Dégrafées, déboutonnées, dézippées

I enjoyed this film for three reasons. I like Isaac Mizrahi, I like fashion design, and I LOVE Linda Evangelista!

If you like any of these three elements (insert your own favorite supermodel) then most likely you will also like this documentary. The fashion design element is what surprised me the most. I had no idea what it must be like to be a high end clothing designer until I saw Unzipped. All the details of the clothing designs culminate at the end with a fashion show.

One of my guiltiest pleasures was watching Linda ham it up for the cameras. Cindy and Naomi didn't look too bad either. They might not be geniuses, but damn if they aren't fun to look at.

I have seen few movies as ridiculously shallow and pretentious as this movie with the exception of maybe Jawbreaker or Titanic. Mizrahi is mistaken to think that his personality is enough to carry an entire film. We are subjected to bad singing and bizarre dance moves. He shows off his primadona authority by courageously demanding that a skrim be placed at one of his shows to reveal the models change clothes. This somehow makes him a pioneering innovator. The concept of a documentary about a fashion designer working on a collection is a great idea, but Mizrahi wants to show off his character and his connections. At times he shows us the various sources of his inspiration, but that doesn't seem to be the primary focus of the film. That primary focus is the rantings and ravings of a self-centered fool.

OK - so i decided to rent this because i get such a kick out of watching Isaac on his show. he's so funny and witty and entertaining - he could be that proverbial entertaining phone-book- reader. but the thing about this movie that is really so great and wonderful is not the "insider's look into the fashion world" or the "glimpses of stunning supermodels" or whatever - but rather the fact that this movie documents something rarely shown: how the creative process works, from the initial idea or spark, where it comes from and how it's developed (for Isaac - from movies and music - anything in the culture - and then he starts drawing and chatting about his ideas with family, friends and colleagues to develop it), all the way to making that idea into something tangible and concrete (and really, what i appreciate about what the movie shows, is how such a seemingly abstract or novel "idea" can be developed into an entire fashion collection). i study architecture, and the parallels are absolutely there for anyone in any creative or design field. i gave it a 9 out of 10 only because i wish it had been longer. PLUS another benefit of the movie: you get to see/hear Isaac play the piano. so fun. and his mother is a hoot! plus i really loved seeing a few of the really great style arbiters - Polly Mellen, Candy Pratts, Ingrid Sischy - on film. wish Andre Leon Talley had said more. and it was so fun to see mark morris and Sandra Bernhardt too! all in all a fabulous film for anyone in or interested in the creative and design fields.

Well, it was long, and showed very little of the models really. I was thinking it was going to have tons of models. It's all about the designer. It's sort of depressing, but if you want to be a fashion designer, this flick is a must!

This documentary is reality before it tanked to the lowest common denominator, and worth watching.

For someone who has only been marginally exposed to fashion, (As when I admittedly shop at Saks NY and buy off the rack), I did find this documentary intriguing and the creative ideas of Mizrahi interesting and unusual. His talent for unusual color combinations and prints is nicely manifested on the runway.

Not too much pandering here to celebrity, though we do see some hangers-on in Mizrahi's daily life, his angst and ideas for a scrim (even imitated just this last week on a "Tyra Banks" show for Fashion Week) While I don't buy into all the hype and refuse to blindly follow fashion magazine trends, the models are lovely to watch, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Veronica Webb and a few others.

Could now have a wider audience, "Unzipped" is far less shallow than more recent comparable documentaries on the fashion industry. 8/10.