5 Fashion Documentaries to Watch Over SB

The trailer for “The First Monday in May” was released late last month. The film follows Andrew Bolton, the Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as he puts together the exhibition, “China: Through the Looking Glass,” the most attended exhibition in the Costume Institute’s history. Amid shots of enviable fashion, Met Gala madness and Anna Wintour’s signature bob, the film examines the complex and sometimes paradoxical intersections of fashion, celebrity and art. The result is sure to be fascinating.

Although the film won’t be premiering until the Tribeca Film Festival in April, there are so many amazing fashion documentaries to watch until then. These movies illustrate and illuminate the world of fashion, bringing many of us the closest we will ever be to the front row or the red carpet. Here are some of our favorites, because there is no finals week so terrible that it can not be improved by hot coffee, dark chocolate and a good fashion documentary.

In Vogue: The Editor’s Eye

This HBO documentary, released along with an accompanying coffee table book, celebrates Vogue’s 120th anniversary by focusing on the monolithic magazine’s most iconic fashion editors and the indelible images they created. The movie takes you behind-the-scenes of some of the magazine’s most famous photos, featuring commentary from some of the most famous faces in fashion, from Anna Wintour to Vera Wang. Spanning nearly the entirety of the fashion bible’s glitzy history, “In Vogue: The Editor’s Eye” has enough gossip, intrigue and glamour to fill a very large pair of Louboutins.

The Tents

“The Tents” is an ode to New York Fashion Week, from its humble and somewhat haphazard beginnings in Bryant Park to the glitzy fashion circus that is Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center. Starting in the early 1990s, the film features interviews and cameos from all sides of the industry, covering both the highs and the lows encountered by the fashion community at large. The result is a movie that will have you rooting for an underdog you never thought possible – New York Fashion Week.

Dior and I

“Dior and I” features Raf Simons’ debut as Christian Dior’s artistic director, designing his first haute couture collection for the iconic brand with a team of seamstresses by his side. The film takes the viewer behind the scenes, giving an intimate look at the complicated process of creating a collection that both honors the fashion house’s storied history while also making a creative impact with one’s debut collection. Weaving bits of history in between Simon’s almost futuristic designs, the film ends triumphantly with Simon’s first show.

Bill Cunningham New York

The man behind the camera comes front and center in this celebration of one of fashion’s most humble and mysterious characters, Bill Cunningham. Known for documenting fashion from the streets of New York to high-society gala events, Cunningham is a fixture in the fashion industry, despite keeping an exceedingly low profile. This movie gives a private look at the man responsible for elevating street style, proving that you don’t have to be flashy to make an impact in the fashion industry.

The September Issue

As any fashion magazine junkie knows, the September issue is so much more than an issue – it is a fall fashion manifesto. Arguably the greatest fashion documentary ever made, “The September Issue” captures all the drama, disaster and Dior involved as the legendary Anna Wintour puts together the September 2007 issue of Vogue. What begins as a portrait of one woman and one issue slowly evolves into an examination of the complicated relationship between Wintour and creative director Grace Coddington. When two creative geniuses enter a room, the result could be perfection – or purgatory.