'ONLY ONE GAULTIER'
"I'm too old to revolutionise the system," Gaultier told reporters, adding that the industry was now home to almost too many labels.
His namesake brand, part of family-owned Spanish fashion and fragrance group Puig, would carry on with a new concept, Gaultier said, without elaborating.
Gaultier's one-time design mentor Pierre Cardin, 97, was among the guests at the venue, where the theatre's stage was transformed into a runway, while peers such as Louis Vuitton womenswear designer Nicolas Ghesquiere also looked on.
"There's only one Jean Paul Gaultier," said model Laetitia Casta ahead of the show. Casta, clad in a vintage Gaultier blue denim outfit, was discovered at 15 by the designer at a casting call where she said she mingled with punks.
"He was one of the first to go out into the street to find people," she said.
The show kicked off with a funereal scene and dancing pallbearers, with Boy George singing "Back to Black", the song made famous by late singer Amy Winehouse.
Other highlights included model Coco Rocha leaping around the stage to hip-hop-infused Irish music.
'DON'T BURN, UPCYCLE'
Gaultier made his mark as one of the brightest young talents in French fashion during the early 1980s, shaking up the establishment with wild designs drawn from street culture, punk and the gay club scene.
After starting out at 18 an apprentice of Cardin, he later worked as a designer for Hermes. He presented his first individual collection in 1976.
In recent years he dropped ready-to-wear clothing, focusing on twice-yearly haute couture collections - exclusive, handmade outfits each usually sold to one wealthy client.
Puig has yet to report earnings for 2019 and does not break down its brands' performance. In 2018, its revenues rose 5% at constant exchange rates to 1.9 billion euros ($2.11 billion).
Gaultier, who presented men's skirts made of strung-together ties on Wednesday, said his fun-filled swansong had a more serious message too, at a time when many in the fashion industry are looking to prove their environmental credentials.
"Don't burn clothes, upcycle," he said.
($1 = 0.9014 euros)
