The Devil Wears Prada.
An iconic movie that brought attention to the glamorous world of fashion. Meryl Streep brought life to a cold-hearted magazine editor who knew what was what and who was who in the fashion world.
Even though her character, Miranda Priestly, was a fictional person based on the book written by Lauren Weisberger, this character shed some real-life knowledge unto viewers everywhere. It’s in a particular scene where Streep crudely picks apart Anne Hathaway’s character, Andy Sachs’s outfit and her “fashion doesn’t apply to me” attitude. This scene as an iconic narrative to just how much fashion is applied daily to each and every person, even if they aren’t the most fashion forward.
Watch it here.
Although this film had some good insight on the fashion industry and what goes on day-to-day, it still had many fictional aspects to it.
So, if you’re looking to delve further into the fashion world with actual facts and real footage behind the scenes of fashion shows and just how the clothes and productions are made, I’ve got just the list of movies to watch for you.
1. Dior and I
This movie is a classic for the fashion documentary community. It pulls you in and shows you the inside of the house of Dior. In April of 2012, Raf Simons was announced as the new creative director for Christian Dior. This means that he was now the head designer of the brand.
The documentary was released in 2015 and followed Simons through the process of putting together his first haute couture collection as the new artistic director. The intricacy and all of the people and work that go into putting on such a fantastic fashion show is so interesting to watch. This film also gives background information on Dior’s roots and beginnings, as well as how the brand has changed the fashion world.
2. The September Issue
Anna Wintour is a name known throughout the fashion industry. A real-life Miranda Priestly if there ever was one. She is a hard-working woman who means business, and she has to when she has been the editor-in-chief of Vogue since 1988.
This particular documentary follows Wintour through the process of making and producing everything that goes into the making of Vogue's September 2007 issue.
Another primary character in this movie is Grace Coddington who was a former model for Vogue and is now Junior editor fir British Vogue, and creative director for US Vogue. Both Coddington and Wintour have dominant personalities in stressful situations which makes it an entertaining watch as well as informational and intriguing.
3. Unzipped
I had the privilege to watch this documentary in one of my fashion merchandising classes, and it was really enjoyable to watch!
This 1995 documentary goes behind the scenes on what it’s like for a designer to make a collection from scratch: the inspiration, the selection of fabrics, choosing models, producing the actual show, and everything else in between.
The designer you get to follow on his creative journey is Isaac Mizrahi. He is a fairly well-known designer with a contagious, bubbly personality that draws you into the movie and gets you involved. Mizrahi’s daring vision and “way-out” style produces an amazing show that has to be watched with awe.
So, if you’re looking for shows or movies to binge on, I suggest taking a look at the exciting world of fashion and all that it has to offer. Educate yourself a little on just how much fashion influences you and everything around you. Learn all about what exactly goes into creating a whole fashion magazine or a whole haute couture show before you say that fashion is silly and unimportant.