The fashion industry: that charming kaleidoscope and in constant evolution of beauty, prestige and slightly absurd tendencies (remember the Crocs with the dance shoes). But behind all patinated magazines, perfect photos and iconic silhouettes hides a world of efforts, genius, self -centeredness and falling from high heels. And this is exactly what reveal the best fashion documentaries in recent years.
The best fashion documentaries?! These films are not limited to showing fashion collections and interviews with celebrities: they raise the curtain and invite us to stage, between artists, visionaries and, yes, also controversial genes. Here are ten documentaries on the fashion that will open your eyes (and probably the desire for new styles).
1. The Supermodelle (2023)
When I am NoemiCindy, Linda and Christy went on the catwalk and fashion began to breathe differently. The Super Modelle It is not only a tribute to the top model of the nineties, but a look at an era in which the models became more than simple faces; they became institutions.
The series without filters shows how four women have redefined the power in the fashion industry and how it was fame before we began to measure it in “likes”. This is not just a documentary on fashion: it is Sex and the cityif it had happened in the New York Backstage Fashion Week. One of the best documentaries on the fashion of the collection!
2. Twiggy (2025)
If you think today’s influencer is a “self-made” person, then clearly you don’t know Twiggy. Teenager from the London working class, Lesley Hornby became the face of the fabulous sixties, with a single snapshot and enormous eyes.
The film is not just a fashion chronicle, but a tribute to a woman who has transcended her image and has remained a cultural icon for more than five decades. Interviews with characters like Paul McCartney, Zandra Rhodes and Joanna Lumley are only the icing on the cake.
3. High & Low: John Galliano (2023)
Galliano: brilliant, theatrical and, well, even rather controversial. In this documentary we discover both faces of the fashion icon: the magical creator who gave shape to dreams and man lost in his shadow.
The film does not embellish. It is a raw song, touching and brilliantly composed at the same time. Anna Wintour, Naomi Campbell and Galliano himself reveal the behind the scenes of fashion, where not everything is Chanel n. 5 and champagne.
4. Diane von Furstenberg: the woman in command (2024)
If fashion had a security queen, this would be Diane. Half a century after the invention of the legendary dress in Vestaglia, the film accompanies us through the life of a woman who transformed the fashion design into a feminist manifesto.
With Oprah, Hillary Clinton and Marc Jacobs as commentators, the film reads as a trendy Ted conference with a champagne. Lesson? Be your brand.
5. Very Ralph (2019)
As a tie seller in the hempire state building to architect of the American preppy style: Ralph Lauren embodies the American dream with white shirt and shiny moccasins.
Audrey Hepburn, Karl Lagerfeld, Calvin Klein … The stellar cast transforms the film into a real fashion chronicle, while Lauren’s approach – partly hard work, partly purely visionary – is a source of inspiration, even for those who have never worn a pole.
6. Salvatore: The shoemaker of dreams (2020)
If you ever dreamed of the perfect pair of shoes, Ferragamo was probably one of your dreams. The film, narrated by Michael Stuhlbarg and directed by Guadagnino (yes, him) Call me by your name), takes us from Italian poverty to the Hollywood of the 1930s.
This is not just a story of shoes: it is a eapic fashion saga in which each point counts and each heel brings with it a story. With comments by Martin Scorsese, Grace Coddington and Manolo Blahnik? A real trendy culinary party. Definitely a must on the list: the best documentaries on fashion.
7. Wonder Boy (2019)
Olivier Rousteing is a prodigy who took Balmain reins at the age of 25. But the documentary does not only speak of fame and gold embroidery. It is a touching analysis of personal research of identity, which goes from the search for biological parents to the demolition of prejudices in the fashion industry.
See also
Rousteing shows that it is not necessary to be born under a good star to create a universe. Sometimes all you need is a vision … and a charisma that makes you shine in the spotlight.
8. The kingdom of dreams (2022)
This is the fashion version. Game of Thrones – conglomerates, creators, visionaries and ruined careers. Kingdom of Dreams tells an era in which Gucci, Vuitton and McQueen shaped the future of fashion, at the same time filling the titles of the scandal newspapers.
Beautiful archival movies, an overwhelming charm and the most spectacular gaze on the fashion ever filmed. A series that will convince you that fashion is much more than a simple question: “What do I ask myself today?”
9. Iris (2014)
Iris Apfel is proof that the style has no expiry date. At more than 90 years, it is still a source of inspiration for young influencers and fashion icons. His documentary is not only a demonstration of eccentric taste in fashion, but of a philosophy: “more and less and less it is boring”.
After his death, which took place in 2024, this film became a precious document on a woman who took the rules of fashion, cut them and made it a necklace.
10. Valentino: the last emperor (2008)
The last emperor of Italian fashion in his natural environment: luxury, dogs and customized garments. The documentary follows Valentino in the last two years of his career, offering a look rarely seen on his dynamic (and dramatic) relationship with the partner Giancarlo Giammetti.
It is a film about perfectionism, on size and, unfortunately, also on the moment when you have to say goodbye to the empire you have built with your own hands.
Conclusion: fashion is not superficial, but stratified: the best documentaries on fashion
These fantastic documentary documentary shows that fashion is not only made of fabrics and seams, but also of ideas, visions, conflicts and emotions. Each of these films light light on different levels of the fashion industry: from the extraordinary individuals who have shaped it to the cultural changes that have transformed it.
So, if you need some evasion with a high aesthetic value (and a few tears or revelation of style in the middle), look at one of these documentaries. You will never look at a dress again in the same way.
