South Park Style In Jean-Charles de Castelbajac's New JC/DC Collection

I love writing about the fashions of designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac because they are so downright fun. Wacky and irreverent, JCDC plays off of pop culture in his couture and RTW fashions. Lego®, Disney characters, Hello Kitty, The Muppets, Snoopy, celebrities, singers and most recently, Bambi have been featured in his collections. He even designed an Obama dress last year. His clothing has always enjoyable to admire but are rarely affordable.

However, earlier this year Castelbajac created a new diffusion line called JC/DC by JC de Castelbajac. A creative, pop-rock, playful, quality, and affordable clothing line for a new generation, available through a new online store.


above: Charles de Castelbajac, photo by Kathy Le Sant

For the second season (Fall Winter 2010/2011) of his JC/DC line, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac chose the characters of South Park to be the music icons of his collection “Holly boys and naughty girls”.

”I discovered South Park and Nirvana at the same time; I would mute my TV to play “Smells Like Teen Spirit”loudly. The fusion of the two made perfect sense for me! My JC/DC line is about rock and roll; and South Park with its characters, its colourful range, its brutality and its noisy drawing seemed to encapsulate the world I wanted to portray.” -- Jean-Charles de Castelbajac.

The playful and affordable collection incorporates Kenny, Stan, Kyle and Eric (even Butters, Token, Chef, Jesus, Timmy, Wendy, Mr. Hat and more can be found in some of the designs) into cotton and silk shirts, knits, dresses, and outwear for both men and women.
















Shop for the South Park JC/DC clothing and more here.

The Muppets Take Paris. JC de Castelbajac's Fall 2009 RTW Collection.

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac's Fall 2009 Ready To Wear Collection is loaded with Muppets. No, that's not a derogatory term for models, I'm talking Kermit the Frog and Animal- both lovable muppets designed by the late Jim Henson. Whereas JC's Spring 2009 collection was a collaboration with Disney® and featured lots of Mickey Mouse and other Disney character clothes, this fall collection is a collaboration with the Muppet Holding Company, LLC.


above: Jim Henson's Animal and Kermit The Frog muppets appear in Castelbajac's 2009 Fall Fashions

The fashion designer, art collector, and artist nicknamed JD/DC has incorporated many cultural icons and legends into his fashions in the past including cartoon characters, Royalty, celebrities, toys, flags, rock stars, animals and more. His past collections have featured clothes that utilize or represent imagery of LEGO®, Rubiks Cubes, Smileys, National Flags, Mickey Mouse, Hello Kitty, Felix the Cat, South Park, Andy Warhol, Michael Jackson, Barack Obama, Princess Diana and so much more.


above: a few of the pieces from JC DC's Spring 2009 RTW collection which also featured largely blogged about LEGO inspired fashions.

This 2009 FALL RTW collection of his also featured lots of leopard print, hand scrawled grafitti, zippered leathers and primary color geometrics typical of Castelbajac, whose shown his fondness for LEGOs in the past. But the muppet fabrics and actual plushies worn as hats,necklaces, skirts, muffs and more are definitely worth looking at for their sheer irreverence.















The Designer:

above: designer JC de Castelbajac



Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, also known as JC/DC, was born 28 November 1949 in Casablanca, Morocco. As the Marquis de Castelbajac, he is a French nobleman. He has enjoyed international success with some of his creations, including a coat of teddy bears worn by pop star Madonna and by supermodel Helena Christensen in the film Prêt-à-Porter. Recently JC de Castelbajac has befriended designers such as Cassette Playa and The Coconut Twins. His fashion archive was showcased in preparation for his retrospective "Gallie Rock" in Paris by photographers Tim and Barry, modelled by Cassette Playa, M.I.A., Jammer, Matthew Stone, Slew Dem Crew and more.

As well as his imaginative clothing collections, the designer creates home furnishings.

In 1979 de Castelbajac married fashion journalist and model Katherine Lee Chambers. They had two sons but the marriage ended in divorce. The designer is currently engaged to actress Mareva Galanter. (source: wikipedia)

To see the entire 2009 Fall collection visit jean charles de castelbajac's site.