Top 10 new fashion films and TV shows

fashion,film,tv top 10 unmissable fashion feasts

Would you believe it? The most fashionable subject at the movies and on telly is suddenly... fashion. It\'s like waiting for a bus... nothing, and then 10 come at once! But hey, what better way to forget hard times than with a little escapism into the world of fabulous frocks? Just what the Gok ordered. Prepare to brush up on your fashion history and get a revealing insight into Planet Fashion\'s finest and freakiest. Choose from revealing fly-on-the-wall documentaries about feisty fashionistas, reality televionistas (want to know what happens to Whitney when she hits the Big Apple?) and the fantasy worlds of Big and Little Edie Beale, and Bruno, Sacha Baron Cohen\'s hilarious Austrian fashion addict. Weird how fact can prove far more riveting than fiction in this industry... Read on to discover 10 unmissable fashion feasts for your eyes.

1. Going loco for Coco

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Chanelmania explodes on to the big screen this year with three films out about the life, loves and times of the famous French designer who revolutionised womenswear in the 20th century. As well as an artsy 10-minute silent snore-fest by Karl Lagerfeld (Chanel/Paris-Moscou), there are two rather more exciting major works, exploring the extraordinary woman who re-wrote the book on fashion. First is Coco Avant Chanel (out 22 April), an epic by French director/screenwriter, Anne Fontaine, which features sumptuous costumes, outstanding photography and the beautiful and very believable, Audrey Tatou in the lead. Chanel And Igor Stravinsky, directed by Jan Kounen, explores the relationship between the ruthlessly ambitious designer (played by husky-voiced French star, Anna Mouglalis) and the controversial Russian composer (Bond baddie, Mads Mikkelsen) who wrote the score for The Rite Of Spring performed by The Ballets Russes, which remember, scandalised Paris in 1913. Be warned: if you don\'t speak French, a dictionary is a must as these come in Chanel\'s authentic mother tongue. It\'s good to learn more about the person behind the awesome clothing legacy. Which is why both are worth a butcher\'s.

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Read about the film\'s premiere here... 

2. Grey Gardens

Drew Barrymore,Film,TV,fashion,Grey Gardens grey gardens

Based on a ground-breaking 1975 documentary about a once-immensely wealthy and privileged mother and daughter who now inhabit a decrepit, rat-infested 28-room mansion in the otherwise wealthy East Hamptons in New York State, the movie version stars Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore. Don\'t be put off. Fashion content is high throughout, both looking back to the good old days and - shockingly - the present. Lange plays Big Edie, the aunt of Jackie Onassis, and Barrymore, a former debutante and society beauty, is Little Edie. The tragic riches-to-rags tale of the two eccentric, impeccably bred women keeping up appearances is made creepily watchable by their inexhaustible appetite for fashion. Watch them creating bottom halves from ragged top halves like deranged fashion stylists-on-acid. Being penniless doesn\'t interfere with their daily routine of getting glammed up to go nowhere. The movie attempts to explain why Big and Little Edie are frequently held up as fashion icons by designers like Marc Jacobs. Lange and Barrymore play their roles in spectacular, creepy Sunset Boulevard-style, ageing 50 years and portraying the inseparable duo with more than a dollop of the required intensity.

3. Valentino: The Last Emperor

Valentino,Film,TV,fashion,The Last Emperor valentino the last emperor

This fantastically stylish fash-doc follows the pug-loving, tanorexic Italian couturier, Valentino Garavani and his since-forever lover and business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, from 2005-7. This is not just a revealing insight into the world of an old-school legendary designer with a celebrity client list to die for (most famously Jackie O, Princess Diana, Joan Collins, Liz Hurley etc), but also a tear-jerking account of the final days of the 45-year-old brand as it prepares for financial take-over by a ruthless backer. Set to a soundtrack of Fellini, we watch as the 76-year-old perfectionist and his devoted partner reluctantly step down from their fashion empire. But not without throwing a retirement party in Rome that feels more like a coronation. With glimpses of pampered pugs boarding private Lear jets and the great Emperor himself lounging on yachts and bickering in Venetian palazzos we can piece together what the past half-century has been like for him and his long-suffering sidekick. Produced and directed by Matt Tyrnauer, a special Correspondent for glossy American mag, Vanity Fair, it offers an unprecedented behind the scenes look at the rarified world of couture, with backstage shots of seamstresses stitching and model fittings, as well as that insanely opulent three-day anniversary party. Totally unmissable (particularly for pug-lovers!).

4. The September Issue

Film,TV,anna wintour,fashion,the September Issue the september issue <

The story goes the frosty editor of US Vogue gave permission for this revealing documentary to prove she isn\'t really the devil although she does occasionally wear Prada. Shot over nine months, it tracks the Vogue team, led by Wintour, editor of 20 years, putting together the September 2007 issue, in the good old days pre-credit crunch remember? This is not so much a fashion version of The Office as an insight into the exhilarating yet terrifying fashion world inhabited by stick-legged, Manolo-wearing fashion robots (known as the Voguettes). Everything is here from the politics of personal to awesome behind the scenes footage of international catwalk shows. At the Sundance Film Festival in January 2009, despite being one of many heavyweight human interest films, this was a surprise hit perhaps because it contained every single human emotion from pain and humiliation to compassion. All just another day at the Vogue office. Wintour gave director, RJ Cutler, complete freedom to edit the movie (\"he showed us the film a little while ago and we made a few suggestions, all of which he ignored,\" she says). Most revealing is the stoical relationship between Wintour and her creative director, Grace Coddington, perhaps the only woman who isn\'t frightened of the scary lady-with-a-bob. Best bitchy bit is when you hear the September cover girl, Sienna Miller, needs re-touching because of her dodgy teeth and hair!

5. Carine Roitfeld: Revealed

Carine Roitfeld,Film,TV,fashion carine roitfeld revealed

This was made for the serious American global news network, CNN, which explains the no-frills approach to the exceptionally fashionable editor of French Vogue. Happily, Roitfeld, a deliciously French former model-turned-fashion stylist provides adequate glamour with her immaculate Balmain suits, teetering Balenciaga gladiator heels and superstar attitude. Carine Roitfeld was a highly respected and well-connected stylist with no experience in magazine editing when she took over as editor-in-chief at Vogue Paris in early 2001. The marvelous thing about Carine, besides being just so cool, is that in just eight years she has increased advertising by 10 per cent, upped circulation by 30 per cent and transformed the fusty image of super-luxury goods. The comparisons between her and Anna Wintour are obvious. Although we are only given a few juicy soundbites of Roitfeld talking about \"those\" rumours (of her being approached to edit AmericanVogue) the film concludes with a revealing morsel of information... Roitfeld\'s two children, Vladimir and Julia (28 and 27), re-located to New York recently. Reeeeally? Throughout the documentary, which features glowing tributes from powerful allies (Francois Henri Pinault of luxury goods giant PPR, Antoine Arnault of LVMH, Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford), we learn her children are the love of her life, besides fashion of course. Can you imagine the makeover Roitfeld would do to American Vogue... or Michelle Obama? She\'d be the first First Lady to wear a Margiela yeti coat and YSL spicy heels... but that might not be such a bad thing.

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Read more here... 

6. Bruno

Film,TV,fashion,Bruno,Sacha baron cohen bruno p>Can a mincing, gay, Austrian fashion freak on the loose in the homophobic mid-West of North America and on the Milan catwalk be as hilarious as a cretinous Kazakhstani geek? Yes, yes, yes! At least judging by the new trailer for the movie Bruno created by British comedian, Sacha Baron Cohen. Packed with controversy, crudity and insightful gags on the big bad country we do so love to hate, Bruno is as lovable as his broken English accent, which is really funny too. We follow him as he journeys across America making square-jawed, red-necked heterosexuals visibly squirm, not least because he is a foreigner (a European! Eeek!) Baron Cohen takes huge risks to ensure maximum response from his flamboyant alter ego. Highlights include Bruno getting up on stage as a \'surprise turn\' in front of 1,500 real life cowboys at a $5 beer fest where the main act is \"hot women cage fighting\" in Arkansas. By far Cohen\'s funniest piece since asking a Mossad agent and Palestinian academic to define the difference between Hamas and houmus. When Bruno slips into more familiar territory like modeling a Velcro suit on the Italian runways where he falls flat on his face, so does the gag. It\'s just not believable. When did you ever hear of a clumsy gay model?

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Watch the trailer here... 

7. Nine

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We are being a bit forward thinking here because this movie isn\'t even out until December and yet it\'s already being tipped to sweep the 2010 Oscars, so worth a mention. Boasting a seriously stellar cast, it\'s a remake of an influential Fellini classic, 8½. The movie tells the tale of a famous film director, Guido Contini, (played by Daniel Day-Lewis), and the complicated relationships with the women in his professional and personal life. Starting from the top we have Marion Cotillard as his wife, Penelope Cruz as his sultry mistress, Nicole Kidman as his demanding muse, Sophie Loren as his crazy mother and Dame Judi Dench as his manipulative costume designer. So far, so fabulous. Talk about oestrogen alert! Hope none of them suffered from PMT. Fashion interest comes in the form of lovely Kate Hudson who plays Stephanie, a young American fashion journalist who becomes another of his female obsessions. Even without seeing the film stills or trailer you just know there\'s bound to be a lot of frock-watching potential.

8. Britain\'s Next Top Model

Film,TV,fashion,Britains Next Top Model britains next top model It\'s back! Another series of the model reality show that provides cheesy, yet utterly compulsive viewing. No wonder this is everyone\'s guilty secret and regularly trawls in massive viewing figures. Now on terrestrial telly, Living TV have re-hashed the fashion formula and come up with a fast-paced, glossier version of the show. It features lots more jet-setting and catty back-chat to rival the super successful American series, which has also been a huge hit in the UK. British model Lisa Snowden is host and the show features a leading fashion specialist each week (including this season handbag.com\'s own Fashion Director, Belinda White), setting a challenge and marking the girls on how they do. There are also two new judges, the milliner Louis Mariette and photographer, Huggy Ragnarsson. Follow the pretty young hopefuls as they fly off to dreamy locations for fashion shoots including Cape Town, Marrakesh and Rio de Janeiro. Could series 5 could actually provide us with the new Kate Moss?

9. Mad Men

Film,TV,fashion,Mad Men mad men p>Still loving this! What a relief that the second series by HBO (who gave us Sex And The City) has proved to be just as gripping - and oh so stylish - as the first. No wonder it won 16 Emmy nominations and two Golden Globes. Set two years on still in the Madison (hence the \"Mad\") Avenue advertising (circa 1960), this time around the focus is more on wives and secretaries (how clever given its largely female audience), rather than simply cool breakout stars like Jon Hamm (Don Draper). Thank goodness the show\'s creator/writer, Matthew Weiner (also a writer and producer of The Sopranos) pushed for Hamm. It\'s interesting to see the impact this show has had on fashion from men\'s suits to women\'s Roland Mouret-esque frocks. Watching this makes you realize why the late \'50s early \'60s Jackie O era has such an influence on designers like Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors. No wonder this summer\'s \'it\' dress - as worn by Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) and queen bee of the fictional Sterling Cooper office, Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks), is being described as \'the love child\' of Mad Men and, for those who can remember, Dynasty. It makes perfect sense.

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Read more  and see a short film about the costume designer here

10. The City

Film,TV,fashion,The City the city

Love fashion and reality TV? In which case I hope you\'ve checked out The City, MTV\'s spin-off from their hugely popular The Hills? This sees breakout star, Whitney Port (Lauren Conrad\'s bessie mate remember?), pack up and move from the comfort of her home in sunny Los Angeles to the big, bad Apple. Whitney, with the perfect long blonde hair and bright white teeth, who worked as an intern on Teen Vogue with Lauren (and met Vogue\'s larger than life editor-at-large, Andre Leon Talley), swaps the West for East coast having landed herself a job with leading designer, Diane von Furstenberg. Personal life dramas ensure the 20-something\'s private life is anything but easy, natch. Fans will enjoy a rollercoaster ride as musician boyfriend Jay breaks the news he is going on tour and leaving her. In between, there are some great clothes and the show really gives you a fly-on-the-wall feel of what it would be like to work in fashion in Manhattan, where we learnt in Sex And The City, one chooses Manolos over the mortgage. Saying that, it\'s mostly handbags and boys so, you know, same old...