Being Conchita – We Are Unstoppable

LETTER FROM JEAN-PAUL GAULTIER

Paris, 12 December 2014

Dear Conchita,

The first time I saw you was on the internet when you were in the selection process to be the Austrian representative of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was like a jolt, like a shock to me and also a revelation. The look, the voice… I was seduced and wanted to get to know you immediately. I invited you to come to Paris and see my show and when I met you and talked to you I became your unconditional fan. It was a coup de foudre. And I also discovered that your name had a double, even triple meaning.
Two years later you sang for Austria and the rest is history. I voted for you seventy-three times! Your victory was not only for a song, a singer, an incredible voice and a fantastic interpretation, but also a victory for the values in which I believe in and for which I fought throughout my career: tolerance and humanity. This was a victory for all those who are different, as well as a message of encouragement to them to express their difference, to manifest it and to live it. You are a unique human being, positive and generous, smart and straightforward.
Like Madonna who is a real macho in a woman’s body, you are a Wonder Woman in a man’s body. You erase boundaries between masculine and feminine like no one did before. You succeeded, coming from the avant-garde and the underground, to become a popular icon, and a fashion icon forever. I look up to you for how you break the fashion codes like I did throughout my career: the male and female duality, male object and strong woman.
Conchita, you are a true inspiration and I am proud to know you and to be your friend.

Jean Paul Gaultier