Jean Paul Gaultier is a French fashion designer, specializing in haute couture and ready-to-wear fashion. His work pushes social boundaries, blurring the lines of the gender binary, using undergarments as statement pieces, and casting everyone from staff members to people right off the street to walk the runway.
Gaultier's interest in design started very early. His grandmother introduced him to the world of fashion at a young age, and from then on he was hooked. He is an ESFP on the Myers-Briggs scale, which is often referred to as the "Charm Person" type. ESFPs are social, outgoing, and have an inherent desire to be able to express themselves, which makes sense when considering his boundary-breaking work. In his youth, he was nervous to express his sexuality, but felt more confident in himself after learning that many fashion design icons were also gay or bisexual.
Gaultier has a long and established career, but my favorite project of his has to be his work on Luc Besson's The Fifth Element. He began working on the idea long before it was released -- the movie had many different forms (with one starring Julie Andrews and Prince), and Gaultier hit the ground running as soon as he read Besson's script. He did more than 100 sketches before the project was seemingly scrapped. "I didn't know the film industry well, or the fact that a project can take years." he said in an interview with Vogue. "In fashion we go from season to season without any pause." I found this quote really interesting regarding the creative process of the film -- Gaultier was used to back-to-back projects, but was inadvertently forced to take an incubation period due to the production having to be postponed for multiple years.
Gaultier is open-minded by nature, and this open-mindedness reflects in his creative process. One of the most iconic costumes from the film, main character Leeloo's one-piece cutout bandage bodysuit, was in Gaultier's own words "a bit of a last-minute creation." He's also happy to work outside of his own style as a designer. Even though he alone was tasked with designing the film's wardrobe, he referred to the process as a collaboration. "I try to do Gaultier, but in the service of the story and the director," he said, praising Luc Besson's tastes in set and costume design.
Gaultier's enthusiasm for collaboration didn't mean less work for him. He created outfits for every single character on the show, extras included. Shockingly, he doesn't seem to think of this process as very extraordinary or express a desire for praise -- when talking about the process, he said that "it was a lot of work, but whatever."
Because the world of the movie is so diverse, the costumes are designed to showcase the differences in the various groups and main characters of the world, which only enhances the attention to detail in the script's world-building. The film's closet features futuristic priest robes, retro metallic blue flight attendant uniforms, and a skintight head-to-toe leopard print bodysuit, among so many other iconic looks. The Fifth Element is a glimmering example of what happens when a costumer and a director truly understand each other, and the end result is just excellent.
Sources:
https://anatomyofascream.com/2018/09/12/fabric-and-flesh-jean-paul-gaultier-and-his-work-on-the-fifth-element/
https://anatomyofascream.com/2018/09/12/fabric-and-flesh-jean-paul-gaultier-and-his-work-on-the-fifth-element/
https://personalitylist.com/profile/209193/fashion-designers/jean-paul-gaultier/
https://www.jeanpaulgaultier.com/ww/en/fragrances/house-of-gaultier/the-designer
https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/the-fifth-element-style-impact
https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/35459/1/a-closer-look-at-gaultiers-fifth-element-costume-design
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Paul_Gaultier#cite_note-fantasy-5
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Paul-Gaultier
The Fifth Element is one of my all-time favorite movies and I had no idea that Gaultier had a hand in designing costumes for the movie. Now that I think about it, the fashion of the movie is very memorable--I can conjure up images of Leeloo's costumes easily. The costumes were futuristic and different but still familiar and fashionable. The level of detail in the costumes really lends to the immersion and world-building of the movie.
ReplyDeleteIts really surprising to hear that Leeloo's costume was a last minute creation, as you would expect it to have been a long creation process because of her place as a main character. The place of fashion in the worldbuilding of the Fifth element really defines it in a unique place among similar movies. Gaultier definitely put himself into his fashion design and really earns his role as a creative.
ReplyDeleteSomething that stood out to me about Jean Paul Gaultier is his approach to modeling and the runway. Too often, runway fashion is displayed on professional models. I feel that this concept does not make sense, as some designers, like Gaultier, are hoping that their clothing caters to a wide variety of people. Gaultier's usage of everyday people on the runway is unique and, honestly, very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen The Fifth Element, but after seeing Gaultier's creations for it I will watch it ASAP! It is very interesting to hear about Gaultier working in a quasi-collaborative space with the director, as the costumes are still very Gaultier. I think this speaks to his level of creativity because he is able to stick to what he sees in the design, but it able to flawlessly blend in outside elements to create a whole new vibe for the look. Gaultier is very talented and he is a Big C creative because he pushed the bounds of fashion and truly left his mark on the field.
ReplyDeleteI am very familiar with the work of Gaultier without knowing much about him as a person. The Myers-Briggs type makes total sense. I feel like I never read about extroverts. I think you would have to be one to create designs such as his. We know about the person behind more standard forms of art much more than we know of fashion designers, I'm glad you brought this to my attention.
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of Gaultier's apparel, especially some of his work in the 1990s. I love the way he plays with the form of the body in his mesh shirts, but I never knew about his work on the fifth element. I love that he was able to adapt his creative process to fit with the production schedule of the movie, and yet he was still able to do amazing work as the creator of the wardrobe in the movie. His impact on the fashion industry definitely cements him as a big C creative.
ReplyDelete