Franca Sozzani, editor of Vogue Italia, has single-mindedly dedicated herself to being fashion’s most creative editor. Now her son Francesco Carrozzini has made a film about her
René Redzepi plays with wilderness and interprets a forgotten edible world into a language we all understand. Noma, My Perfect Storm is a creative journey into the mind of René Redzepi.
His story has the feel of a classic fairy tale: the ugly duckling transformed into a majestic swan, who now reigns over the realm of modern gourmet cuisine. But beneath the polished surface, cracks appear in the form of old wounds. 2013 stands as the worst year in René Redzepi’s career. Noma: The Perfect Storm documentary follows Redzepi as he fights his way back to the top, reinventing NOMA and reclaiming the title of best restaurant in the world in 2014 for the fourth time.
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Vogue boss rules with iron fist in a very expensive glove in sharp documentary that takes viewers into the 2015 Met Gala – the biggest night in fashion
‘Fashion … it’s a kind of theatre.” You betcha, Anna Wintour. Which is why the trailer for the new behind-the-scenes Vogue film The First Monday in May is tantalisingly good. The documentary follows the team at Vogue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art as they prepare for the launch party of last year’s exhibition, China: Through the Looking Glass. The Met Ball – as it is affectionately known – is fashion’s most glamorous party, although insiders have sometimes whispered that, once inside, it’s well, um, boring. But it is, as Vogue alumnus André Leon Talley says, the “Super Bowl of social fashion events”, and the cash, the gossip and the general over-the-topness makes for compelling viewing.
Naturally, the trailer raises more questions than it answers. Here are our five:
The first trailer for The First Monday in May, a new documentary about Vogue magazine.
Who is always on his mobile phone ?
While Anna looks at the seating plan for the dinner with a glossy-haired courtier (sorry assistant), she dryly says: “Oh, he’s coming now, is he? Well, he’d better not be on his cellphone all night.” But who is being chided rather publicly? Is it Kanye? Is it Derek Blasberg? Or someone else?
Have we been pronouncing ‘Rihanna’ in a really unfashionable way for ages?
Because everyone at US Vogue says “Ree-Yanna”. It’s a little disconcerting. Alas, in the trailer no one discusses how to describe the singer’s omelette dress.
What sort of Chinese restaurants does Anna Wintour frequent?
In one scene, the editor-in-chief says: “It’s going to look like a Chinese restaurant.” Her tone suggests that’s a criticism. We’d be sceptical that Wintour knows anything about any eatery that doesn’t sell blooded steak if it weren’t for the fact that: a) cult label Vetements showed their catwalk collection in a Chinese restaurant recently; b) she was spotted eating fish and chips in the Refinery (a cocktail bar-cum-restaurant under an office block in SE1) during London fashion week; and c) she’s seen shifting the tables herself, which could hint at a pre-fashion life as a waitress?
Anna Wintour on the front row for the Topshop Unique AW16 show.Photograph: Richard Young/Rex/Shutterstock
Was curator Andrew Bolton the only one who considered that the exhibition theme could be interpreted as racist?
If so, why didn’t he mention it to Sarah Jessica Parker before she wore that questionable (was it appropriation or appreciation?) headpiece? Either way, the British curator is clearly one of fashion’s biggest brains. He is filmed striding the Met’s famous staircase in a tux and mankles, as the voiceover says: “I’m not afraid of controversy” and “this isn’t Disneyland”. Presumably, it was Bolton who put the kibosh on the exhibition’s original title, Chinese Whispers: Tales of the East in Art, Film and Fashion.
What exactly is the size of Rihanna’s budget?
The camera lingers on the subject bar of an email to Anna Wintour, which says: “Do you have a second to talk about Rihanna’s budget?” Oh yes, we have literally hours. Tickets famously cost $25,000 a pop, a couture dress costs up to $70,000, hair and makeup isn’t cheap; you would need a really, really big limo to get that dress in. Assistants are on pretty much minimum wage, but Rihanna would need at least seven. Thank goodness she seems content to swig a beer from a plastic cup.
The director and key figures in an award-winning documentary talk about the early days of the activist group and how shocking images were used for global impact
