Fashion Movie Nights: Unzipped

Unzipped (1995), a behind-the-scenes documentary following the making of designer Isaac Mizrahi's F/W 1994 collection, is an honest and hilarious look at what it takes to make it in the oft-worshipped world of high fashion design. What sets Unzipped apart from other fashion documentaries is Mizrahi's larger-than-life personality, and made for TV sound bites scattered throughout the film. Douglas Keeve's beautiful black and white cinematography doesn't hurt, either.

Above: Mizrahi as a young boy

The opening scene shows a distraught Mizrahi, whose bandana and fro is an obvious sign of the grungey nineties. His S/S 1994 collection did not get good reviews, but has to immediately gear up for the next collection. The film highlights this journey, from his inspiration (chic eskimos in Nanook of the North) to his fabric selections ("I looked through thousands of sequins to find this one"), and from his let-downs (finding out from Women's Wear Daily just days before showing his collection that Jean-Paul Gaultier also was inspired by Nanook of the North) to his eventual vindication (a fantastic review of his F/W 1995 collection in the New York Times).


High Fashion Cred: If you yearn for the days of glamorous nineties supermodels like I do, this film is right up your alley. In Unzipped, the supermodels are the stars, and rightfully so. But while viewers are already familiar with their otherworldly faces, this documentary displays their personalities like you've never seen them before. 





Cindy Crawford is refreshingly down-to-earth, at one point discussing football games with Mizrahi like a true Midwesterner, a few scenes before then-boyfriend and movie star Richard Gere comes to watch her strut her stuff in the Isaac Mizrahi fashion show.




Linda Evangelista plays the brat with aplomb - when she realizes she has to change behind a see-through "scrim" in front of the entire fashion show audience, she throws a mini tantrum. "It's so crazy to dress nude by Naomi and Carla," she whines. "I must be out of my f***ing mind to dress next to the two best bodies in the business!"

Carla Bruni has a much different reaction to the see-through screen, shimmying seductively behind it before the show starts. "My natural exhibitionist now comes out of this situation," she giggles in a heavy French accent. "You really can see everything, oh yes!" After a film full of her come-hither glances, it's not hard to understand how Bruni seduced Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger in the nineties, or the President of France a couple of years ago (she is now the First Lady).





20-year-old Kate Moss is as cooly nonchalant as she is now, watching Linda and Naomi goof off backstage with total disinterest. The contrast between Kate, the poster child of the heroin-chic waif look and the early nineties glamazon embodied by supermodels like Linda and Naomi is captured perfectly in this one short moment.





Naomi Campbell seems fresh-faced and fun, a far cry from the terrifying diva that she is constantly portrayed as in the media today. During a fitting, she playfully argues with Mizrahi about taking out her belly button ring, and afterwards skips down a NYC sidewalk with him hand in hand.


Unzipped screen shots clockwise from top left: Shalom Harlow, Christy Turlington, Patricia Velasquez and Helena Christensen.

Other supermodel cameos include Helena Christensen, Shalom Harlow, Christy Turlington, Padma Lakshmi, Nikki Taylor, Veronica Webb and Karen Mulder. If models don't thrill you, several other fashion heavy-hitters make appearances like Andre Leon-Talley, Giles Bensimon, Kevin Aucoin and Linda Fargo.

Modeling in Mizrahi's F/W 1994 show, clockwise from top left: Carla Bruni, Shalom Harlow, Harlow in the 'best dressed' babydoll dress, and Padma Lakshmi

Best Dressed: This is a tough one, but my guests who watched Unzipped with me all agreed on the sparkly baby doll dress seen on Shalom Harlow.

Karen Mulder in yellow, Nikki Taylor in blue, and Shalom Harlow in pink

Most visually stunning scene: Most of Unzipped is filmed in black and white, so when the climax of the film, the fashion show, finally reveals Mizrahi's brilliant use of color, the effect is dazzling. At the fittings, each sparkly dress and shaggy fur look alike, but in color each outfit is totally unique. Campbell opens her shaggy black fur to reveal a sparkly canary romper; Evangelista stomps down the runway in glossy black sequins trailing her Pepto pink coat behind her; Crawford is a delicate ski bunny in a shiny pink party dress and wide matching headband and booties.

Most unexpected scene stealer: In one of the beginning scenes, Mizrahi meets with a bejeweled Eartha Kitt, the legendary cabaret star. The seventy-something is more energetic than a child on a sugar high and saucier than a jar of Prego. "Make me some gowns! Some gowns that I can mooove in," she purrs, before breaking out in an impromptu dance routine.

Models behind the scrimm getting dressed before the fashion show starts

Substance score: 7. Mizrahi's hilarious quips and the supes in all their glory will ensure that any fashion addict will enjoy this one of a kind documentary. Mizrahi's fashion show finale is such a visual feast for the eyes that viewers will understand that they are bearing witness to a spectacular moment in fashion history.

Cindy, Carla, Linda and Shalom closing the fashion show.

Here's the trailer for Unzipped. I promise that the quality of the actual film is not this grainy!

FMN celebrates both iconic films that have shaped fashion in a significant way and documentaries offering a behind the scenes look into the fashion industry. In a series of blog posts following our FMN viewing parties, I analyze the impact of each film on fashion.