Wardrobe Secrets From 'The Fifth Element'

To bring Luc Besson's vision for The Fifth Element to life, Gaultier designed over a thousand unique costumes.The Fifth ElementGaultier designed over a thousand unique costumes to bring The Fifth Element to life.Gaultier designed over a thousand unique costumes.His detail work goes beyond the main cast. You see his touch in even minor characters. Curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot explained the work Gaultier did:

...Jean Paul Gaultier made a thousand costumes for one movie. This equals ten collections. People do not know this massive amount of work. He made five thousand sketches before picking the final thousand costumes.

Gaultier matched Besson because of how the director pictured the movie's characters. "Before they spoke, you could read the character's psychology just from their look."Gaultier statedThe fashion designer created outfits for 2263. These outfits were playful and opulent. Gaultier and Besson agreed on bright, saturated colors and shiny fabrics.

Growing up as a comic book fan, Besson absorbed science fiction artists like Moebius and Jean-Claude Mezieres.Besson worked on these projects.Besson developed the movie while still young, based on the work of artists like Moebius and Jean-Claude Mezieres. Besson said, "This was Luc’s idea since he was a teenager. He had been thinking about The Fifth Element."Besson was preparing his whole life for The Fifth Element, Leeloo, the story, and the language.Leeloo, the story, and the language prepared him for that moment. Jovovich.Jovovich toldVogue.

Gaultier got the movie because he had the money and support to make it. Screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen shared, "I got there, and he showed me he had built all the models already. He had the costumes. He had all the creatures. I was blown away. His imagination was incredible."sharedHe shared details about an early meeting with Luc Besson.

By the time Gaultier joined The Fifth Element, he already had a reputation as a fashion enfant terrible.Gaultier had a reputation as the enfant terrible of fashion before teaming up with Besson.Before working with Besson, Gaultier worked on films for acclaimed directors like Peter Greenaway and Pedro Almodóvar.óvar.Before working with Besson, Gaultier designed costumes for films by acclaimed directors.Peter Greenaway and Pedro Almod played directors Gaultier worked with.óvar.A streetwear expert, Gaultier's runway looks showed the everyday people around him. He subverted these casual looks into something alien or strange. He broke into the mainstream when Madonna hired him to engineer her iconic early '90s cone-breasted bustier.Gaultier's runway looks had been defined by the everyday people around him. He had a reputation for subverting these casual looks into something alien or strange, and he broke into the mainstream when he was hired by Madonna to engineer her iconic early '90s cone-breasted bustier.Gaultier's runway looks had been defined by the everyday people around him. He had a reputation for subverting these casual looks into something alien or strange, and he broke into the mainstream when he was hired by Madonna to engineer her iconic early '90s cone-breasted bustier.

From cheeky work wear with bondage accents to structured ensembles that exist out of time and place, Gaultier designed backless men's wear.Gaultier designed backless men's wear.Gaultier's costuming method fit The Fifth Element perfectly.Gaultier's costuming method fit The Fifth Element perfectly..

Leeloo's bodysuit comes from her regeneration in a genetic recovery machine. Straps from the device secure themselves around her body in the right spots. Gaultier planned for Leeloo to look "nude, but not nude."nude, but not nude."

This meant to show hernewness and exposureJovovich faced logistical issues with his bandaged look in the future world she found. “There was a lot of skin showing, so I got pretty bruised up because I couldn’t wear pads and things that other people could wear,” she told Vogue.Told about Jovovich's revealing bandage bodysuit, which left no room for padding, in the list 'Wardrobe Secrets From 'The Fifth Element''Vogue“It was like wearing a bikini, you know? Especially at that point, I was 19, and tiny. I just really got into the character and I definitely didn’t feel constraints.”

Gaultier designed clothing for each character, focusing on their bodies and personalities and motivations.

“The idea was more like to see the particular character,” Gaultier revealed in a behind-the-scenes video.A behind-the-scenes video.This shows the fashion designer's skill in adapting his style to the film's spirit, explaining his prolific career as a costume designer for movies.The costume designer.Designed costumes for movies.

Gaultier made the male skirtThe male skirt.a legitimate fashion choice in 1985, and his desire to break gendered fashion trends shows in The Fifth Element.The Fifth Element.As Susan Orleans wroteWrote.in a profile of the fashion designer, "His fantasy world was one where ethnicity and gender were comfortably jumbled - a kimono could be spliced onto a double-breasted suit, or a ball gown could be made of camouflage fabric..."

In Besson's movie, the biggest gender clothing rule break shows with Ruby Rhod, played by high-pitched friskiness.Showed high-pitched friskiness.Chris Tucker plays the intergalactically famous radio host wearing a cheetah print bodysuit with an asymmetrical, collared neckline dipping below his collarbone. This is exhibitionism at its best, topped with a bleached-blond phallic hairstyle.Featured a bleached-blond phallic hairstyle.Later, in the opera scene, Rhod wears a black velvet bodysuit lined with roses. Gaultier uses his outfits to turn a hypersexual character who boasts about his number of women into an androgynous trendsetter.

This disruption shows in Bruce Willis's character, Korben Dallas's outfits. From the backless, orange muscle shirt to the tight black-padded pants, Korben shows a future where masculine and feminine differences don't matter.

Finally, don't forget.Baby Ray., the buff star who appears at the opera in a delicate lace outfit matching his white curls.

The Fifth Element.is edgier and more stylized than a typical "blow 'em up" action film. Bruce Willis was known for action roles, but Gaultier put him in vests to show Korben's hero status, referencing his stripped-down appearances in the Die Hard movies.Showed stripped-down appearances.In the.Die Hard.Movies.

Even during the opera scene, as Korben fights in the Mangalore carnage, his ripped suit becomes sleeveless tough-guy gear—with that signature Gaultier finish, of course.

Chris Tucker fits the Ruby Rhod role, though the role originally wrote for someone else.Prince.Gaultier drew detailed costume ideas for the musician. The Brooklyn Museum's retrospective showed these designs. Gaultier met Prince about the role. The result was not what he expected.

Prince gave me a Charlie Chaplin look. I saw something happen, but I did not know what. He signaled his bodyguard to leave immediately. I thought he would go see Luc. Luc later told me Prince was surprised and amused by my presentation. He found the costumes too feminine.

Tucker took a role deemed "too effeminate" and transformed it.into something that shifts between gender identities.The costume shifts between gender identities.

Gaultier designed Leeloo's two main outfits. Luc Besson had the idea for her character to have bright orange hair. Gaultier stated, “It was Luc’s idea that Milla needed to be a redhead; that was not me.”Gaultier told Vogue.Vogue.Luc Besson had the idea for Leeloo's orange hair.

Luc Besson said, “There’s always a dominant color in my films.”Besson shared this with Entertainment Weekly.Besson shared this with Entertainment Weekly.Entertainment Weekly.""The Professional.The Professional was brown.The Fifth Element.The Fifth Element was orange.Valerian.It is blue ice.

Gary Oldman had a reputation for playing villains in the 1990s. When Besson asked him to play Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg, he agreed without reading the script. He said, "I had no idea what I was getting into" in a video interview.. This happened because he acted in the film as a favor to Besson. Gary Oldman acts this way for Besson.He acted in the film as a favor to Besson. As Oldman...:I directed a film, and Luc Besson was a producer. Besson helped with financing initially, and I was singing for food. He called, said, "I need you to do a movie." I did not read the script. It was a favor.

I directed a film. Luc Besson produced it and helped raise money. I sang for my food. He called, said, "I need you to do a movie." I did not read the script. It was a favor.

Oldman admitted he is not a fan of the film. “Oh no, I can’t bear it,” he said.PlayboyOldman admitted he does not like the film. "Oh no, I can’t bear it," he...Besson styled the CEO like a postmodern Hitler.“Gary Oldman is the best actor in the world,” Besson asserts..He likes a postmodern Hitler. "Gary Oldman is the best actor in the world," Besson...Gaultier showed his dedication during the opera scene. Characters move through the opera house like art.Besson was amazed by Gaultier's work ethic. He was at the set entrance, checking 900 extras one by one before they entered.

Besson praised Gaultier. In another interview, Besson gave more detail about Gaultier's work.Julia Roberts and Mel GibsonJulia Roberts and Mel Gibson were slated for the lead roles. Gaultier showed his commitment during the opera scene. In this part, characters move through the opera house like art.

Besson admired Gaultier's work ethic. "He was at the set entrance, checking the 900 extras one by one before they arrived," he...praisedBesson shared more details about Gaultier's involvement in another interview.said"He jumped around, changing jackets, putting on scarves, and giving hats. He was a constant creative eye."

While Besson and Gaultier planned the film's style, Gaultier asked the director how he pictured the future. "I talked to Luc about what is futuristic, and we decided there could be today's elements."saidGaultier. "You could imagine only retro clothes in the future. Everything is possible."

This mix of present, past, and future appears in Leeloo's springy orange suspenders in the film's second half. A white crop top and tight gold pants highlight this.

Plexiglas, rubber, neoprene. These are just materials.some of the materialsGaultier used these textiles in his costuming. These fabrics show a future couture built on synthetic practicality and unique shape choices, like the revealing air hostess outfits.admittedGaultier.

The costumes used neoprene, the same material for wetsuits, giving them a padded feel. These materials create a visual theme across the movie, from Leeloo's rubber suspenders to Zorg's shiny office wear and Plexiglas skirts.skirts, Gaultier knew his methods.

Actors did not always embrace Gaultier's vision. "I did not expect to wear rubber," Gary Oldman said.bemoaned.

Gaultier always innovated. His work for The Fifth Elementhas done more than impress science fiction fans.The movie's futuristic style, inspired bystreetwearGaultier shows this style in clothing from stores to runways. After the movie, DKNY and Alexander McQueen both paid tribute with their campaigns and collections.

Fashion writer Sara Idacavage describedThe Fifth Element'swardrobe influence as "punk, athleisure, and high-end fashion all mixed together, which is why the film still inspires many designers and brands."