A while ago I rewatched
Seamless, a fashion documentary by Douglas Keeve. Unfortunately, I can't find a trailer on the internets, but it's viewable on NetFlix. Keeve also made the fashion documentary
Unzipped, on
Isaac Mizrahi in his heyday. (It's a bit frightening how quickly designers can go from hot to lukewarm).
The documentary covers the first CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund competition, focusing mainly on nominated designers
Proenza Schouler,
Doori Chung, and
Alexander Plokhov of the now defunct label Cloak. (Plokhov recently launched his eponymous label after designing for several seasons for the Versace Homme label).
The film was made while I was working at Proenza; I make a brief cameo in the film where the production manager Weronika and I were quality checking in the background while Keeve was filming the designers. Proenza Schouler ended up ultimately winning the award, and I felt a little nostalgic watching the film, remembering working in the Chinatown loft and the process of filming, getting the text from Weronika when she found out we had won.
Despite the lackluster rating on IMDb, I think the film is worth watching as a designer. It highlights how difficult it is to make it in this business. It was also interesting to see what had happened to the labels that were included in the documentary. Proenza Schouler, although still a darling in the fashion industry, seems to still have difficulty actually turning a profit, despite its steady expansion. I was told recently that Doori is funded by an Indian backer (and is likely to see a bump in her sales since MObama recently wore this gown):
Cloak shuttered in 2007 and as I mentioned, Plokhov ended up at Versace before making his recent comeback.
Also included was the denim label, Habitual. Several months ago, I interviewed with Michael and Nicole Colovos, who founded Habitual, but have since moved on to be the creative directors at the new Helmut Lang, now owned by Theory, and minus the designer himself.
At one point in the documentary, New York Times fashion critic
Cathy Horyn says that it takes twenty years to establish a successful fashion label, and that quote really struck me. She goes on to say that when a designer makes it though, they make it big, and then they show footage of Valentino's ridiculous palatial digs. I'm not sure how easy it is to establish that sort of fashion empire any more given the current state of the economy, although Alexander Wang seems to be on his way there. But it takes time to establish a brand and get to a point where your sales are big enough to offset the expenses incurred in building an iconic brand.
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