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French couturier Jean Paul Gaultier, commonly known as fashion’s “enfant terrible,” is currently the subject of an extravagant exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Gaultier has long identified with the city of Montreal, so it’s fitting that our fair city play host to the eccentric designer in honour of the 35th anniversary of his label.

The exhibit, the first to feature Gaultier internationally, showcases many of his most celebrated pieces from the runway. In true Gaultier fashion, the exhibit is bizarre, whimsical and tongue-in-cheek.

One of the most talked-about elements of this exhibit continues to be the technology it employs. With the help of Montreal theatre company UBU, the mannequins have holographic faces that move, talk, and sometimes sing, with many of the voices and faces belonging to models and musicians, including Francisco Randez and Melissa Auf der Maur.

There’s even a mannequin in Gaultier’s likeness at the beginning of the exhibit, speaking to the crowd about his outlook, inspiration, and overall aesthetic.

The exhibit is organized mostly by themes and by era. All of the ensembles were created between the early 1970s and 2010. The variety in clothing is vast—some outfits were heavily influenced by the grunge look of the ‘90s, while others were designed to look like the nude body. Some ensembles resembled dominatrix attire, others looked like they came from 3,000 years in the future. Despite any hint of reference in his designs, Gaultier has always created something brand new in his work. It is this incredible range of inspiration and imagination that has come to define Gaultier since his earliest days as a designer. He draws from so many places, and yet always manages to make every article of clothing his own, be it in the way it’s cut or the way it’s styled.

Apart from the clothing, the exhibit features many sketches, photographs, and art pieces which feature or were inspired by Gaultier’s work. Notably, the exhibit includes fashion photographs featuring the likes of Kate Moss, and others taken by famed photographers Mario Testino and David LaChapelle, to name a few. Adding to the experience are clips from films, television programs, and Gaultier’s own shows. Most anyone will appreciate seeing Madonna’s infamous cone bra (which Gaultier designed) and footage of her walking his runway.

Much of the clothing is accompanied by short summaries, including information on the runway show that featured the outfit and the length of time each article of clothing took to make.

Needless to say, the approximately 140 ensembles featured in this one-of-a-kind showing are astonishingly ornate and avant-garde, guaranteed to thrill any fashion lover. However, even those who aren’t longtime fans of Gaultier’s work or the fashion world will find this exhibit a fun trip through one man’s exhilarating career.