Fashion Documentary: Unzipped — Isaac Mizrahi

“See Isaac, why do you always give me the flat shoes and you always give Naomi McCampbell the high heels? You gave me slippers for my finale last season. Every single time! Do you have something against white women?” whines supermodel-cum-diva Linda Evangelista backstage at Isaac Mizrahi’s 1994 fashion show in one of the best fashion documentaries ever made, Unzipped . What else would we expect from the woman famous for uttering, “We don’t wake up for less than $10,000 a day.”

Shot by Douglas Keeve (Isaac Mizrahi’s boyfriend at the time), Unzipped follows the delightfully funny designer as he prepares for his 1994 collection. We see the designer at work, his inspirations (Mary Tyler Moore, Nanook of the North, Valley of the Dolls, Ouija boards) his breakdowns (bad reviews from his 1993 show), and get a rare, up-close look at the first and last real supermodels, Cindy Crawford, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington at the height of their careers in 1990’s New York.

It makes one yearn for an at once simpler yet more fabulous time. When supermodels existed. When Behind the Velvet Ropes was what you watched with your best friend at a Saturday night sleepover. When SoHo wasn’t just one big shopping mall. When Andrea Leon Talley didn’t yet sit in the front row (imagine!). Also sharing screen time with Mizrahi? A host of fabulous, wacky cohorts: Sandra Bernhard, Richard Gere, Eartha Kitt, Candy Pratts Price, Shalom Harlow, Carla Bruni (yes, now the First Lady of France), even Rosanne (back when she had a last name). Play spot the celebrity and see 1990’s New York and fashion in all its glory. Unzipped is not to be missed.