Good old-fashioned fun

Yet another industry packed to the gills with madness, badness and sheer audacity

In case you were living under a rock, you may have missed that the beginning of this week was the first Monday in May - otherwise known in the culture as the day of the Met Gala. Vogue’s big boss Anna Wintour picks a theme & some “co-chairs” (famous people who apparently help plan it - in what way I don’t know, but I struggle to believe they’re chasing RSVPs and checking who is gluten-free…) and puts on a big ol’ party at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The great and the good of Hollywood, the music scene, fashionistas and even social media influencers clamour for an invitation, then gather in front of hundreds of photographers to pose their little hearts out.

Fashion has long been the source of as many titanic egos and legendary tantrums as that of Hollywood - on which we focused last week - and recently there has been an absolute influx of origin stories and biopics of several designers and other figures in the industry so let’s take a spin through some.

TL;DR

Watch Prêt-À-Porter and Iris; read The Chiffon Trenches; listen to Articles of Interest; and watch Becoming Karl Lagerfeld andWestwood.

WATCH

When talking about fashion industry movies, you would be wildly remiss not to mention The Devil Wears Prada and Zoolander. They are two wonderful, hilarious films which are cult classics . So much so, I don’t think we need to discuss them here today.

Instead may I point you towards Iris, a stylish, bright, fun & interesting documentary about a stylish, bright, fun & interesting woman: Iris Apfel.

The film was made by Albert Maysles who, along with his late brother David, was a pioneer of the ‘fly-on-the-wall’ style of documentary production. Apfel’s personality, creativity and sense of humour draw you in but her authenticity, kindness and refusal to allow fashion be deployed in any kind of exclusionary way make you stay.

Apfel & her husband Carl ran a textiles company for decades and even decorated the White House from President Truman until President Reagan (there was a break when Bush Sr didn’t engage her but the Clintons brought her back in). In the age of social media, Apfel became a global star; known for her glasses, love of colour and embrace of new platforms which enabled her to share her style with the world. She even signed a modelling contract at the age of 97! A life well lived and one you’ll feel the happier for knowing.

And now for an early 90s forgotten classic. With the choice of Prêt-À-Porter I am running the risk of accusations that this newsletter is simply a vehicle for director Robert Altman’s collaborations with actor Tim Robbins as Altman does direct and Robbins stars as per The Player last week.

Altman shot the film behind the scenes during Paris Fashion Week and by all accounts, the whole thing was a disaster from start to finish. Oh, and it was panned when it was released. However, the movie now occupies a liminal space due to its vintage and that it provides such a perfect snapshot of the world of fashion and celebrity in 1994.

There’s not a huge amount of plot to keep up with but there is Kim Basinger as a roving backstage reporter and Julia Roberts as a journalist not remotely bound by the traditional strictures of journalising…i.e. filing copy and/or freaking out about deadlines. But that’s not all, there’s Richard E. Grant, Sophia Loren, Forest Whitaker and Stephen Rea as well as cameos from Jean-Paul Gaulthier, Björk, Issey Miyake and a good few of the ‘90s Supers: Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Helena Christensen etc. Another great hangover movie when you just want some mild diversion.

READ

André Leon Talley was a huge figure - figuratively & literally, he was 6ft 5inches tall - in the world of fashion right up until his death in 2022. He is widely regarded to be the basis for Stanley Tucci’s character, Nigel Kipling, in The Devil Wears Prada.

Not only did he style President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, he also had the now-dubious honour of styling a certain Melania Knauss for her 2005 wedding to then property developer Donald J. Trump.

His memoir The Chiffon Trenches came out just two years before he died and two years after his acrimonious split with Anna Wintour & Vogue. Talley’s tale of the abuse he endured growing up, the resulting disordered eating and the loss of friends to the Aids epidemic do reveal a tragic side to his beginnings but the stories of his behaviour (& entitlement) the height of his powers at Vogue are truly toe-curling and insanely infuriating whilst also utterly addictive. That he lived on another planet and was slightly enamoured of himself is an understatement of the highest degree. A real page-turner for those who enjoy a bit of behind-the-scenes gossip about famous names!

LISTEN

Are you a fan of quite random but hugely interesting facts? Then Articles of Interest is right up you street.

The overarching focus of the show is the fashion industry, well, even more plainly: the actual clothes what we wear. But each episode dives deep on a different topic within that: from kids’ clothes and Hawaiian shirts to suits and simply ‘plaid’. However, the excellently-named host Avery Trufelman’s most important work must be the episode on POCKETS. All the women out there will know what I mean. Why do we so rarely have pockets in our clothing? Or why are they there for show? Or there but sewn up?! There hasn’t been a new episode this year but one of Trufelman’s final episodes from 2024 focuses on what the clergy wears, which seems appropriate given the election of the new Pope.

WATCH

The last few years and the recent boon of TV production thanks to the success of the streamers has resulted in an embarrassment of riches when it comes to stories about famous designers (sadly, mainly men…). The French production of Becoming Karl Lagerfeld starring Daniel Brühl in the lead role is on Disney+ and well worth anyone’s time.

Note the wording of the title: the show focuses on Lagerfeld’s early career in Paris in the 1970s - before the monochrome wardrobe, before the ponytail, before the fingerless gloves and before Choupette and Chanel.

However, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a watch. In fact, the sumptuous colours and wild money spent on sets and wardrobe along with the hedonistic vibe of the fashion industry in Paris in the 1970s make each episode feel like a Baz Luhrmann feature film. Brühl is, as in most things, excellent as the freelance designer jobbing his way around the couture houses of Paris, competing in work & romance with Yvès Saint Laurent and battling his demons. It received a three minute standing ovation when it premiered in Cannes and at only six episodes long so easily binged in a weekend. I would note though that Disney+ will offer you up the dubbed-into-English version upon first playing it. May I strongly recommend going into the settings & set it to play in the original French with English subtitles - it makes for an infinitely less annoying viewing experience. And got me to put down my phone.

Honourable mentions must go to Cristóbal Balenciaga, a Spanish production about the designer of the same. It’s also on Disney+ and the same rules of subtitles apply! And also to Halston, starring Ewan McGregor - who won an Emmy for the role, on Netflix. But that’s enough blokes for now.

And to see us out this week: the Queen of Punk herself, Dame Vivienne Westwood.

Westwood. Punk. Icon. Activist is also on Disney+ (not sure quite why they have cornered this particular part of the market…) produced around an interview Westwood did with the film’s producer Lorna Tucker as well as speaking with her two sons. The documentary explores Dame Vivienne’s evolution as a fashion designer, business owner and activist as opposed to any kind of exploration into the punk movement.

It’s an intriguing portrait as the late Westwood at times appears cranky and annoyed at being interviewed. She even went so far as to release a statement in advance of the Sundance premiere basically saying that she did not endorse the film despite there being plenty of footage of the Dame clearly being a willing - if somewhat cantankerous - interviewee. So the viewer is left to wonder: what the hell happened?!