Items31The creator’s order
  1. 1Phantom Thread (2017)Phantom Thread (2017) 7.4/10 on IMDbReleased Dec 25, 2017The best drama ever made about the discipline of dressmaking. Daniel Day-Lewis plays a 1950s London couturier whose house runs on silence, ritual and fittings that go on until the line is right, and the film treats a hem or a sleeve as seriously as any plot turn. The costumes won the Oscar, which…0
  2. 2The Devil Wears Prada (2006)The Devil Wears Prada (2006) 7.0/10 on IMDbReleased Jun 29, 2006The fashion-magazine comedy everyone quotes, and still the sharpest mainstream look at how editors, assistants and designers depend on one another. Meryl Streep's editor-in-chief is frightening precisely because she is so controlled, and the film quietly makes the case that the industry's taste…0
  3. 3Dior and I (2015)Dior and I (2015) 7.2/10 on IMDbReleased Mar 6, 2015If you want to see where couture is actually made, start here. Filmed in 2012, it follows Raf Simons through roughly eight weeks to his first haute couture collection for Dior, after he was hired to replace John Galliano, and the real stars are the seamstresses in white lab coats who build each…0
  4. 4The September Issue (2009)The September Issue (2009) 7.0/10 on IMDbReleased Aug 28, 2009The real-life companion to every Devil Wears Prada joke. The cameras follow Anna Wintour and her Vogue staff as they put together the September 2007 issue, but the person you remember is creative director Grace Coddington, quietly furious when one of her photo spreads is cut from the…0
  5. 5Unzipped (1995)Unzipped (1995) 6.4/10 on IMDbReleased Aug 11, 1995The funniest designer documentary, and the one that set the template. Isaac Mizrahi talks, sketches, panics and riffs his way through the making of his Fall 1994 collection, and his running commentary on references, fabrics and nerves is as entertaining as any scripted comedy. It also shows the…0
  6. 6Valentino: The Last Emperor (2008)Valentino: The Last Emperor (2008) 7.2/10 on IMDbReleased Sep 7, 2008A rare look at couture as both an art and a business at the moment the business took over. Shot in 2007, it follows Valentino Garavani from the preparation of his 45th-anniversary collection to a lavish tribute to his career, while new corporate owners circle and rumors of his retirement…0
  7. 7McQueen (2018)McQueen (2018) 7.7/10 on IMDbReleased Jun 8, 2018The 2018 documentary about Alexander McQueen, and the essential one for anyone who knows his shows only from photographs. It traces his rags-to-riches rise and lets you see why his sharp tailoring and theatrical shows unsettled the industry as much as they thrilled it. It is a dark watch, honest…0
  8. 8Funny Face (1957)Funny Face (1957) 7.0/10 on IMDbReleased Feb 13, 1957The classic Hollywood fashion musical, and more knowing about the industry than its candy colors suggest. The story was inspired by Richard Avedon's photographs of couture, Avedon himself worked on the film as a visual consultant, and Kay Thompson's magazine editor is said to be based on Diana…0
  9. 9Blow-Up (1966)Blow-Up (1966) 7.4/10 on IMDbReleased Dec 18, 1966The 1966 classic about a fashion photographer in mod London, whose world is bounded by shoots, models, pop music and parties. Its opening stretch is the most vivid picture on film of how a fashion photograph was made in the Swinging Sixties. Be warned that it turns into a mystery about something…0
  10. 10Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022)Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022) 7.1/10 on IMDbReleased Jul 15, 2022The warmest film here, and a surprisingly detailed look at how a couture house sold its clothes. A 1950s London cleaning lady falls for a Dior dress and saves to buy one in Paris, which takes her into the salon, the fittings and the hand-finishing that made a single gown so costly. Jenny Beavan's…0