Documentary Review, part I: Fashion

I am, and always have been, a huge lover of the written word. I've enjoyed everything from text books to fiction, Austen to Diamant, Shakespeare to Rowling ... ok, you get the picture. However, being a mom to 5 children ranging in ages from 2 to 24 and working full time, I rarely get the chance to read anything unless it requires me to read aloud and use character voices as I move through the 12 - 20 pages. Alas, I miss the days when I would call in sick at work in order to finish Dan Brown's, The DaVinci Code, or the moments I'd have pizza delivered because I couldn't put down one whichever Harry Potter book I happened to be reading long enough to get dinner started. Fret not, I have found a viable alternative and it's not movies based on books; it's the documentary movie.

No, it's not quite the same but it does feed my thirst for knowledge and entertainment and I can pause it when necessary and return to it later. I try a different genre every week or so and I've found, to my surprise, I am interested in a great many subjects I never would have even bothered to delve into before. So here, dear reader, I share my "finds" with you.

I'll admit it - I am a wannabe fashionista. Like a lot of girls growing up, I wondered what it would be like to wear designer labels but it wasn't something I spent a lot of time worrying about. I wore - and wear - what's comfortable and presentable. My knowledge of fashion, besides being familiar with a few designer's names and checking in on Project Runway every season, is not very extensive but now, after watching some of these documentaries, it interests me a great deal. Fashion is a part of our daily lives whether or not we realize it. It influences what we wear, how we feel about ourselves and other people, how we view characters in books and movies, and how and where we spend money; it has a lot more power over us than most of us ever thought.

Let's start with the King: Valentino Garavani. Even if you've been living under a rock for the better part of the last 45 or so years, you know who this fashion icon is. For 96 minutes, you're allowed to take a look at his ingenious design process, go backstage at his last couture show, watch as his days-long 45th Anniversary celebration is planned and carried out, and get a very rare glimpse at his life with his partner and love, Giancarlo Giamatti. This is a world of haute couture - business as well as design - that few outside of the industry get to see.

I watched it instantly at www.netflix.com

Those who read Vogue know that the September issue is THE issue. This documentary offers you a rare glimpse at the creative process in the nine months preceding the release of the "bible" with Anna Wintour, Vogue's Editor-In-Chief (whom the character Miranda Priestly of The Devil Wears Prada is based upon and has been dubbed the most "influential woman in fashion"), and former model-turned-creative director, Grace Coddington. You also get treated to several Fashion Week runway shows, photo shoots, and tell-it-like-it-is staff meetings. These are the people that make you make fashion what it is.

I watched it instantly at www.netflix.com

BravoTV brings us this follow up on the life of Christian Siriano, arguably the most popular and successful winner of Project Runway to date. We get to watch Christian move through daily life as he prepares for Fashion Week - designing, fitting, sewing, modifying - on top of fitting and dressing celebrity clients, doing interviews, public appearances at department stores, and finding time for his family and partner. You'll meet his hardworking and loyal staff that includes a hometown childhood friend, Sam, who is his assistant designer, his boyfriend Brad, his mother Joye, and even get a tour of his new fashionable Chelsea apartment. If you've never heard of him before this, you won't forget him after this.

I watched this on YouTube.com

Besides designers, fashion editors and creative directors, models in print and on the runway are the catalyst that presents fashion to the public. I have been under the impression, like most of the world, I'm sure, that models are pretty girls who merely wear nice clothing, get their hair and makeup done, then walk down a corridor and get paid. Well, that's right - to some small degree - but there's a lot more too it than that. A lot. Filmmaker Ole Schell follows his girlfriend model Sara Ziff over the course of several years through her international high-fashion career. There are interviews with other models, photographers and designers and you'll experience the highs and lows of being a girl on the runway.

I watched this instantly at www.netflix.com

Immensely entertaining, insightful and educational. Designers, film directors, actors, models and more discuss where fashion meets the film industry and how they both influence and inspire one another. You'll definitely look at the costuming of movies like Annie Hall, Bonnie and Clyde, and The Devil Wears Prada - all movies, past and present - very differently.

I watched this instantly at www.netflix.com

Watching these documentaries has been something of a guilty pleasure of mine and I'm a bit hungry for more. If you know of any others, please comment with the title and share your thoughts as well.

NEXT UP: Documentary Review, part II: Social Consciousness will include titles that focus on different social issues including shoes (yes, more fashion), professional dancing, gender reassignment, mental illness, and photography.