The Fashionistas

Definitively the best John Buttman Stagliano film in years. Only to see the performance of Belladonna (new queen of adult films) is worth of it. Great and rough action only for really adult films lovers.Rocco is back as actor and he is good. Also the supporting cast is doing very good, especially Kate Frost and Taylor Saint Clair.Everyone is convincing and enjoy what are doing.Besides is a look to the bondage world but in a soft way: hard but no illegal. And over all the things: here is Belladonna (as say Stagliano in the advertising):¨'the woman with the most incredible sexual abilities I ever see¨ if you wanna know if that is true: watch the film you will be speechless.

It is not possible to say how good I thought this film was. It has ruined me for any film of any kind now, not just porn. I am so much in lust for belladonna that it hurts - and I'm female and not gay (not completely anyway :) ) Anyway, if you only see one film, see this.

I'm still trying to get the soundtrack though. It doesn't come in the UK editions. This alone gives an indication of how good the film is.

As a warning, this is not suitable for the faint of heart, and maybe a first timer would be a little overawed - I'm flattened by it and I've had it for about three years now. Still not boring!

In a way, it's a shame none of the other people i it made any impression on me. I just keep thinking about her and her magnificent serpentine body!!!!!!!!

Spoilers herein.

Yes, this is porn, with some real negatives. One of these is its perversion, pretty much all the pain, bondage and fetish you can imagine.

But it is done as a parody. The watcher is being goofed on, tortured for fun. In fact, this is intelligent writing, and may be the only movie which you'll fast forward past the sex scenes to see the real movie.

The setup is a real fashion show of the ordinary variety. It is interrupted by gangsta cows in latex. This, it turns out is a DVD created by the very same gangsta cows.

So right away we have several folded layers:

• an erotic show (this movie) that's been hijacked by deliberately demeaning porn, featuring

• a similar women's fashion show similarly hijacked, within

-two DVD's showing the fetish fashions that are hijacked by the editor, Jesse, who places fetish fantasies that are as far out from those of the gangstas as their prancing is from the world of straight porn (which itself has exactly the same distance from real life).

And the thing is well acted and photographed on film with high production values. If you can stand it and transcend the material, this version of 'Clockwork Orange' will punish you for watching. Its all about the style.

The style that turns out to matter is the 'chameleon' line of clothes that start one way and shift levels.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

John BUTTMAN Stagliano achieved the seemingly impossible with his multi-award-winning, endlessly lauded FASHIONISTAS in as much as that he has singlehandedly revolutionized adult cinema. Of course, this did not occur totally out of the blue – so to speak – when one takes the guy's track record into consideration with instant classics like SHADOW DANCERS, WILD GOOSE CHASE and FACE DANCE to his credit. But even those fine features could not prepare yours truly for the levels of searing sexual sophistication and sheer film-making brilliance on display here. Its narrative complexity, done absolute justice by Stagliano's subtle storytelling techniques and a trio of incredibly accomplished central performances, appealed to the art-house aficionado lurking deeply within this old carnally inclined carcass.

In as satisfying an illustration of the old adage concerning "getting the best of both worlds" as you're ever going to see, the production values are pure mainstream with gorgeous cinematography and lighting enhancing the ambiance, dreamlike dissolves and a superlative and richly varied soundtrack. Just in case you didn't catch on yet, this movie has Masterpiece stamped all over it…and then some !

Celebrated Italian fashion designer Antonio, played by the always imposing Rocco Siffredi, is trying to conquer the American market with his seductive but staid fetish clothing when he's contacted in a most unorthodox way (which I'll let you discover for yourself) by the fledgling yet groundbreaking Fashionista group run by the formidable Helena (Queen of Curves Taylor St. Claire in a career performance). His attention piqued, Antonio is further lured in with the incentive of a pliant slave girl (Kate Frost, who got her start in "young girl" videos à la VIRGIN STORIES and TEEN TRYOUTS) for the first of the film's many jaw-dropping sex sequences that may push your boundaries as well as your buttons. Despite Helena's elaborate orchestrations, which include the overwhelming blonde forces of busty Friday and ethereally pale Sharon Wild supplemented by her own surprise appearance for a draining group spectacle with constantly shifting distribution of power, Antonio finds himself increasingly drawn to the Fashionista's resident computer geek designer Jesse (exceptionally well- portrayed by the supremely sensuous Belladonna, perhaps the most incredibly intense porno performer since Chloe) who'll eventually prove to be a closet submissive relying on Helena's good graces for more than just a paycheck. With these three characterizations in place, Stagliano's saga is ready to roll as their motivations are gradually revealed. Speaking of which, this just about constitutes the entire amount of plot I am willing to divulge at this point.

Part of the film's pleasure resides in trying to guess where it'll go next and whether the age-old question of "Who's the master and who's the slave ?" will finally be answered to everyone's satisfaction. Maybe just a teeny tiny word of warning concerning the amazing Crevice Club sequence that takes up most of the film's second half with snooty Caroline Pierce forcefully indoctrinated into…no, no, no, I really must slap myself on the wrist and keep mum. Trust me, you'll thank me for it ! While adventurous couples may eventually enjoy the movie's heavily B&D/S&M-slanted sexual content, this is clearly not an adult film for the inexperienced first time viewer or, indeed, the weak of heart.

All the extreme goings-on are handled with such an impeccable sense of style and an unerring "eye" for the erotic however, that even those not so inclined will ultimately be won over. In perhaps another intriguing "first", Stagliano has married mainstream porn to specialty fare, taking the union much further than many surely expected. If the somewhat abrupt ending, following the awe-inspiring Antonio/Jesse encounter the whole feature's been building up to, gives the impression of leaving several loose ends dangling, viewers can take heart in the fact that the director has decided to continue the tale with the just-released THE FASHIONISTAS : SAFADO and the announced THE FASHIONISTAS : BERLIN. I, for one, await with baited breath.

John "Buttman" Stagliano makes great porn because he was a porn fan first...and is still a porn fan. He publishes Buttman" magazine (probably the best and most cutting edge out there), runs Evil Angel Video, has starred in an s***load of vids, and has directed some of the best vids still out there. He's proud of his achievements and he continues to push the edge. Thus...Exhibit A: "Fashionistas".

The film (yes, film) is difficult to categorize, but it is an exploration of perception and perversion. It stars the incredible Belladonna, the current Queen of Extreme, and Rocco Siffredi, the Italian actor/director who is a living porn legend. It has a strong Sadism/Masochism bent and, though released under the Evil Angel label, is not the typical Evil Angel product, though EE is not your "typical" porn shingle, either.

Clearly a labor of love for Stagliano, the film is very rough, fetishistic, realistic and psychologically confronting. The sex is as hardcore as it gets with an emphasis on anal.

The lighting and production design are top notch, and Belladonna's performance (as Jesse) is heavy going indeed.

Although I am not an S&M aficionado, I still found the journey itself a very worthy one. Prudes be warned, though.