Catwalk

Fashion is a curious monster. Made from an eclectic collection of designers and supermodels and hangers-on, it seems hellbent on looking its silliest at any given opportunity. Which is okay for a monster, because not many of them do that.

With this documentary on the inner workings of this curious beast, we get to see a certain level of backstage frippery and funk that, on one hand, we didn’t need to see, and on the other we can’t help but be a little curious about ourselves. However, for the most part it seems pretentious nonsense perpetrated by airheads and thin people (and sometimes both together). Plus, of course, the folks backstage wearing all the expensive stuff and fluffing hair or teasing fabric to look just right. And, always remember this: Expensive doesn’t mean tasteful.

We follow supermodel Christy Turlington on a three-week journey from Milan to Paris to New York for three big fashion shows. along the way she bumps into a bunch of people who make the gear she struts around in, plus numerous other folks. For people who care for such things, this is exactly what the doctor ordered, although it does seem to make the limelight look a tad more unappealing. Early mornings, late nights, booze, sexy people, smoking... yep, it looks harsh alright.

"Style is definitely in the genes... and I don’t mean Levi’s."

Plenty to look at and famous faces to pick out, but as a documentary I felt it a little pandering and not very objective. There seems to be a good deal of careful editing, particularly just before someone was about to say something quite revelatory (or so it would seem). Not as quick moving as it is trying to be, Catwalk makes the backstage life look like a real yawner for the supermodels, a pain in the arse for the designers and removes the sparkly for everyone else.

Shot in both black and white and colour, the picture fluctuates from quite sharp to grainy. Delivered in 4:3 full frame, we get that doco look from the outset and this stays with us all along. The handheld camera utilised throughout helps a lot in this regard and does give us that frenetic backstage atmosphere quite successfully. Flesh tones are good and there’s plenty of them throughout this film, but for anyone hoping for supermodel nudity, you will be pretty disappointed. Obviously going for a ‘serious’ documentary, there is no real nudity within the movie and that does work for its credibility, if not its ability to hold an audience.

Within the black and white bits, shadow detail is severely impeded, but for the handheld colour stuff it works alright while blacks look good and natural in both camps. This looks and feels a lot like a TV doco and has been visually documented accordingly.

Dolby Digital stereo brings us the dialogue and music here with sound effects being relegated to whatever noises are occurring at the time. Focus is kept well on the speaker though, with the backstage noise toned down or out. Dialogue is all over the place though, with multiple accents that can be trickier to understand at times and undecipherable at others.

Music has been created by Malcolm McLaren and while this is effective for the most part, at times it’s a little flippant, a little annoying or a little irritating. Just like fashion itself, I suppose, so I guess it does suit the film well. McLaren’s use of classical compositions and reworking or sampling them is probably the highlight of the soundtrack here, however, it isn’t going to win any awards.

Not a great deal here. We are given designer and supermodel biographies that are worth a look though. There are nine in each of the two categories and these feature many of the biggest names in modelling and design. They vary in size from one or two pages to full blown 13 page efforts and do contain some interesting did you know?’’s.

Other than that there is just the original trailer which is presented here in 1.78:1 without 16:9 enhancement! Unbelievable. Why they couldn’t give us the film in this state I don’t know. However, this trailer runs for a huge 1:48. The only other extras come in the form of the Madman Propaganda trailers for some recent releases. These include 24 Hour Party People, Bowling For Columbine, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Live Forever: The Rise and Fall of Brit Pop and Lumumba.

So a shallow extension of the film that doesn’t really add a great deal of weight to this already lightweight production.

Shot in 1995, one could be forgiven for thinking this is a little out of date. However, for anyone in the know this will be an interesting excursion through the backstage life of both models and designers. Some collections are showcased throughout as well as the frantic production and presentation of them for the ‘public’, but overall the film isn’t all that interesting and even the interviews with designers and models seem a little rehearsed. Anyone looking for a hard-hitting exposé, this is not your film. Anyone else, I dunno what to tell you; it’s slow, it’s vapid and it’s ultimately uninteresting.