Gaultier is probably best known for designing the hyper ostentatious garments in The Fifth Element

In filmic terms, Gaultier is probably best known for designing the hyper ostentatious garments in The Fifth Element, Luc Besson's futurist sci-fi in which Bruce Willis helps subvert an alien invasion. For moviegoers, Marvel costume the impact of Gaultier's flamboyant wardrobe in that film was instant, as well as enduring, if warrior-chic of The Hunger Games is anything to go by.
As well as being sensational, his designs perfectly matched the absurdity of Besson's characters and instantly stamped the gulf between their lavish world and that of Willis' downtrodden cabby. DC costume Gaultier had been displaying similar playful effrontery on catwalks since the late 1970s, with several pieces in his 1985 'And God Created Man' – in which Gaultier introduced the male skirt – being instantly recognisable in The Fifth Element.
Who better, then, to thaw the 16 year fashion chill at Cannes than Jean Paul Gaultier? The designer's selection as a jury member for this year's film festival not only serves as a reminder of what Gauilter himself has offered cinema over the years but also draws attention to a relationship between fashion and film that is as old as the medium itself.
For as long as movies have been made, costume designers have been indispensible to creating a film's look and defining characters. Yet prior to this year, the last costume designer to sit on the movie costume jury was the spectacular Eiko Ishioka, who made her mark on films such as The Cell and Immortals, way back in 1996.