Vogue Junction

There are few creative mediums that 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, the symbiotic relationship has created some of the most memorable on-screen 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 films about fashion you can watch now.

Prêt-à-Porter (1994)

In Robert Altman’s sprawling, starry, and very much satirical ode to the fashion industry, nothing is quite as it seems. Employing the filmmaker’s signature mockumentary style, there are celebrity cameos from the likes of Julia Roberts, Sophia Loren, and Lauren Bacall, all playing various fashionistas descending on Paris Fashion Week in the wake of the death of Olivier de la Fontaine, the head of the city’s fashion council. While the film was both a critical and commercial bomb, the initially bemused response of the fashion industry has softened over the years into affection. As a document of the thrilling heights of the 1990s runway show, there’s no better film to watch.

The Neon Demon (2016)

You may need a strong stomach to sit through some of the more grisly moments of Nicolas Winding Refn’s psychological horror The Neon Demon, but you’ll get your reward through plenty of eye-popping fashion, too. Elle Fanning’s young modeling ingenue soon gets swept up in the scene’s darker underbelly, resulting in demonic possessions, serial killer photographers, and a particularly horrifying final sequence involving an exorcism, necrophilia, and a lot (a lot) of blood. While its sideways swipes at the darker corners of the fashion industry may be a little heavy-handed, The Neon Demon makes for a bracing and gloriously gory guilty pleasure.

The September Issue (2009)

The September Issue marked the first time the world-at-large got an inside look at the goings-on of a real-life fashion magazine. The film tracks the creation of American Vogue’s 2007 September issue—the most important issue on a magazine’s calendar. The often tumultuous relationship between editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and former creative director Grace Coddington is the film’s highlight.

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

As far as bringing the rarefied, secretive world of fashion media into the spotlight goes, few films have been as successful as The Devil Wears Prada. Starring Meryl Streep in a thrillingly vicious, Oscar-nominated turn as the editor-in-chief of Runway magazine, we follow the journey of Anne Hathaway’s initially style-illiterate Andy Sachs as she enters this cutthroat world as Miranda’s assistant. An endlessly quotable and uproariously funny insight into the obsessive nature of those who work in fashion, the film also benefits from brilliant supporting performances by Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci. But could the real villain of the film in fact be Andy’s boyfriend? It only takes a quick scroll through Twitter to see that debate roaring to this day.

Coco Before Chanel (2009)

If you’re looking for a dose of fashion history, you can’t go wrong with Audrey Tautou’s sublime performance as Coco Chanel in her early years as a seamstress, before she would go on to found her eponymous house that would redefine the modern woman’s wardrobe. With the help of elegant cinematography and art direction—and perhaps most memorably, stunning style moments courtesy of the French costume designer Catherine Leterrier, whose work on the film earned her a César Award—it’s the rare fashion biopic that goes deep below the surface, offering a moving insight into the inner world of the designer it profiles.