Jean-Paul Gaultier to receive Ischia Global Fest Excellence Award

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Jun 28, 2017

Ischia Global Fest, Italy’s coolest insider arts and film festival, has revealed plans to present Jean-Paul Gaultier with an Excellence Award. The French fashion legend will receive his award on the evening of Sunday, July 9, the opening day of the festival, which runs from July 9 to 16 in Ischia, the beautiful, volcanic island nestled in the northern side of the Bay of Naples.  The festival will also host an exhibition featuring some of Gaultier’s iconic fashion designs at the Villa Arbusto Museum on the sultry Mediterranean island.
 

“Over the years, Jean Paul Gaultier has become one of fashion’s iconic designers. He has been involved with many charities and great films,” said the festival’s founder and producer Pascal Vicedomini. Gaultier has won plaudits as costume designer for such critically acclaimed films as Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, The Their, His Wife and Her Lover (1989); Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s La Cité des Enfants Perdus (1995) and Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element (1997).
 
Gaultier is widely regarded as one of the most influential designers of the past half century, both at his own house and as creative director of Hermès from 2003 to 2010. Nicole Kidman wore one of his dresses to accept the Best Actress honors at the 2003 Academy Awards, while Marion Cotillard dressed in Gaultier for her Oscar win in 2008.  His conical corset for Madonna is one of the most recognized works for fashion this century.

Prior Ischia Excellence Award winners include Carolina Herrera, Gabriella Pescucci, Deborah Nadoolman Landis and also supermodels Petra Nemcova and Eva Herzigova.
 
Gaultier will join fellow prize winner, makeup artist Alessandro Bertolazzi, who won an Oscar last year for Suicide Squad. Bertolazzi has been lauded for his artistic contribution to films such as Babel, J. Edgar, Skyfall and Fury. Recall Javier Bardem’s dramatic face pull-off in the James Bond blockbuster “Skyfall.” That was thanks to Bertolazzi.
“Alessandro has earned his position as amongst the best of the best. Thus, there are none more deserving to be honored with our 2017 ‘Excellence Awards,” said Vicedomini.
 
The brainchild of Vicedomini, the annual fest in Ischia attracts the likes of Alicia Vikander, Helen Mirren, Gerald Butler, Josh Harnett, Jeremy Renner, Danny DeVito and Abel Ferrara. While Sting and Andrea Boccelli are staples at his fest. Think Sundance meets The Talented Mr. Ripley.