10 Must-Watch Documentaries For Fashion Enthusiasts

With London Fashion Week just around the corner, now’s the perfect time to brush up on your fashion know-how. And the best way to do so? By watching one of these gripping fashion documentaries. From explorations of the world’s most legendary designers and models to a behind-the-scenes look at how an issue of Vogue gets to print, these are the titles to have on your watch list.

The Best Fashion Documentaries To Tune In To

Twiggy

This hotly anticipated documentary from director Sadie Frost takes a closer look at the life and career of the UK’s first supermodel, Twiggy. With contributions from Dustin Hoffman, Sir Paul McCartney, Charlotte Tilbury, Dame Joanna Lumley, Brooke Shields and more, Twiggy traces the model’s upbringing, career – including her big break at age 15 – relationships and forays into theatre, music, fashion, beauty and television. It’s our deepest dive into the multi-faceted powerhouse yet.

Want more from Twiggy? You can catch her in conversation with Anna Smith, Sadie Frist and Dr Nitin Sawhney CBE at Chelsea Arts Festival‘s upcoming panel event A Celebration of British Film & Television. For all the details (and how to get tickets), visit chelseaartsfestival.com

WATCH: Stream on BBC iPlayer, bbc.co.uk

Fashion Reimagined

Following fashion designer Amy Powney, the Creative Director of sustainable contemporary fashion label AKYN (formerly Mother of Pearl), the documentary tracks the three-year journey undertaken by the designer to create a completely traceable clothing collection – from field to finished garment. In doing so, she hopes to change the way we see the fashion supply chain and highlight the greater value of our garments. To find out more, read our interview with Powney and filmmaker Becky Hutner here.

WATCH: Stream on NOW, nowtv.com

Audrey: More Than an Icon

A style icon and inspiration for the ages, Audrey Hepburn’s life and legacy is explored in this fresh documentary. Drawing on her family’s personal archives, viewers will get a never-before-seen glimpse into the Academy Award-winning actress’ style, stardom and humanitarian impact, as well as the traumas she faced growing up.

WATCH: Rent or buy on Prime Video, amazon.co.uk

Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams

An hour-long inside look into the making of one of the most highly anticipated fashion retrospectives of the century; Fashion United asserted the exhibition as the V&A’s ‘most visited in the museum’s history’. Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams chronicles the exhibition’s detailed curation ahead of its debut at the Parisian Musée des Arts Décoratifs alongside fascinating interjections about the French fashion house’s 73-year-old history.

WATCH: Watch it free via the Dior YouTube channel, youtube.com

The September Issue

Step inside the world of Anna Wintour and experience the making of the most coveted fashion magazine. The September Issue offers exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the production of Vogue’s influential September 2007 issue and features insight into the professional life of editor-in-chief Wintour, one of the most eminent personalities in fashion.

WATCH: Rent or buy on AppleTV, tv.apple.com

Iris

If you need any convincing that fashion knows no age, consider Iris Apfel. The 98-year-old fashion icon – renowned for her trademark oversized glasses and eccentric accessories – has done and seen it all; she worked for Women’s Wear Daily, founded a textile company in the 50s, aided design restoration projects for nine presidents at the White House and has even travelled the world in search of non-western fabrics. Apfel has since been the centrepiece of a retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, won countless awards, become the oldest person to ever have a Barbie doll dedicated to themselves, and of course, is the subject of her own documentary, Iris, an inside look at the fashion idol’s extraordinary life.

WATCH: Rent or buy on AppleTV, tv.apple.com

Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer

Adored by countless celebrities and unafraid of pushing boundaries, it’s not hard to see why Jeremy Scott is  heralded ‘the people’s designer’. This Netflix documentary details the life of the Moschino creative director, from his humble beginnings growing up on a farm in Missouri to becoming one of the most unique and prominent personalities in the industry.

WATCH: Stream, rent or buy on Prime Video, amazon.co.uk

Dior & I

If you want to delve deeper into the Christian Dior archives, ensure that this insightful documentary is on your must-watch list. Explore the intricate workings behind Belgian designer Raf Simons’ first haute couture collection for the house and discover what it takes to put a prominent collection together.

WATCH: Rent or buy on AppleTV, tv.apple.com

McQueen

Right up until the designer’s death in 2010, Alexander McQueen’s otherworldly shows were unparalleled in their creativity, creating stunning clothes, unforgettable set pieces and many of high fashion’s crowning moments out of frequently shocking subject matter. By using interviews with family, friends and colleagues to illuminate the designer’s personal history, intercut with breathtaking archival footage from the catwalks, this acclaimed documentary pays homage to one of the most innovative – and much-missed – names in British fashion.

WATCH: Rent or buy on Prime Video, amazon.co.uk

Catwalk

Before glossy magazines pivoted to having celebrities grace their front covers, there was the age of the supermodel. The ’90s made household names of, amongst others, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Linda Evangelista, who famously said of herself and fellow model Christy Turlington: ‘We don’t wake up for less than $10,000 a day.’ Quietly glamorous, elegant and preternaturally poised despite the hectic nature of her lifestyle, Turlington is the subject of this 1995 documentary, which offers a fascinating glimpse into the high fashion world of the ’90s, a storied decade that continues to shape how we dress today.

WATCH: Watch on YouTube, youtube.com