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Fashion documentaries you must watch on Netflix

The fashion season has been on in full swing. Both New York and London fashion weeks have wrapped up; Milan Fashion Week, in the meantime, is currently on while the one in Paris starts on February 27. If you're not in the business of fashion, checking out the shows daily can seem, well, a bit boring. Having recently returned from one, I can tell you that fashion fatigue sets even among the likes of us who follow the industry closely.
The night after I came back from the Lakme Fashion Week, I decided to unwind and watch Netflix (it's my most favoured company on most evenings spent at home). And what did I end up watching? Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes For Lizards (yes, the fashion enthusiast in me refuses to rest). Based on the life of the 'maestro of mules', the documentary takes us through the life and times of the legendary couturier of footwear. Beginning with Manolo Blahnik's childhood in the Canary Islands, where he did, in fact, make shoes for lizards as pastime to his move to London via Paris, and settling down, finally, in Bath, the docu-film captures his life brilliantly. It also touches upon some little known facts about him; for instance, did you know that he appeared on the cover of Vogue with actress Anjelica Huston in 1970s?
In the film, you follow the 75-year-old designer on his work trips, watch how he still designs every shoe himself, treats his team at the factory like a family and witness the bond he shares with his housekeeper Ignazia Gammicchia. This is a man who has truly lived his dream, and yet there is a simplicity about him that makes him rather endearing.
A few days prior to watching the well-made documentary, I'd seen The True Cost, on Netflix. Unlike the previous film, this one is hard-hitting in its inquiry into the processes of making beautiful, fashionable garments and the impact these have on the environment and, above all, the people who make them. Focusing on the rise and rise of fast fashion, The True Cost was shot in 13 countries. It's not an easy watch as it brings out certain inconvenient truths about the world of fashion. For instance, did you know that one-sixth of the world's working population is part of the fashion industry with many who do the actual labour earning less than $3 (Dh11) a day? Or that the fashion industry is the world's second largest polluter? These facts led me to research ethical sourcing; in fact, these days I check the label of my clothes to ensure the fabrics have been sourced ethically!
A third must-watch documentary on Netflix is Iris by Albert Maysles. This retired interior designer is in her 90s and describes herself as "the oldest teenager living in the world". This petite fashion icon is known for her love of maximalism. Any woman above 40 must watch this docu-film as it is a story of how to age with verve, as every girl should. Iris proves that you can be fabulous at every age.
This weekend, though, I am hoping to watch House of Z, a documentary on designer Zac Posen. Having started his own label, Zac went on to become the creative director of women's wear for Brooks Brothers and is also on the panel of the reality show Project Runway. This success, however, has not come easy. Once a child prodigy, the designer fell to fashion's dark side after his initial success and nearly lost everything - something he talks about rather openly in the film. To me, nothing matches the allure of watching a good comeback story; it is uplifting and makes for perfect weekend viewing.
So, in case you have not watched any of these films, I suggest you go on a fashionable binge on Netflix. There is so much more to fashion than clothes - there are stories, the people and the causes. And Netflix's selection proves it!
sujata@khaleejtimes.com