August 11th is a special date for Isaac Mizrahi: It marks the anniversary of his groundbreaking documentary,Unzipped!
In this month’s edition of theIM Loves… series, we couldn’t think of a better topic than to cover the documentary. We’ll talk about what was featured inUnzipped, along with the mark that the documentary left on the fashion world—and Isaac himself.
What isUnzipped?
“A smart, spiky documentary with just the right running time (76 minutes), ‘Unzipped’ appreciates not only the loony excess that makes fashion such a high-stakes adventure, but also the monomania of Mr. Mizrahi's creative process.” -The New York Times, August, 1995.
Unzipped is a documentary that chronicles and closely follows not only the life of Isaac in the mid-90’s, but also the realities of the fashion industry during that time period.
Directed by Douglas Keefe, the documentary covers one of Isaac’s fashion lines that began in disaster. His 1994 spring collection received poor reviews, which crushed Isaac at first. We then see Isaac’s close meetings and conversations with models of the time, including Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford, and Naomi Campbell, where they’re talking about different fabrics and working on sketches.
From disaster in the spring of 1994 to triumph with his fall collection the following year, the documentary shows how Isaac was able to overcome initial challenges with horrible reviews and produce an incredible collection in 1995.
What madeUnzippedso special was the inside look and portrayal of the fashion world of that time.It pulled back the veil on the creative process in the fashion industry and how Isaac handled the initial challenges he saw with his spring collection.
“There are so many things that I love about it, in that it really portrays the fashion world of that time. It captures the actual scene and the way we used to conduct fashion shows, which was so different in those days”,says Isaac in hisInside Unzipped video on YouTube.
Isaac also talks about how, in those days, it wasn’t as acceptable to have a film crew with you to create such a documentary. However, we’re glad that he took a chance. It created such a compelling story that gives us the inside scoop on the fashion world in the mid-90s!
From The 90’s to Now
Isaac has a rich history of incredible moments behind him, andUnzippedis one of those landmarks.
We also look forward to the future and any new stories that he has to tell.
With 35 years of history to cover and several more months left in the year, we have so much more for you in theIM Loves… series—stay tuned!