target%uFFFDs ongoing collaboration series featuring top designers, also known as masstige, whereby top designers create less expensive collections for the “masses” continues to give the discount retailer credibility in a difficult economy. They%uFFFDve featured Alexander McQueen in his capsule collection inspierd by the muse Duke Spirit, and Anna Sui, inspired by the show “Gossip Girl.” Jean Paul Gaultier%uFFFDs muse is yet unknown but it%uFFFDs widely known that he admires Madonna of course, and now Lady Gaga.

While it%uFFFDs doubtful that Target will be hanging racks of cone bra satin corsets in 2010, you can bet that the Jean Paul Gaultier collection for Target will feature some quintessential deconstructed pieces in black, Japanese inspired styles, followed by a large fan base.