The Release of Prêt à Porter

Director Robert Altman sent shivers down the backs of those in the fashion world when he announced he was going to make a movie about the Rag Trade. His new movie Prêt à Porter, is now being released for American moviegoers under the title of Ready to Wear (presumably the Hollywood guys thought three French words were too much for an American audience...). English audiences had to wait until the end of 1995 to see the movie - it could probably have been renamed "C&A : The Movie" by then.

Robert Altman: "Will my film cause controversy? No, I don't make exploitation films. I tell the truth as I see it."

Using real fashion shows as a backdrop for his filming, Altman and the cast of 38, turned last Spring's fashion shows into a zoo. While most people were flattered that Altman was showcasing the fashion industry, others were afraid that he might make a mockery of them.

RA :"The people who are frightened of the film, are frightened of themselves. They must think they have something to be frightened about, but I don't know what that is."

The world premiere of Prêt à Porter took place in New York. Robert Altman arrived with Sonia Rykiel.

Suzy Menkes Fashion Editor, Int'l Herald Tribune :"I think it would have been very funny as a short skit. It was just way too long. But there were some very funny parts. I had a big disappointment in the movie - Tracey Ullman didn't get my hair right."
Tyra Banks Model :"I think it would be exciting to be one of the fashion models, parodies of the designers, not the real thing, but close to it."
Fern Mallis Executive Director CFDA : "I'm not taking it as seriously as a lot of the people who are really pissed off as they leave the theatre. It's a real tragedy and disaster."
Bridget Hall Model : "I think Robert Altman did a really good job, it was fun."
Lauren Ezersky Paper Magazine : "I thought it was fun. I don't think he got the fashion editors right and some of the clothes. Maybe he needed to do a little consulting. But it was fun."
SM : "I wish I had Julia Robert's job. Being paid a reporter's salary and spending all that time in bed. Some of it was true to life. But for me the film didn't work, it didn't have that edge. Some of the inside jokes will be really tough for the general public to understand."

Manolo Blahnik - Shoe Designer

Born in the Canary Islands and educated in Switzerland, Manolo Blahnik opened his first store in London in 1978. Stores in New York and Hong Kong quickly followed. Over the last two decades, his foot fashions have graced the feet of Bianca Jagger, Madonna, Paloma Picasso and other fans who are willing to pay thousands of dollars for a pair of shoes. You can pay $1,100 just for a pair of black leather, knee length boots.

Manolo Blahnik : "You can tell the character of a person by the shoes they are wearing. I can't tell if a person is good or bad. But I can tell if this person has got good or bad taste, or that person has got good grooming. I tend to like the borderline - between good and bad taste. I love it if a woman has that kind of edge."

Karl Lagerfeld - The Fendi Collection

Karl Lagerfeld : "I don't believe the designers who say the clothes are more important than the girls. The girls are important, they give spirit and movement to those clothes. We will remember the beauty of them, like we remember the old Hollywood stars."

Like some Hollywood mogul, Karl creates starlettes to pump up the image of his fashion studio. His eye for supermodel potential has launched the careers of many top models.

Antonio Lopez - Illustrator

By the 1960's, fashion illustrating had become a dying art. Fashion photography was beginning to take its place. But, the work of Antonio Lopez was an exception. He fused fashion images with pop-art sensibilities.

Antonio Lopez, 1985 : "I was very lucky, because at the age of 17 I was hired to do Womens Wear Daily and I was working with all the top people. It was a break. It was in those years in the sixties when anything was possible."

From the mid sixties till his death in 1987, Antonio was the world's most acclaimed illustrator. In 1967 he moved to Paris where his studio became the favourite hang-out of models and designers. An exhibition of his work recently opened in the French capital.

Katell le BourhisCurator, Museum of Fashion and Textiles : "Antonio could only work among a huge crowd and total hysteria. He took women and taught them how to dress, how to pose, how to do their make-up, he taught them how to be beautiful. And they came to resemble his drawings and the women loved that."

The exhibition shows Antonio's style progressing. Beginning with his more illustrative style, to pop-art, reflecting the art of the time. And gradually his style changes with the fashion.

AL : "Once I've done a picture, that's it I'm not interested in it anymore. I don't want to look at in a magazine. I'm just happy that I can do it."

Montreal - Marie St. Pierre

Montreal's Marie St.Pierre is emerging as one of Canada's star designers. Not an easy task in a country known for its conservatism. While most of Canada's designers choose to play it safe, Marie is intent on expressing herself and encouraging her customers to do the same.

Marie St. Pierre : "The more I work, the more I realise it's not about fashion anymore, it's about emotion. It's about the way I feel."

St' Pierre's designs have been making inroads in the last few years, and she's also sold designs to some Parisian boutiques.

MSt.P : "I don't think of myself as Canadian. I think I'm in the middle between Europe and the United States. It's probably typical of Montreal. I'm American in my way of life. I like comfortable, things that I can move in, but I also like style. So I try to mix the two."

Marie now has her own Boutique - Deuxieme Peau, where she hopes she can encourage customers to create their own style.

MSt.P : "Fashion is not just putting on a pretty dress, it's how to put them on. If you like a piece, you have to think how can you wear it, how can you wear it with style. Because without putting it on, a piece is just a piece, there's no life in it. You can feel that it looks good on you. I like a designer who is able to communicate and be understood. If people are not buying my clothes, then I'm doing something wrong. If they do buy my clothes it's because they understand something about them. So I don't believe in the artist who's not understood anymore. There are too many ways to communicate, people are more open minded these days."