Jean Paul Gaultier was born in a suburb of Paris in 1952. At the age of 18 he started working at Pierre Cardin after school. In 1971 he worked with Jacques Esterel briefly and then returned to work for Pierre Cardin in 1974. In 1975 Jean Paul raised enough money to present his first collection with the help of Francis Menuge. In 1978 he got enough money to produce his own line. By 1990 superstar Madona hired him to designer her "Blonde Ambition Tour" including her trademark basque and bra. By 2003 the prestige fashion house Hermes invested in Jean Paul Gaultier and made him in charge of design.