The most iconic fashion movies offer not only aesthetic inspiration, but a cultural mirror. In fact, it could be said that few creative mediums go together quite like fashion and film. Whether it’s a director’s knack for capturing the dramatic movement of a gown on screen, or the contributions to the movie world made by fashion designers over the decades, this symbiotic relationship has created some of the most memorable onscreen moments of all time.
So whether to satisfy your curiosity about an industry so often wrapped up in mystery, to provide the backstory to some of the most important moments in fashion history, or simply to indulge in a little sartorial escapism, here, find all the most iconic fashion movies you can watch now.
Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face.Courtesy of Everett Collection
Funny Face (1957)
Who will love it: Those who live for the glamour of Hollywood’s Golden Age, find musicals irresistible, and believe Paris is always a good idea.
As far as fashion films go, they don’t get much more joyous than Funny Face. Audrey Hepburn stars as Jo Stockton, a shy New York City bookshop assistant who dreams of studying philosophy in Paris. Her aspirations are realized through the unlikeliest of means after she becomes a muse to the celebrated fashion photographer Dick Avery, played by Fred Astaire. Packed with gorgeous Parisian set pieces, delightful tunes by George and Ira Gershwin, and exquisite dresses crafted both by legendary costumier Edith Head and regular Hepburn collaborator Hubert de Givenchy, it’s a perfect ode to the joys of haute couture. —Liam Hess
Iconic fashion moments: From the pink cropped capelet Hepburn wears on the runway to the drop-waist, bateau-necked wedding dress she wears in the ending sequence, there’s no shortage of breathtaking, Head and Givenchy-designed looks. The black ballet flats, black capri pants, and black turtleneck look Hepburn wears in the jazz club scene are era-defining for their 1950’s Beat Generation and French Existentialist references.
