Style legend Jean-Paul Gaultier takes his last bow after 50 years as a designer

Jean-Paul Gaultier, a provocateur who changed pop history by putting Madonna in a conical bra and who invented – and loved sporting – the "man skirt", said he was hanging up his scissors after 50 years in the business.

Legendary French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier will retire from fashion after a typically spectacular show in Paris on Wednesday (Jan 22).

The maverick creator stunned fans by announcing that the haute couture show in a theatre in the French capital would be his last.