Jean Paul Gaultier opens the doors of his Paris headquarters for Et Gaultier créa l’Homme: Le Male – Passé, Présent, Futur, a sensory exhibition celebrating the iconic fragrance Le Male, running June 12 to 15, 2025. At 325 rue Saint-Martin, this exclusive exhibition honors 30 years of Le Male, a cultural detonation that redefined masculinity as androgynous, queer-coded, and freely sexual: a sailor free from codes or boundaries, with clean, sensual lavender notes paired with the hot, dripping sweat of a steamy locker room adventure.

Like the fragrance itself, this Factory of Pleasure is presented in three acts: top, heart, and base notes. The top note celebrates Gaultier’s masculinity, paying homage to queer icons such as Cocteau and Tom of Finland, while revisiting his gender-defying silhouettes, from corsets to skirts. The heart note dives into the scent’s history, with an immersive universe of XXL bottles that begged to be touched, olfactory glory holes, and walls that sweat perfume.

Lastly, the base note brings Gaultier’s legacy of performance to the exhibition. This last act becomes a platform for queer and contemporary artists, carrying his transgressive spirit through the years. Harry Nuriev crafts a world made entirely from the Le Male can, Mahmoud Khaled and Alireza Shojaian present their erotic, sensitive photographs and paintings; Palestinian performer Bashar Murad’s political beats score the space, and ECAL students create Festival de Can: a photography project reinterpreting the iconic bust bottle. The exhibition is a celebration of past, present, and future bodies and inclusivity, through the lens of Gaultier’s unapologetic vision.

Check out some photos from the exhibition below: