Top 5: Movies About Fashion

Alright folks! I’m prepared to get flack for this list, but here goes! Our top 5 fashion movies – not the most influential on particular styles, but about clothes, models, fashionistas, and the like. Now, there are loads of documentaries that have come out about designers, editors (Anna Wintour, obviously) and models, but I don’t feel that it’s fair to categorize them in the same group as fictional films about the industry. They’re so completely different, and we could easily make our own list of Top 5 Fashion Documentaries, but that can be saved for another day. So here it is, our Top 5 Fashion Movies:

Runner Up: Funny Face

Yes, it’s an old movie. No, I don’t expect most people to run out and watch it (unless you’re a film buff, or just like good movies), but the entire movie includes fashion shows, clothes, modelling, photography and everything on how to be lovely in 1957, not to mention Kay Thompson doing a very good “devil wears prada-esque” interpretation of a fashion magazine editor. Throughout the film, Audrey Hepburn is transformed from a bohemian book worm to a gorgeous fashion model and the clothes are fantastic, especially if you’re a vintage gal like myself. Oh, and if you recall, the Gap DID use clips of Audrey in one of their commercials a few years back. So please go check it out!

5) Clueless

The epitome of 90′s dumb-dumb comedy, Clueless was extremely influential on the fashion of the decade and is about of rich, Beverly Hill High girls and boys whose only goals in life are to get laid, wear nice clothes and be popular. The movie is actually pretty hilarious and includes a great make-over of the late, great Brittany Murphy (RIP, baby!). The movie takes place in a mall or in a highschool, two very good places to get fashion tips of all kinds and the movie doesn’t disappoint, and although you don’t know why the hell you ever wore that hot pink micro-mini with those bright red pumps and pig tails all in one ensemble back in the day, when you watch this movie, you remember why.

4) Sex and the City: The Movie (The first one.)

Now, now. I don’t want to hear anything about this one. Even if you don’t like the show, the movies or Sarah Jessica Parker, there is no denying that the films AND the show have greatly influenced fashion and you also can’t deny that it’s all about the clothes. Yes, the drama with Big and Carrie is always interesting, but let’s face it, we watch the movies/show just because we want to see what the four clothes horses are wearing. Patricia Field has done wonders for fashionistas everywhere and she’s also the one that made it cool to wear vintage because not everything in your closet has to be a piece by Prada or Lanvin (although it helps.)

3) The Devil Wears Prada

By now everyone knows that the book was written by one of Anna Wintour‘s former hand maidens and that the main character, Miranda Priestly, was created in her image. The whole movie is about what the fashion industry will do to you once you’ve lost your soul and given yourself completely over to the dark side. Anne Hathaway was poorly cast and I can’t stand her at all, but when the movie came out, I can’t deny that I was one of the first in line to see it. The costumes by Patricia Field were beautiful and she even got an Oscar nod for it (even though she lost to Milena Canonero for Marie Antoinette – I can’t deny that the latters were far more beautiful). Oh, and the movies not THAT bad of an interpretation of the book, so kudos to you, David Frankel.

2) Coco Avant Chanel

Normally, I hate bio-pics, as any regular reader of my movie reviews knows, but I f*cking LOVED this movie. I’m a fan of Coco Chanel, anyway, because I think that she was a very strong-willed, innovative and influential woman at a time where 99% weren’t, and of the three Chanel bio-pics to come out in the last year and a half (the other two being Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky and Coco Chanel), this was my favourite, by far. The clothes are beautiful and Audrey Tautou (my love) played her role to perfection. Ps. Apparently she’s dating her co-star Benoît Poelvoorde (best name EVER) who played Étienne Balsan, Chanel’s sugar daddy during the early 20th century. Hot.

1) Zoolander

Yes, Zoolander is numero uno. Why? Because it’s f*cking hilarious and ALL about fashion. In fact, I’d say out of every movie on the list, it probably has most to do with the industry, even though it spends it’s entire 89 minutes mocking it in every way imaginable. Back in the day when Ben Stiller was still funny, this movie was on EVERYONE’s list of most hilarious movies ever (this was before Anchorman and Wedding Crashers, after all). This movie totally deserves to be top on the docket and is a must-see if you’ve never had the opportunity to watch it (and if that’s you, I’d like to know who the hell you are, because everyone has seen this movie. Freak.)

Honorable mentions: The September Issue, Issac Mizrahi, Unzipped and Paris is Burning, for the hard hard core.