Shop Talk is written by OM senior editor Dayanti Karunaratne and Sarah Fischer, OM account executive and fashion maven.

We are very lucky to be so close to one of Canada’s fashion capitals, Montreal. We are even luckier these days as we are able to take in the first international retrospective on Jean Paul Gaultier’s work at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk explores the celebrated French couturier’s work since the start of his career in the 1980s — a career that has had a strong influence on runways and everyday fashions all over the world.

Did you know that it was Jean Paul who designed Madonna’s cone bra? Indeed, he inspired the trend of underwear as outwear, spurred the rise in corsets, and was among the first to bring sailor stripes to high fashion.

The exhibition is divided into sections, which aims to “provide a thematic approach to the world of Jean Paul Gaultier, tracing the influences, from the streets of Paris to the world of science fiction, that have shaped the couturier’s creative development.” Editorial interpretations of his work are on display alongside drawings, audiovisual projections, set, artworks, and 120 haute couture dresses and ready-to-wear pieces.

Get out your dayplanners: there are just three more weekends left to make the roadtrip to Montreal before they head to Dallas, San Francisco, Madrid, and then the Netherlands. That’s right, Canada was first!

Until October 2. Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Jean-Noel Desmarais Pavillion, 1380 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal. www.mbam.qc.ca