September 7, 2023 |
2023 might just be the year of the fashion film, as evidenced by its silver screen and TV slates being quietly put together by streaming services like Apple TV and Disney +. In fact, it’s starting to look like the year of the chic history lesson due to the surge of incoming biopics and designer-based documentaries. Whether you’re a fashion anarchist falling head-over-heels for the counter culture, an admirer looking to immerse yourself in the intimate lives of designers, an OG yearning for some supermodel stories or somewhere in between, there’s certainly something for you to spend you evenings binging. And with this list of highly anticipated projects, we’ve got your options covered. Just sit back, relax and press play!
FOR THE 90S OBSESSED
The Supermodels
For the first time since the golden age of the runway, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington are coming together in a candid setting for a documentary series on Apple TV+ that’s been aptly named, The Supermodels. Under the direction of two-time Academy Award-winning documentarian Barbara Kopple, the upcoming four-part series will travel back to the late ‘80s and through the ’90s in New York, delving into the lives of the quartet and how they transformed and disrupted the perception of what the industry thought a model should be. They weren’t simply models, they were (and still are) celebrities in their own right. Through exclusive interviews bringing all the affairs that went on behind the scenes to the silver screen, revisit their heyday and the collective disruption of the glitz, glam and, the darker, Heroine Chic, of the ‘90s fashion scene that they unwittingly unleashed and still reverberates today.
While there’s no word yet as to who else is set to reflect on their ’90s reign, we can expect a whole slew of designers – from historical big hitters who collaborated with them during those pivotal period in their lives, to emerging talents who were strongly influenced by their unapologetic prowess, covetable looks and joie de vivre – to weigh in. Mark it in your fashion week calendars ‘cause its coming smack dab in the middle of fashion’s most mischievous month.
‘The Supermodels’, from Imagine Documentaries, will be available for streaming from September 20 on Apple TV+. The Supermodels is directed by Barbara Kopple and executive produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Sara Bernstein and Justin Wilkes, who are joined by the four supers and Kopple.
In Vogue: The 1990s
Coming to Disney+ is a new, original British docuseries featuring a cast of iconic figures from the world of fashion, music and film that’s set to unveil the untold fashion story of the era-defining 90s. Pulling from industry experts, cultural subjects and cataclysmic pop culture moments, In Vogue: The 1990s is the story of how high fashion and mainstream culture came to influence one another.
It will offer us insights from both of Vogue’s top editors, Anna Wintour and Edward Enninful, who recollect their lives on the front row, and will show rare, never-before-seen archives from key figures in the industry. Wintour said in a statement: “The 90s was such an exciting and important decade for fashion. It was the period when fashion entered the mainstream–when it became inescapable, culturally relevant and full of iconoclasm and expression and difference. The personalities were larger than life too. This series will capture all of that and I’m thrilled it’s coming to Disney+.”
‘In Vogue: The 1990s’ will be executive produced for Raw by Liesel Evans and Sam Anthony, executive produced for Condé Nast Entertainment by Sarah Amos, Mark Guiducci, and Helen Estabrook, and will hit streaming platform, Disney+ soon.
Moss & Freud
An unlikely friendship; a beautiful bond; a pious meeting of brilliant minds; Moss & Freud is the new inspired biopic dramatizing the life of supermodel Kate Moss at the peak of her career alongside the high-octane relationship she gleaned with the late artist Lucian Freud. Oscar-winning filmmaker James Lucas is set to direct the film and Ellie Bamber will play the renowned supermodel whilst Emmy winner, Derek Jacobi, will portray Freud.
Set in 2002, the titular film unfolds during an intense nine-month period in Moss’ life when was pregnant with her daughter, Lila, and decided to sit for an 80-year-old Freud despite the British artists’ reluctance to depict famous subjects (he had previously rejected an offer to paint Princess Diana). The painter approached the model after she detailed in an interview with i-D that one of her ambitions in life was to be a subject of his. During an interview with Nick Knight for Showstudio back in 2014, Moss remembers her sessions with Freud lasting from 7pm to 2am three nights a week and recalls how the artist taught her discipline. In 2005, the resulting nude portrait of a then-pregnant Moss sold for almost $5 million dollars (approx. £4 million) when it was auctioned at Christie’s in 2005.
With the support of the Lucian Freud Archive, Moss is taking on the role of executive producer while Matthew Metcalfe – who worked on McLaren (2017) – has been named producer. To add to the milieu, GFC Films has designed the film set largely around Freud’s renowned Holland Park studio in London.
Though an exact release date is yet to be announced, it’s believed that ‘Moss & Freud’ will be coming to the silver screen later this year.
FOR THE COUTURE CRAZED
Balenciaga
As far as fashion biopics go, Balenciaga, the upcoming six-part drama series from Disney+ that traces the life of Cristóbal Balenciaga, should be a guaranteed good’un. Traversing his beginnings as the son of a seamstress and a fisherman, to building one of the most luxurious and recognisable fashion houses in the world, it’s set to chronicle the rise of the man who used his natural talent, constant work and sharp nose for business to become one of the most prominent fashion designers of all time.
Belén Cuesta – who will play Fabiola de Mora y Aragón before she became Queen of Belgium – and Gemma Whelan – who will will play Prudence Glynn, a journalist for The Times newspaper – are among those cast in the show, alongside Alberto San Juan in the title role. The drama, created by Lourdes Iglesias and 12-time Goya Award-winners Jose Mari Goenaga, Jon Garaño and Aitor Arregi, it the first Spanish period drama from the streaming platform.
We don’t know exactly when its out, but our Disney + notification are on and we’re buzzing to lose ourselves in this should-be splendid Spanish period piece.
Kaiser Karl
Another Disney+ release set to serve up some historic high fashion goodness in the near future, is Kaiser Karl, a six-part series that will chart the life and times of the enigmatic and larger-than-life fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld – who helmed some of the world’s most prominent fashion houses – through the high fashion world of Paris in the ’70s. Beginning during the summer of 1972, it’s set to trace Lagerfeld’s quest to become successor of Coco Chanel, who died the year prior, in particular.
Filmed in France and produced by Paris-based Gaumont, it’s based on the 2019 biography of the same name by Raphaëlle Bacqué who is lending a hand to the series alongside writers Isaure Pisani-Ferry and Jennifer Have.
Daniel Brühl, will play the formidable atelier. The Spanish-German star was spotted back in May this year filming scenes in Rome, sporting the designer’s iconic sleek ponytail complete with a light grey blazer and waistcoat paired with a purple tie. The series will also look at the rivalry between Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent’s partner, Pierre Berge, as well as the romantic story with Jacques de Bascher. Arnaud Valois and Alex Lutz will play Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé respectively.
Consulting on the project are three of Lagerfeld’s long-time confidantes: Karl Lagerfeld executives Paolo Righi and Caroline Lebar as well as the designer’s former personal assistant, Sébastien Jondeau.
Kaiser Karl has no official release date yet.
The New Look
An “epic thriller” set against the backdrop of the World War II Nazi occupation of Paris, The New Look, from Todd A. Kessler and starring Emmy Award winner Ben Mendelsohn and Academy Award winner Juliette Binoche, will depict the meteoric rise of Christian Dior as he dethrones the grande dame Coco Chanel, ending her reign as the most famous name in fashion. Dior’s subsequent rise brought beauty, elegance and an uplifting spirit to a world riddled with tragedy, hopelessness and loss. Little does the Frenchman know that his influence will be felt for generations to come, leaving an everlasting legacy.
Filmed exclusively in Paris, it will show the interconnected stories of Dior’s equals and rivals – Coco Chanel (Juliette Binoche), Balmain, Balenciaga, Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Yves Saint Laurent and more. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the pair will be joined by a modern-day style star: Maisie Williams.
The streaming service has yet to release a release date, meaning the show is likely pretty far off (although its reported that it should air before the end of 2023), but we’re waiting – reluctantly so – because we don’t want to miss this.
Top Image: photography courtesy of @cturlington.
