Last week (May 1) saw the Met Gala pay tribute to Karl Lagerfeld (pictured on the cover), who is recognised as one of the most iconic fashion designers. It tied in nicely with the release of The Mysterious Mr Lagerfeld on April 26, a film which uncloaks the man who is known to be as controversial as he is gifted.
Directed by Michael Waldman, it is one of the many fashion films that have been made. These productions elevate the people in the style industry into on-screen superstars.
Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, worked for top fashion houses such as Chloe, Fendi and Chanel. He also has his own eponymous label.
The man is known for his less-than-politically-correct comments though – and it has always been a matter of whether you love or hate him.
The Mysterious Mr Lagerfeld premiered as a BBC documentary, which promises to explore the designer’s larger-than-life public persona and monochrome outfits.
“Weaving investigations in the present with Lagerfeld’s biography – illustrated by illuminating and much unseen archive footage – this film shows his profound and lasting effect on those around him, including his beloved cat Choupette,” reads the description.
Other fashion designers have also been given a similar celebrity treatment in recent years.
There is McQueen (2018), directed by Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui. It celebrates Alexander McQueen, and tells of his rags to riches story.
McQueen died in 2010. He has designed iconic outfits for artistes such as David Bowie and Bjork.
Using interviews with friends, family, and colleagues, mixed with archival footage, the film also paints a clearer picture of his struggles in his later years – which led to him taking his own life.
Read more: Met Gala 2023: Jared Leto dressed as Karl Lagerfeld's cat, and other celebs
Dries (2017) provides an in-depth look into the life of Dries Van Noten. Directed by Reiner Holzemer, it follows the
(still living) designer throughout his creative process of a whole year.
Viewers get a glimpse of his life as he designs four collections. The film also browses through his career, and passes the doors of his private house and garden.
Inside Dior (2017), a film mini-series directed by Waldman, was released as the fashion house celebrated its 70th anniversary.
Tracking Dior’s past and present, it also shines a spotlight on the arrival of the brand’s first female creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri.
In 2014, a similar documentary was released. Directed by Frederic Tcheng, Dior And I is however a behind-the-scene look at designer Raf Simons’ first haute couture collection for Dior.
Simons is Chiuri’s predecessor. So you can say that such films – by choosing to celebrate people instead of just brands – glorify the designers, more than the fashion houses.
Of course, there are those in the fashion industry who have had films made about them – despite not being designers.
Andre Leon Talley is one good example.
The man, who was once revered as the right hand of Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, died last year. He was known for his extravagant dressing and unique point of view when it comes to style.
The Gospel According To Andre, directed by Kate Novack, was first screened in 2016 and released to the public in 2018.
The film tells of Talley’s rise in the industry, who was raised in modest circumstances by his grandmother. It included plaudits from figures such as Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford and Wintour (before the two’s eventual fallout).
“I don’t live for fashion, I live for beauty and style,” declares Talley in the opening moments of the film.
Fashion drama
Not all fashion films are well-received by their subjects, though. The dramatisations especially, have drawn ire for not being entirely accurate.
House Of Gucci, released in 2021, was a sore point for the heirs of Aldo Gucci, who was chairman of the Gucci fashion house from 1953 to 1986.
They issued a statement saying they are “a bit disconcerted” about what they claim is their inaccurate portrayal.
“The production of the film did not bother to consult the heirs before describing Aldo Gucci – president of the company for 30 years (played by Al Pacino in the film) – and the members of the Gucci family as thugs, ignorant and insensitive to the world around them,” the statement said.
“This is extremely painful from a human point of view and an insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today.”
They even threatened to sue because of the film.
House Of Gucci stars Lady Gaga, Jared Leto, Adam Driver and more. It was directed by Ridley Scott.
The biographical crime drama is based on the 2001 book The House Of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, And Greed.
It follows Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) and Maurizio Gucci (Driver), as their romance transforms into a fight for control of the Italian fashion brand.
In 2014, there was a battle of sorts between two Yves Saint Laurent biopics.
Saint Laurent, directed by Bertrand Bonello, was not supported by the late designer’s longtime business partner, Pierre Berge.
Read more: Are film depictions overdramatising the real-life legacy of fashion houses?
Both however, told similar stories. They centre on Saint Laurent’s life and tells of his trials and tribulations faced during the peak of his career.
The only difference? One paints Berge in a less savoury light.
In 2019, another Yves Saint Laurent documentary, directed by Olivier Meyrou, was released. This one was actually banned for 18 years.
Berge had taken legal action to supress the release of Yves Saint Laurent: The Last Collections.
“Mr Berge did not like the way the documentary portrayed him,” Nicolas Brigaud-Robert, a principal of Playtime, the film’s distribution company, was quoted as saying by The New York Times.
Berge reportedly won the legal suit because he had not signed a release authorising use of his image.
Nevertheless, Saint Laurent’s death in 2008, and Berge’s own passing in 2017, ended the legal restriction.
Interestingly, it was then released in 2018 to the public in the US. What was the special date chosen? Nov 14 – Berge’s birthday.
All of this show that the fashion world is certainly dramatic. No wonder it has become fodder for films, dramas and biopics.
No matter how inaccurate they can sometimes be, these productions still draw in curious viewers.
After all, fashion is known for putting on some of the most grand runway shows – and you can only expect the people behind them to lead very “colourful” lives.
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