Must-see fashion films

Miles of film have immortalized fashion, constructing its image in renowned fictions or deciphering its fascinating reality through edifying documentaries. A dream industry with a formidable reputation, fashion is the subject of choice for the cinema. There is the one whose line is enlarged in fashion movies cults like The devil wears Prada by David Frankel or Funny face with Audrey Hepburn. The ideal backdrop for fiction, comedy or drama, the industry puts on a show like no other medium. But it is often on the documentary side that fashion finds most meaning on the screen. Loïc Prigent, Steven Maysles, Frédéric Tcheng are all directors who have gone as close as possible to the actors of fashion to unravel their mysteries. Entertaining or informative, moving or funny, but always fascinating, discover fashion films to add to its film library.

Gender: Documentary

Synopsis: Shooting star, designer Alexander McQueen distinguished himself by his sulphurous and avant-garde genius through his own brand and at the head of Givenchy, before ending his life in 2011. Through a poignant and visually haunting investigation, the two directors explore the work and the turbulent personality of one of the greatest talents in fashion. Take a look behind the scenes of the documentary here.

Release date : March 13, 2019

Gender: Documentary

Synopsis: Hastily appointed head of the Christian Dior house in 2012 following the departure of John Galliano, Belgian designer Raf Simons has eight weeks to develop his first haute couture collection. In close proximity to the stylist on edge, the documentary relates the implementation of this style challenge.

Release date : July 8, 2015

Gender: Musical comedy

Synopsis: Bookseller absorbed by his reading, Jo Stockton, played by Audrey Hepburn, is spotted by photographer Dick Avery, played by Fred Astaire. She agrees to pose for Quality Magazine with the sole aim of discovering the intellectual emulation of Paris, something she will hasten to do once there, despite her commitments in fashion.

Release date : 1957

Gender: Documentary

Synopsis: For the first time, a camera is allowed to follow Anna Wintour, famous editor-in-chief of the American edition of Vogue. Through the conception of the September issue, the most important of the year, the documentary invites us behind the scenes of the editorial staff to meet the major players in the industry.

Release date : September 16, 2009

Gender: Comedy

Synopsis: Andrea Sachs, aka Anna Hathaway, lands a job as an assistant to the formidable Runway editor-in-chief, Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep. Totally out of step with the spirit of the editorial staff and exhausted with work, the young woman is faced with a dilemma: persevere or throw in the towel.

Release date : September 27, 2006

Gender: Documentary

Synopsis: In three decades as editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia, Franca Sozzani has influenced and shaped the image of fashion, hand in hand with photographers, models and designers. Through the eyes of her son, the documentary returns the journey of this visionary Italian, just before her untimely death.

Release date : 2016

Gender: Documentary

Synopsis: When the illustrious documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles looks at the eccentric Iris Apfel, 90 years old, fabric editor and illustrious fashion collector, it culminates in a charming encounter of the third age. 1h23 of lessons on the style and relativity of life.

Release date : september 2015

Gender: Documentary

Synopsis: What is the daily life of the most emblematic designer of his time? Rodolphe Marconi invites us to unravel the mysteries of Karl Lagerfeld by following him in his many activities as a designer and photographer, his missions for Chanel and Fendi and by discovering him through the eyes of his friends and those who worked with him.

Release date : October 10, 2007

Gender: Drama, biopic

Synopsis: Between love stories and professional setbacks, Coco before Chanel lingers on the difficult beginnings of the young Gabrielle Chanel embodied on the screen by Audrey Tautout. An unprecedented fiction around the tumultuous journey that will lead her to become the great Coco Chanel.

Release date : April 22, 2009

Gender: Documentary

Synopsis: Divided into three episodes, the documentary series Fashion by Olivier Nicklaus explores thirty years of fashion in France. Golden Eighties and the reign of haute couture to turbulent designers, Antimode and the dark 90s hit by AIDS, Go Global and the current golden age of globalization are decoding the history of modern fashion.

Release date : 2012

Gender: Biopic

Synopsis: His beginnings in 1957 with Christian Dior, his meeting with Pierre Bergé, the creation of his brand and his influence … Pierre Niney embodies the reserved and talented Yves Saint Laurent through a meticulous biopic and faithful to the history of the creator.

Release date : January 8, 2014

Gender: Comedy

Synopsis: Model star with a brilliant career, Derek Zoolander is recognized and adored for his signature “blue steel” pose. But everything goes wrong for the top with the arrival of Hansel, a new face. Disgruntled, Derek Zoolander interrupts his career but quickly finds himself caught up in an international plot to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Release date : January 2, 2002 and March 16, 2016

Gender: Biopic

Synopsis: Focusing on the decade 1967 – 1976, the film Saint Laurent recounts a little-known period of debauchery in the life of the creator. Sulphurous relations, animosities with Pierre Bergé, artistic work … In the guise of Gaspard Ulliel, it is a dark and magnetic Saint Laurent who tells himself.

Release date : 2014

Gender: Comedy

Synopsis: From a successful British series, Absolutely Fabulous chronicles the misadventures of Edina and Patsy, two press officers worn on the champagne bottle who accidentally push Kate Moss into the Thames and must bear the consequences of her dramatic disappearance. A comedy studded with appearances by fashion stars.

Release date : Dec. 7, 2016

Manolo Blahnik: the boy who made shoes for lizards by Michael Roberts

Gender: Documentary

Synopsis: Who is the whimsical shoe designer Carrie Bradshaw has been a fan of in Sex and The City and who has been dressing the feet of the tallest for decades? The precious and hilarious Manolo Blahnik is revealed in this charming documentary with refreshing touches of humor. Discovering his romantic life, his unparalleled know-how and the admiration of his collaborators, one can only fall in love.

Release date : 2017

Gender: Documentary

Synopsis: In February 2010, the British designer Alexander McQueen ended his life. Through the decryption of his last three parades, the director Loïc Prigent retraces the career of this tortured genius and the evolution of the acerbic gaze he bore on society.

Release date : 2015

Gender: Documentary

Synopsis: Legendary editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, Diana Vreeland is an iconoclastic personality who is discovered through interviews and archive footage in this delicious documentary.

Release date : October 3, 2012

Gender: Documentary

Synopsis: Carine Roitfled, former editor-in-chief of the iconic Vogue Paris is the star of this documentary. This allows us to follow it in the development of the very first issue of CR Fashion Book, and to meet, here and there, the greatest personalities of the fashion world (Karl Lagerfeld, Donatella Versace, Alexander Wang …), testifying to the talent of the former French ‘Ana Wintour’.

Release date : October 16, 2013

Gender: Documentary

Synopsis: This documentary plunges us into the underworld of fashion seen by Marc Jacobs, formerly at the direction of Louis Vuitton. Without any filter, Loïc Prigent reveals the quirks and extravagances of fashion through the work of the unique and incomparable Marc Jacobs.

Release date : September 5, 2007

Gender: Documentary

Synopsis: In 2017, colette closed its doors in general amazement. A camera followed the last six months of the mythical place before it closed. We discover the other side of the decor of the Parisian concept store, theater of French and global creation and hype landmark that has since left orphaned a whole generation that grew up with it.

Release date : Preview at the mk2 Beaubourg, from February 26 to March 1 reservations: mk2.com

Gender: Comedy

Synopsis: Becky Bloomwood is a real shopaholic, drowning in debt and chased by her banker. In order to get her head out of the water, she gets hired at a financial magazine and finds herself giving advice to people on how to manage her money. Not being able to give up shopping, things are getting more complicated for her.

Release date : May 20, 2009

Gender: Series (6 seasons)

Synopsis: Carrie Bradshaw, the most famous and fashionable New York singles, writes about sex and romantic relationships for Vogue, drawing on her own experiences and those of her most faithful friends Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha. The hit series went on to produce two films in 2008 and 2010.

First episode release date: June 6, 1998