Fashion in Film

Recently, seeking inspiration and creative encouragement in my work, I have gone on a fashion film marathon. I craved color, spark, passion and wise words of the maestri of Haute Couture. The most recent film I have seen was "Lagerfeld Confidential"an elusive documentary by Rudolphe Marconi - part dialogue with the head of Chanel, part continuous shots of Lagerfeld's travels. Overall, the film was a disappointment. Impersonal, fickle and lacking significant substance it neither gave any sense of Lagerfeld's monumental fashion resume nor glanced into the more subtle dwellings of the artist's mind. However, having started on a down note, I have discovered an array of fantastic films that were a true treat! If you crave a dose of Fashion in your life, you should definitely see:

The September Issue 

Why: The grand process of production of September issue of American Vogue (2007) and fabulous Anna Wintour, of course!

L'Amour Fou

Why: Yves Saint Laurant, Pierre Berge and the auctioning of their elaborate art collection!

Valentino: The Last Emperor

Why: Exuberant glance into the private and public life of Valentino Garavani as he bids adieu and steps off the fashion stage to retire. This movie was by far my favorite - personal, dazzling and full of life and love! 

Life of Pi Visual Journey

For those of you fascinated by Life of Pi visuals are in for quite an educational treat. A site, produced by 20th century FOX, named Pi's Epic Journey, will allow us to glimpse into film's production process, featuring infinite footage and informational tidbits that made Life of Pi a fascinating philosophical tale. Enjoy:

PI'S EPIC JOURNEY 

Marina & Ulay: Love Beyond

Two artists/performers Marina Abramovic and Ulay (Frank Uwe Laysiepen) met and fell in love in 1976 in Amsterdam.  They immediately started working together and led “collective existence” that helped them work and stay together for 12 years. They wore the same clothes, did not have any secrets from each other and generally acted like twins. For their performance “Death of self” the artists connected their mouths with a special apparatus and breathed in exhales of each other running out of oxygen after 17 minutes and fainting. The project explored the ability of an individual to consume the individuality of another person, changing and erasing it.

In late 1980’s Marina and Ulay encountered difficulties in their relationship, preventing them from working and living their lives fully. To finish their love story in grand artistic manner, they decided to perform one last soul-searching trip together to have closure. Starting from the opposite ends of the Great Wall of China they met in the middle hugged and parted forever…each walking 2500 kilometers prior.

In 2010, Marina Abramovic had a solo retrospective performance at MoMA in New York called “The Artist is Present” exchanging long gazes with anyone who volunteered to sit in front of her. The entire performance lasted 716 hours and 30 minutes and Marina has looked into the eyes of 1500 exhibition visitors. The only gaze that truly counted though was: