Advent calendar: fashion on screen
I was gone for a long time, but to make up for it, I made an advent calendar, and you can open all the windows at the same time! “Advent calendar: fashion on screen” is a compendium of series, films, and documentaries about Fashion or that have Fashion as a backdrop. Personal choices, with the motto “sharing is caring” — I liked these 24 works so much that I want to share it with you.
Each excerpt of text about each one has a different prism, thoughts of different lengths. Being real, unedited, and offering inspiration to each other should be a mandatory part of every gift guide.
This is not an article to read from cover to cover, it is an article to go back to, underline, cross out, make check marks and if it weren't for the fact that it is digital, it would even wrinkle a little from handling it so much.
I hope you like this Christmas gift:
1 -The New Look (2024)
Dior's New Look was a new approach, not just silhouette, but to the current system and life. In The New Look, they present a human vision of the great figures in the history of 20th century fashion. It's not about Dior, it's also about Chanel. Not brands, people, motivations, emotions, and family. The humanity behind the myth.
2- Velvet (2013 - 2016)
Velvet is not a biopic, it is a fiction with Fashion at the center of the action, with strong nuances of romance, friendship, and family. Walking into Gallerías Velvet in Madrid becomes your safe and happy place. The sweetness of the sets and atmosphere, the splendor of the actors' work and Helena Sanchéz Mira's magnificent costumes transport you. You will want to be part of “Chicas Velvet”, receive an invitation to Ana and Alberto's wedding, listen to Isabel's advice, make Don Emílio emotional or awaken Doña Blanca's affection.
3 -Made in Italy (2019)
We know how to list the fashion four by heart, but do we know how it all started? “Made in Italy” shows us how Milan became one of the most iconic fashion capitals in the 70s. And even though we have a Fashion magazine, a chief editor and an assistant. The “Appeal”, Laura and Irene, the art history student who transforms into a great professional passionate about fashion, no, they do not give any sensation of déjà vu. They show us a professional and human relationship in 360º, without forgetting the climaxes provided by Missoni, Giorgio Armani or Albini.
4 - Coco Chanel (2008)
When it comes to biographical films and series, the focus is usually on the rise of the protagonist. In this TV film/miniseries, the focus is on a 71-year-old Coco Chanel, who decides to reopen her Maison. The iconic and magnanimous Shirley MacLaine brings to life the moments experienced on February 5, 1954, when, between reality and fiction, Mademoiselle Chanel prepares and presents her first post-war collection. Shortly after, she enhances her great-niece's look for a special occasion and recalls the key moments of her life in the company of her cousin Adrianne.
5 - Cristóbal Balenciaga (2024)
The mastery of Spanish series reaches Fashion biopics. The beauty of the sets, costumes and framing contrast with the personality of Cristóbal himself — a closed man, and although with great creative genius, his character is twisted and evil. Still, it's a must-see, the story of a boy from the Basque Country who conquers Parisian Haute Couture. Without a doubt, one of the masterpieces of rising Spanish fiction.
6 - Becoming Karl Lagerfeld (2024)
It is not mandatory for a biopic to always have the protagonist's point of view first. We learn how Karl Otto became Karl Lagerfeld, the Kaiser of Fashion, by first meeting the love of his life — Jacques de Bascher. In addition to seeing an interpretation of his career not as a designer, but as a brand creator, we get to know his rigid personality and an expression of feelings that gradually makes itself free.
7 - Halston (2021)
Excess, testing limits, creating or recreating simplicity with greater sophistication — these are some characteristics of the rise of the first “‘pop’ star” designer in the Fashion industry - Halston. Netflix creates a delight for the senses to tell us a version of the biography of the American icon. While emotions arise for those watching through romances and dramas or with moments that can be described as friendship “till death do us part”.
8 - Diane von Fürstenberg:
Woman in Charge (2024)
Who are we when we don’t allow ourselves to be afraid? Who are we when we decide to be women in conscious charge of our lives? What do we create when we use Fashion as a tool of feminism? DVF’s life in the first person and on screen responds to all of this. And mantras like “love is life” and “the most important relationship you have in life is the one you have with yourself” are strengthened.
9 - Jane by Design (2012)
To my pre-teen self, Jane Quimby was the closest thing to an alter-ego on TV. Fashion was her safe space with an amazing mentor And being clumsy, anxious, comical, and torn between school and Fashion - “Oh My God!” — it was my “higher self”! I haven't seen the series in over ten years, I think maybe today it would seem kitsch, but Christmas is kitsch, and it's a fairy tale, so this series belongs in this advent calendar.
10 -The Next in Fashion (2020 -2023)
I've always liked fashion realities, I confess. When I was still in elementary school, I loved going home at lunch to watch some episodes of Project Runway, which were aired on cable TV. But when the first season of Next in Fashion premiered, it was something different, innovative and modern. Alexa Chung somehow made it less mainstream. It wasn't the typical television contest… It was exciting and even a topic of conversation with my college friends. The second season is funny, and some lessons are learned, but it's something for the general audience. However, I recommend that you press play.
11 -The September issue (2009)
How is Vogue made? What are the details and implications of the edition of the most important month in Fashion, September? What is it like working with Anna Wintour? How does the creative process of Grace Coddinghton and other editors work? How many meetings are needed before the issue is on newsstands? We don't have concise answers, the clues are in the documentary, and it's not exactly “The Devil Wears Prada” in real life.
12 - The First Monday in May (2016)
Rihanna's dress by Guo Pei was one of the most talked about in the history of the World Wide Web. Also, one of the most taken out of context and used in memes over and over again. The Met Gala is decades old and has years of exposure in the media, which is not synonymous with knowledge of its reasons. The First Monday in May takes us behind the scenes of the preparation of the exhibition “China: Through the Looking Glass”, the 2015 annual exhibition of the Costume Institute (actually Anna Wintour Costume Center since 2014) of the MET - Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. We are transported to glimpses of the organization of the opening of the aforementioned exhibition, which is, in essence, what the Met Gala is.
13 - Diana Vreeland: The eye has to travel (2011)
Diana Vreeland cannot be labeled with a role in the Fashion industry. Editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar and later Vogue, curator, and consultant at the Met's Costume Institute, she was above all a matriarch. Amidst the scarlet red, we see Culture, Art, and Fashion through her eyes and with her voice. A narrative marked by the rebelliousness of a woman who defied the conventions of what would be expected of a woman from “good families” born at the beginning of the 20th century… The same woman who at the age of 68, in the 70s, when she left Vogue, she didn't let people tell her when to stop, so she embraced new challenges.
14 - The Future of Fashion (2016)
Fashion is always portrayed with adrenaline and an intangible dimension, the then It girl Alexa Chung is the presenter of this mini doc series on British Vogue's YouTube that has the merit of changing this narrative. Showing what Fashion is like in everyday life, through on-site testimonials and fly on the wall observation. Addressing practical advice in various areas of Fashion: design, creative direction, management, journalism, trend forecasting, creation of digital platforms and blogs, PR…
15 - Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989)
I watched this documentary in the Productive Thinking Stimulation Techniques class years ago, and I remember being amazed. Dazzled, not only by Yohji Yamamoto's aesthetics and vision, but by the calm, calmness with which Yamamoto works and the calm inherent to Wim Wenders' delicacy in his study of the relationship between his work as a filmmaker and the Yohji-San's design work applied to Fashion and the body.
16 - Vogue: The 90s (2024)
Are we aware of how the 90s and its events had an impact on the current Fashion System? With Vogue, something almost unavoidable in many Fashion documentaries, as a central point that radiates to different stories that together tell the most recent History of Fashion.
I can't help but mention two things that transcend this example, but that apply here: Vogue will always be unavoidable because Condé Nast is exempt from capitalizing on Fashion as entertainment by supporting the production of various audiovisual documents; The media doesn't justify everything, for me, Kim Kardashian's presence doesn't make any sense.
17 - The supermodels (2024)
“Being a supermodel is not being superhuman.” This Linda Evangelista expression was the one that moved me the most in the entire series. Linda, Naomi (Campbell), Cindy (Crawford) and Christy (Turlington) changed what it is and what it means to be a model in the fashion industry. But what was behind the beauty? Everything good and bad that happens to human beings. But beyond the truth behind the myth is the study of the phenomenon they personify, with several testimonials from fashion insiders. The presence of Suzy Menkes is notable, an unprecedented and enriching presence compared to other documentaries.
18 - Prêt -à-Porter (1994)
Fashion knows how to have fun and laugh at its particularities. And the truth is that a sense of humor, fashion, the 90s and beautiful actors are the essential ingredients for a film that will be seen and rewatched hundreds of times. Rossy de Palma, Linda Hunt, Lauren de Bacall, Sophia Loren, Cher, Julia Roberts and Marcello Mastroianni join Jean Paul Gaultier, Sonia Rykiel, Naomi Campbell, Thierry Mugler, Issey Miyake, Linda Evangelista and the list would go on… If, there was no need to tell you about the occasion of such gathering - Paris Fashion Week and the death of the President of the Chambre Syndicale… You need to watch it!
19 - Bill Cunningham New York (2010)
While most photographers capture the moments of a fashion show with tripods at the end of the catwalk, taking a frontal view of the looks, Bill Cunningham did not do this. The essence of the fashion show and its creativity was, for him, in the movement of those walking on the street, which is why he took photos sitting in the front row. But the big moments of his work were on the street, photographing the style of New Yorkers. A pioneer of street style, the man with a sweet smile, a cobalt blue work jacket and always accompanied by a camera and his bicycle had his routine portrayed at the height of his 80 years. A simple routine, full of affection and love for his work, is captured in this documentary.
20 - High and Low: John Galliano (2024)
This is not a documentary about Fashion, it is a documentary about humanity and our society. We can make mistakes as long as we have the courage to learn from such mistakes and the ability to recognize what is negative in us. And making that information a driven for improvement. John Galliano's life had highs and lows, but his change depended not just on himself, but on the ability of others to give second chances. What better time of year than this, to reflect on ourselves and our values? Values that should not be used just to criticize, but to understand that being human means having good and bad moments. After all, we will only have second chances if we make it easier for others.
21 - Karl Lagerfeld sketching his life (2011)
It is practically a consensus that Karl Lagerfeld was the Kaiser of Fashion. But Karl wasn't a couturier, Lagerfeld was more sui generis than that - he was a sketcher. He understood drawing and sketching as a tool for communication, expression and thought. Not making drawing something sacred, he drew like someone who writes something so it’forgotten or even like someone who breathes. Hence, the video recording of this icon drawing his life is pure art.
22 - The Gospel According to André (2017)
There were those who called him a nun… André Leon Talley was just too busy being who he was and transforming himself into one of the greatest personalities in the History of Contemporary Fashion for dating and romance. His good heart, his devotion to Fashion; expressing oneself through clothing; the adoration for his grandmother, the taste for food - perhaps his only addition; his unconditional love for his mentor, his frankness and his intelligence make this version of his life on screen a true gospel.
23 - ModaLisboa 50 (2018)
Independent Fashion Weeks start here, with ModaLisboa and Lisboa Fashion Week. With the dream and persistence of someone who did not doubt the immense value of independent fashion in Portugal. A versatile documentary that, in addition to showing how the 50th edition of Lisbon Fashion Week is prepared, demonstrates and faithfully transmits the emotion and love that surrounds this fashion family. A celebration of the future with archival flashbacks to the beginning of it all. I confess that only at the second try I watched the entire documentary, in the middle of one of the first-person testimonies, the emotional tears no longer let me see. So much love makes the world better!
24 - Franca: Chaos and Creation (2016)
I lost count of how many times I watched “Franca. Chaos and Creation”, is masterful! It's not a 100-per-hour documentary. It is the calm and energetic celebration of Fraca Sozzani's life, through the lens of her son Francesco Carrozinni's love. And, in addition to the focus, on the disruptive path of transforming Fashion's image and communication into a practical political agent for social awareness. Or being led to discover the courage behind exposing domestic violence in the upper classes, fighting against racism, or uncovering the true impact of the oil industry on the environment — all through the institution that, thanks to Franca, is Vogue Italia. We are faced with a woman larger than life, who personifies the conciliation of motherhood with a splendid career, and who lived a life full of different loves and passions without the need for the exhilaration of a great romantic love.
10 days left until Christmas! But until then, we'll still see each other. Where? At your inbox.