Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? (1966)
Although he revitalised fashion photography with his raw street energy, William Klein had a healthy disregard for the world of clothing. This absurdist pop art comedy is a scattershot satire about the ridiculousness of the emerging youth fashion industry, at times coming on like Monty Python let loose on a Vogue spread. Who is Polly Maggoo? In all the silliness we never find out. The actress – Dorothy McGowan, Klein’s favourite model – added to the mystery by disappearing from public life after its release. Stanley Kubrick declared the film 10 years ahead of its time, while now it’s a perfect snapshot of it. (JK)
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Just as Polly Maggoo rather obviously caricatured legendary editor Diana Vreeland, this fun comedy drama doesn’t need to step very far from its inspiration of Vogue editor Anna ‘Nuclear’ Wintour. Anne Hathaway has a disastrous start as the lowly second assistant to Meryl Streep (in full scenery-chewing flow). Things start to go better when the magazine’s stylist shows her how to dress, though caustic, downtrodden first assistant Emily Blunt is harder to win over. Ultimately fashion loses in this battle for Hathaway’s soul, but we enjoy the fight. (JK)
The September Issue (2009)
Vogue’s infamous 840-page September 2007 issue contained a record breaking number of adverts, but this documentary focuses on the 13% of the magazine that was editorial. It takes a very neutral stance on über-editor Wintour, never going out of its way to humanise her. But the real star of the show is Wintour’s frequently put upon, but never weak, creative director Grace Coddington. With her feet firmly on the ground, Grace seems to be a rare strand of common sense. But this is fashion as big business, where the iron will of one woman affects what we all wear. (JK)
Pretty In Pink (1986)
John Hughes’ 80s dreamgirl Molly Ringwald plays wrong-side-of-the-tracks Andie – who proves that as long as you have a sewing machine and a vision you can hold your sartorial own against the school ‘richies’. When the prom looms, Andie customises an exquisite donated vintage prom dress. We’ve seen what she can do with a welfare cheque and a thrift store, so with baited breath we await her Sistine Chapel. Her cack-handed fashion illustration rings alarm bells, but nothing can prepare us for her final creation – a startlingly misshapen pink sack stitched by blind
monkeys. (RK)
Zoolander (2001)
You don’t even need to have seen Ben Stiller’s finest moment to know what ‘blue steel’ means, so ingrained is the phrase in our understanding of the modelling world. This silly plot about a conspiracy to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia is merely a thread to stitch together the gags (if you want the same story without the jokes, Brett Easton Ellis’ boring ‘Glamorama’ got to the tale first). And the jokes come thick and fast, with an emphasis on the former. But remember, there’s “a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking”. (JK)
Girl, Model (2011)
From the opening scene of hundreds of Russian children lined up in bikinis – like some sort of warped cattle market – this is a hugely disturbing documentary. An amoral scout travels through darkest Russia to find ‘fresh faced’ (ie young) models to be whisked away to Japan to make their fortune. It doesn’t work out like that and 13-year-old Nadya is dumped alone in Tokyo with agents barely interested in her. For a look at how tough even successful modelling is, check out Sara Ziff’s doc Picture Me. She went on to form Model Alliance, a group set up to help vulnerable girls like Nadya. (JK)
Words by James Kendall and Rosie Kendall
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