Who says exceptional time, says exceptional post!
Whether you’re teleworking or babysitting at home, use these rare moments to do what you never have time to do. And this is why we are launching, for the next few weeks, a new series of articles dedicated to offering you little tips that allow you not to be bored, to have fun or even to escape. But you know us, it will be always around fashion for sure!
So we start this series with our top 10 fashion movies you should definitely watch or rediscover. Whether funny, light, poignant or inspired by actual events, they all deserve to be seen.
So let’s go !
VINTAGE MOVIES
1. Funny Face – “Drôle de Frimousse” (1957)
Did you like The Devil Wears Prada? Then you will love Funny Face!
At the time of the Paris 50s, worthy of a postcard, Maggie Prescott, editor of the American fashion magazine Quality, is looking for the new model to present the latest creations of the renowned designer Paul Duval. Joëlle Stockton, a Greenwich Village bookseller, will become the new face of the big magazine.
Upon her arrival in Paris, she is accompany by Dick Avery, a star photographer of the time. But the young woman quickly abandons the sirens of fashion in favor of her first passion: philosophical discussions of Saint-Germain-des-Prés… In short, a post-war Paris in full effervescence around Fashion which will make you spend a pleasant moment, with a casting of choice: Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, Michel Auclair. All of this was staged in a sublime musical by Stanley Donen. Funny Face is truly one of the last films of classic Hollywood music to see and watch again without moderation!
2. Falbalas (1945)
Philippe Clarence, a great fashion designer. He is widely famous in all of Paris, is known and recognized for his creations, but especially for his many feminine conquests. Don Juan in his spare time, it is fever and excitement that drives him.
A serious relationship? No, don’t talk to him about it. For him, outside of work, passion is only a handicap. It was then that he met Micheline (yes… those were the first names of the time:)!), The fiancée of her best friend, both of whom came to Paris to organize their wedding. Philippe falls in love with the beautiful Micheline. And does everything to conquer her. He does not suspect for a moment the depth of the feelings that will resurface. In his third feature film, Jacques Becker introduces us to a passionate character through fashion, although tortured and even rocking, into madness. A masterpiece!
Ps: for the anecdote, Falbalas is Jean-Paul Gauthier’s favorite film, so we can only recommend it to you!
TRUE STORIES
3. Saint Laurent (2014)
Saint-Laurent is a film directed by Bertrand Bonello which recalls the 1967-1976 period of the life of the famous French great couturier: Yves Saint Laurent. Instant immersion in the most creative years of the couturier’s career. Gaspard Ulliel, delivers here an intense interpretation of the genius between solitude and the desire to be loved.
A designer torn between passion for his work (haute couture), and morbidity, Bertrand Bonello makes us discover the hidden and no less confrontational faces of a singular man who engages in controversial pastimes like drugs or stories of one night…
Here, the director takes us through a tortured genius, supported by a mind-boggling acting game that is both just and disturbing.
4. The September Issue (2009)
The September Issue is an unreleased documentary film that follows the editorial staff of the famous Vogue magazine, including editor-in-chief: Anna Wintour. A true fashion popess, Anna Wintour is one of the most powerful and fascinating icons in the fashion world. Until now, she had never allowed anyone to interfere in the backstages of her magazine.
Except for R.J Cutler, the director. This documentary film brings us to the discovery of the conception and the manufacturing of the September 2007 issue. This “back to school” issue is one of the most awaited in the Fashion sphere and must set the tone for the fashion season. A nice opportunity to discover behind the scenes with a concrete example the making of the back to school number. But also the opportunity to meet the closest collaborators of Anna Wintour by following her through the different Fashion Weeks.
5. Coco avant Chanel (2009)
Biopic on the pre-glory of Coco Chanel, Coco avant Chanel is a film that focuses on the life of Gabrielle Chanel. Where is she from ? How did she get to the top? This is what director Anne Fontaine and actress Audrey Tautou show us.
To understand the woman behind the fashion figure, Coco avant Chanel takes us through Gabrielle Chanel’s difficult childhood in an orphanage where she is with her sister, Adrienne. A few years later, they will sing in a “bellowing” of the mills, where they will meet two men who will change their lives … A film around a fashion icon, which presents us with elegance and emotion, the first steps of Gabrielle Chanel as a seamstress through the birth of her fashion house.
6. The Eye Has to Travel (2011)
The Eye Has to Travel is at the border between a film and a documentary. It skillfully traces the life and career of the great Diana Vreeland. We are carried away in an introspection of her childhood at the time of fashionable Paris during the Belle Epoque. Going through her beginnings as Editor-in-Chief of the famous magazine Harper’s Bazaar, when she literally revolutionized fashion by popularizing the famous blue denim and the Bikini. A large part of the documentary film also traces the fabulous years of Diana as Editor-in-Chief of Vogue magazine. She brought her very artistic vision, making the magazine an inspirational bible to the unique vision of fashion.
A very beautiful tribute to travel through poignant and exclusive testimonies of Vreeland, as well as interviews of her loved ones, her family and her colleagues. Through this film, we discover an intimate portrait of a woman full of ambition, brilliant, and eccentric who left us a true heritage of fashion. Diana Vreeland, the great popess of fashion, created the fashion of today and tomorrow in the 1920s!
THE OFFSETS
7. The Devil wears Prada (2006)
Cult film … The Devil wears Prada is a timeless one that lets you watch at least once a year! (Yes… We are a fan at BUTTONS PARADISE). A young journalism graduate, Andrea Sachs (embodied by the sublime Anne Hathaway), has just arrived in New York where she gets the job of her dreams: assistant to the editor-in-chief of the prestigious fashion magazine Runway. Dream job … yes but especially on paper!
This is without counting on Miranda Priesley (Mery Streep), her superior. She makes her live a real hell. Tyrannical, the editor-in-chief of the magazine spares nothing at Andrea. The film adapted from Lauren Weisberger’s novel, perfectly combines the dreams of a young journalist full of ambitions upset by the reality of the world’s largest fashion magazines. All with a hint of play on stereotypes, but above all a lot of humor. You will understand: a treat!
8. Confession of a shopaholic (2009)
In the same vein, we advise you to watch Confession of a shopaholic! Becky Bloomwood is a true shopping addict. Passionate about fashion, she runs the shops all day long. And she is literally incapable of reasoning when we talk about the latest and hottest pieces, no matter the price. Pushed by her best friend, Becky has to find a job. Indeed she has to finance her impulse purchases. Ironically, she got a job in a financial magazine. And then, she finds herself explaining to the readers of the magazine how to manage their money and save, while she spends her time squandering hers in the shops: a real pierced basket!
Becky quickly finds herself in a delicate situation, which she seeks to hide from those around her as well as from her very attractive new boss. She takes us through her adventures, in which we discover a moving protagonist, very funny and surprising of resources. In short, a super entertaining all guilt-free film. With that you are going to tell you that there is much worse than you 🙂
9. The intern (2015)
Yes… okay you exposed us so we admit: We love Anne Hathaway! So if you’re a fan, you can rediscover her in this film without headache and pleasant to watch. Ben Whittaker, 70, lost his wife and feels lonely. The retirement having changed nothing in his feeling of loneliness. He decides to apply for an internship for a fashion site. Against all attention, he gets the job! Jules Ostin, the boss of the company is initially surprised to see him. But he soon realizes that this new and atypical recruit has quickly been accepted by the team. Between fatherly love, friendship, and exchange, the two characters bring us lightly to spend this time with them.
10. Zoolander (2001)
So, we warn you, this one is really totally offbeat! But how to speak of the top 10 films about fashion without mentioning the one adulated by the fashion sphere? And which mostly takes a condensed shots of the fashion world. But attention, humor and self-deprecation are rigors. You can imagine that with the infernal duo Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, we should not expect melodrama. Derek Zoolander, played by Ben Stiller, is a famous model. At the height of his career, and Top Model of the Year 3 times, he is on the verge of receiving his fourth trophy. Turnaround, this title is finally stolen from him by a game and ambitious model: Hansel.
The catwalk icon therefore decides to abandon the futile world of fashion in order to rejuvenate within his family. This is without counting on the arrival of his agent. Then, he offers him a new job in which he is far from imagining what will happen to him. Nice casting in this film. In brief, completely crossed out but it appears as a scathing, but legitimate parody, of the habits and customs of the fashion world. You will see: David Bowie, Milla Jovovich, Tom Ford as well as Natalie Portman and Lenny Kravitz.
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