Do you consider yourself a seasoned film buff? Or are you more of a “I’ll just go the movies and see what’s on” type? Maybe you resign yourself to whatever takes your fancy on Netflix of an evening.
Whatever your stance on the world of cinema, as a bonafide fashion devotee (which we’re assuming you are, since you’re here), there are some films you simply have to see.
Whether it’s an insightful documentary into a designer’s first collection at the helm of a major fashion house (Dior and I), a tongue-in-cheek mockery of the fashion industry (Zoolander 2) or a vintage classic with impeccable costumes (Breakfast at Tiffany’s), these are the films every self-respecting fashion gal should add to their watch list, stat.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
The story of some of Asia’s wealthiest families and their lavish lifestyles, this blockbuster was always going to feature major couture moments from its star-studded cast—from the Swarovski-encrusted wedding dress worn by fictitious bride Araminta Lee, to the vintage looks donned by Asia’s most stylish woman, Astrid Leong (played by Gemma Chan). But despite the high-calibre fashion in the movie, the cast’s just as epic off-screen red carpets moments still managed to top the film’s costumes.
Atomic Blonde (2017)
Charlize Theron’s dynamic spy-thriller, Atomic Blonde, has shot up to the top of our fashion girl’s must-watch list. The costume designer behind the distinctive ’80s style, Cindy Evans, told Fashionista that MI6 spy Lorraine was decked out in vintage Dior, Burberry trenches, John Galliano vinyl coats, Stuart Weitzman boots and Margiela suits.
Ocean’s Eight (2018)
The all-female remake of Ocean’s Eleven was packed with cameos from stars of the fashion world. The film, which stars Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock and Rihanna to name a few actresses, told the story of a massive jewellery heist at the annual Met Gala and boasted designer-clad guest appearances from the likes of Kim Kardashian West, Serena Williams, Gigi Hadid and Dakota Fanning.
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
This isn’t a fashion movie, this is the fashion movie. Thank Meryl Streep and her Oscar-nominated turn as Miranda Priestly, a thinly veiled caricature of Anna Wintour, for giving the movie its film-buff credibility. Added points? Andie (Anne Hathaway’s) head-to-toe oh-so-2000s Chanel ensemble and a cameo by Gisele Bündchen as a bitchy magazine staffer.
Bill Cunningham: New York (2010)
Before the release of this documentary, Bill Cunningham was recognisable only to in-the-known fashion insiders. The late street style photographer was a total eccentric, and his musings on the role of fashion (“it’s the armour to survive the reality of day-to-day-life”) are touching. He, his blue jacket and his bicycle have become the stuff of fashion legend in the film’s aftermath.
Homecoming (2019)
Aside from showing why she’s arguably the best performer of our time, Beyoncé’s Homecoming documentary on Netflix is a feast for fashion aficionados. Documenting the performer’s preparation for her iconic Coachella set in 2018, the film features an entire wardrobe designed by Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing.
Phantom Thread (2017)
In his final film before retirement, Daniel Day-Lewis plays an obsessive-compulsive dressmaker for the wealthy in 1950s London. The film provides an honest insight into how much work actually goes into creating couture garments, and for fashion lovers, watching it is almost an emotional experience.
The September Issue (2009)
The September Issue marked the first time the world-at-large got an inside look at the goings-on of a real-life fashion magazine. The film tracks the creation of American Vogue‘s 2007 September issue—the most important issue on a magazine’s calendar. The often tumultuous relationship between editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and former creative director Grace Coddington is the film’s highlight.
Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Turns out, Tom Ford is just as good at making movies as he is at designing clothes, and Nocturnal Animals is a fashion masterpiece. In it, Amy Adams plays a tormented art dealer to the super-elites of L.A., and has a myriad of chic on-screen outfits (none of which are courtesy of Ford, however—the designer banned his own label’s clothes from appearing in the film).
Sex And The City (2008)
The Vivienne Westwood wedding dress, the bridal couture photo shoot, the fashion week appearance, the Manolo Blahnik’s… Sex and the City‘s Hollywood spin-off may not be as good as the HBO series, but it certainly holds it’s own in the fashion stakes; thank Patricia Field.
Zoolander 2 (2016)
Sure, it mercilessly mocks the fashion industry – but the bounty of amazing cameos (cue: Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang, Alexander Wang, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Valentino…) prove the industry is more than willing to laugh at itself on occasion.
Breathless (1960)
Whether they know it or not, cool girls like Alexa Chung and Jeanne Damas take daily outfit inspiration from Jean Luc Godard’s various muses. Jean Seberg in Breathless—Godard’s first film—is beautiful, neurotic, and impeccably dressed.
Moulin Rogue! (2001)
The costumes in Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 masterpiece are some of the best in wife/costume designer Catherine Martin’s long and Academy Award-filled career. The Paris circa 1902 bohemia setting makes for intricate, bejewelled corsets and feathered negligee—and let’s never, ever forget that crimson gown Nicole Kidman’s Satine wears in the ‘Elephant Love Medley’ scene.
Coco Before Chanel (2009)
Audrey Tatou’s turn as Gabrielle Chanel focuses on the period in the designer’s life before she became the legend we know her as today. Read: Gabrielle working in a bar as a part-time seamstress with a dream of making hats for French high society.
A Simple Favour (2018)
Although it didn’t exactly attract rave reviews, A Simple Favour was a fashion tour de force thanks to Blake Lively’s character, a troubled fashion industry employee who dresses exclusively in three-piece power suits inspired by the film’s director, Paul Feig, who wears suits even on his days off. Lively embraced the film’s aesthetic for the press tour, donning a series of candy-coloured menswear looks.
Dior And I (2014)
This critically acclaimed documentary tracks Raf Simons’ first collection for couture powerhouse Christian Dior. It highlights the growing pressure put on fashion designers in the digital age, and perhaps foreshadows Raf’s shock departure from Dior after only three and a half years at the helm.
Blow Up (1966)
Antinioni’s cult masterpiece follows a fashion photographer who accidentally captures a bloody murder on film while shooting in a London park. The ’60s costumes are brilliant, Vanessa Redgrave makes for the ultimate mod-era supermodel, and Jane Birkin cameos as ‘The Brunette’. Perfection.
Yves Saint Laurent (2014)
This French biopic spans over more than a decade of designer Yves Saint Laurent’s prolific career, including his controversial dismissal from the house of Dior and his lifelong, often tumultuous relationship with Pierre Bergé. Actor Pierre Niney was only 24 when he took on the difficult role to justifiably rave reviews.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
Intense subject matter aside, Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has several incredibly chic moments. For vintage fashion fanatics, the wardrobe of Margot Robbie’s note-perfect Sharon Tate is as covetable as ever in the 2020s, with costume designer Arianne Phillips doing major justice for the late actress’s famously ethereal style.
Mademoiselle C (2013)
Harper’s BAZAAR‘s global fashion director Carine Roitfeld is the subject of this documentary, which journeys from Paris to New York to follow the creation and launch of the stylist’s biannual magazine, CR Fashion Book.
Annie Hall (1977)
Diane Keaton insisted on chosing her own wardrobe to play the title character in this Best Picture-winning film; and boy are we grateful that she got her way. Keaton’s unique take on androgyny has turned decades of women onto high-waisted trousers and loose-fitting button up shirts.
Atonement (2007)
It’s difficult to say the word ‘Atonement’ without your mind conjuring up a vivid image of Keira Knightley smoking outside an old British manor house wearing that green dress. Every other costume is pretty exceptional too, and we dare you to sit through this film without weeping like a child.
Barbarella (1968)
Jane Fonda’s Barbarella silver swimsuit is the stuff of cinematic costume legend, and rightfully so. It’s kitsch, ridiculous and totally amazing, much like the film itself.
Clueless (1995)
A painfully-’90s adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, Clueless remains the go-to gal’s sleepover flick, and maintains fashion credibility for its amazing tartan two-pieces, outrageous headwear and ever-quotable references (“Alaïa, it’s like, a really important designer.”)
The Great Gatsby (2013)
Catherine Martin rallied her many fashion industry contacts to pull off her husband Baz Luhrmann’s behemoth adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel. Brooks Brothers supplied 1,200 suits, Miuccia Prada designed 40 dresses, and Tiffany & Co. designed the diamond ’20s-era headpieces worn by Carey Mulligan’s Daisy. It all makes for one of the most stylish films to ever come out of Australia.
Casino (1995)
Clad in fur and Courrèges leather and dripping in Bulgari diamonds, Sharon Stone’s Oscar-nominated turn as the morally corrupt mob wife Ginger McKenna makes for one of the most stylish film characters in history. (Forewarning: this movie is very R-rated.)
Pierrot le Fou (1965)
Another Godard girl to add to the list: the late Anna Karina. On and off the screen she was a style icon, but never more so than in her turn as Marianne Renoir, the Bonnie to Jean-Paul Belmondo’s Clyde with a penchant for red, gingham and adultery.
Gone With The Wind (1939)
Yes, the running time is almost four hours, but as any seasoned film buff will tell you, watching Gone With The Wind is a worthy investment of your time. And while the performance by Viven Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara and the film’s epic, decades spanning love story are at the heart of it’s ‘icon’ status, the costumes, designed by Hollywood legend Walter Plunkett, are often cited as one of the film’s most important elements. That green curtain dress? Iconic. The burgundy ball gown? Also iconic.
A Single Man (2009)
Prior to Nocturnal Animals, Tom Ford‘s directorial debut stars Colin Firth as the title character, a recently widowed gay man who begins a relationship with one of his students. Some scenes look as if they’re fresh out of the pages of a magazine, and the costumes worn by Julianne Moore—Ford’s longtime muse—are good enough to march down the runway.
Taxi Driver (1974)
If Martin Scorcese’s classic film about a vigilante New York taxi driver suffering from post traumatic stress disorder doesn’t sound like a ‘fashion film’, you haven’t seen 14-year-old Jodie Foster’s outfits.
Working Girl (1988)
At certain points, 1988’s Working Girl toes the line delicately between stylish retro flick and ’80s fashion disaster. But once Melanie Griffith’s ‘working girl’ Tess encounters a new high-fashion wardrobe to match her steely boss, played by Sigourney Weaver, there are plenty of moments worth fawning over.
Pretty Woman (1990)
The thigh high boots! The $250,000 diamond necklace! The off-the-shoulder red gown! The Rodeo Drive shopping spree! Everything!
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Gwyneth Paltrow‘s Hermès ‘Birkin’-toting Margot Tenenbaum (one member of the large, brooding Tenenbaum clan) has long been a style icon of the fashion industry. Just ask industry golden boy Alessandro Michele, whose debut collection for Gucci felt like an Ode to Margot with its pastel polo shirts, oversized glasses and furs.
Rear Window (1954)
The only thing you’ll find more intriguing than the twists and turns of Alfred Hitchcock’s ’50s thriller is how Grace Kelly manages to look more and more chic in each scene she appears in.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde is peak Faye Dunaway, and for a murderous criminal on a full-blown crime spree, the girl sure finds time to accessorise. It’s neck scarves, berets and coloured stockings galore.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
In all of cinematic history, is there a single outfit more iconic than Audrey Hepburn, the black Givenchy gown, the diamond necklace and the velvet gloves? If so, we’re yet to find it. Holly Golightly is a style icon for the ages.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
If Holly Golightly is the most stylish woman on film then Mia Wallace is a close second. Who knew cropped black trousers and a crisp white shirt could be so damn iconic?
A Bigger Splash (2016)
Is it too soon to call this indie flick an iconic fashion film? We think not. Tilda Swinton stars as a David Bowie-esque rock star called Marianne who has a penchant for Dior. No, seriously—Dior entered into an exclusive partnership with filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, and everything Marianne wears, from her sunglasses to her backless evening gowns, are Dior. Extra points? The film received critical acclaim after its 2015 release.
Marie Antoinette (2006)
Sofia Coppola knows a thing or two about style, so it figures that her film’s are heavyweights in the costume department. Marie Antoinette, with its embellished wigs, ornate fans and dramatic gowns, is possibly her most stylish offering thus far.
Almost Famous (2000)
Betsy Heimann is a genius. Rather, she’s a genius in the Hollywood costume department. Mia Wallace’s aforementioned white shirt black trousers ensemble in Pulp Fiction? Her. The sharp suiting in Reservoir Dogs? Her. The suede jackets, flared jeans and bounty of plaid that constitutes the costumes in Almost Famous? Yep, her too.
