“As you get older, you want to get closer to things you missed back then, the things you yearned for in your younger years. I think sexual fantasy is also part of that world of good and bad taste, in the same way food is, and anything else that crosses your mind.”
Having survived the glitter soaked, hedonistic disco days of Paris in the 1970s and 80s, Gaubert now leads a surprisingly clean-cut life, giving up cigarettes, his last vice “three and a half years ago” (clearly keeping count). Music is his only addiction these days, and with more than 20,000 records, 60,000 CD’s and a lifetime’s worth of tracks stored on various iPods, laptops and hard drives, the fact that he functions as curator rather than creator has never stalled his confidence. In his role as sound illustrator for the likes of an alarmingly long list of international heavyweights Chanel, Dior, Chloe, Loewe, Fendi, Louis Vuitton and Valentino, he never fails to surprise the spectator, such as famously over- seeing full-blown orchestras for cat- walk shows at Chanel. Gaubert seems to possess an innate capacity to recognise the zeitgeist before the mass- es do, effortlessly pulling together musical smorgasbords, intelligently tailored to enhance a brand’s particular aesthetic and selling season.
His vast record collection is “mainly kept in a storage: in boxes that are supposedly filed alphabetically. The ones I keep at home are much more precious and I keep those ones sorted by prettiness. In a world so full of everything, I find editing is my main issue. I am a collector – my taste is quite varied. Alongside records and CDs, I have a lot of books, clothes, furniture and other paraphernalia.” When grilled on the idea of Desert Island Discs, and prompted to reveal what 5 albums he’d take (or rescue from a burning building), Gaubert surprises me with his response, “I would save other things before the records and CDs, because I know I can always buy them again later, but finding my Yohji Yamamoto jacket from 1996 would be much harder!”
His home-life in Paris with partner Ryan includes the feline superstars of his Instagram account, cats Boris and Brad. “We’ve had them for 8 years now. We travelled to someone’s house up in the north of France. Even though they’re related, their personalities really differ. Boris is more like a dog really – always ready for action. Whereas Brad is much more discreet and easily frightened. It was easier to get the two cats at the same time, and I like my cats to be husky, which is why I wanted brothers.” We muse over the differences in cat and dog lovers, with Gaubert openly taking the conversation towards animal toileting preferences, “I guess picking up poop with a little shovel is way nicer than scooping a warm one up with a plastic bag. That’s the sort of stuff that makes a real difference.” Searching for the perfect way to close our conversation, I change direction completely by asking him what was the most important lesson that life has taught him. Unwavering in his reply, he simply states, “You should embrace it with confidence.”