Jean-Paul Gaultier was born April 24, 1952, in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, France. He never received formal training as a designer but instead started sending sketches to famous couture stylists at an early age. Designer Pierre Cardin was impressed by his talent and hired him as an assistant in 1970. His first fragrance, Classique, was introduced in 1993, followed by Le Mâle for men two years later. Both were very successful commercially, and led to subsequent scents including the floral women’s perfume Fragile, the unisex "fragrance for humanity" Gaultier² (pronounced Gaultier to the power of two), and the fresh but masculine Fleur du Male.