Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton
This documentary by filmmaker Loic Prigent, gives intimate insight to the hectic life of one of the most influencial designers of his generation. It allows us to see how Marc Jacob balances being creative director of Louis Vuitton and having his own line at the same time. Marc Jacobs creates a great environment and atmosphere for his team while working. Yes, they are all under a lot of pressure but somehow they seem like they are enjoying themselves while working with Marc. We see where Marc gets most of his inspiration, art and music. He is constantly listening to music while working. He has a intense appreciation for art. Marc himself is an artist and thats how he goes about his work. We also get insight on Marc’s personal life. We see how he likes to be very healthy, taking a cocktail of vitamins and digestives before eating but at the same time we see how he fuels himself with protein bars and cigarettes. Its almost like Marc has a magnetic force that attracts you to him and you can’t help but love him and everything he does.
Signe Chanel
Also by filmmaker Loic Prigent, this is a five-part series documenting Karl Lagerfeld and the house of Chanel throughout the creation of its fall 2004 couture collection. Where the Marc Jacobs film was fun and easy to watch, this series was a bit different. For one, I’m not sure if I should hate Karl Lagerfeld for his arrogant attitude or love him for his incredible talent. In this film you can see every part of the process to creating a Chanel collection. It was incredible to see how many people are needed to put together a couture collection. You can’t help but feel bad for the seamstress when they spend so much time on one piece, then when Karl sees it, they have to start all over. As one of the seamstress commented, they need to be precise to the exact millimeter. Working with tricky fabrics and much detail, it is a very difficult and labor intense job. I guess that is why Chanel is so great, everything has to be perfect. Karl Lagerfeld is very reserved and does not interact with the camera much. We don’t see much of his personal life, we see his clustered home and not much more. Karl Lagerfeld has a different approach than Marc Jacobs to his team. Instead of making them feel comfortable around him, it’s like he has created a sense of terror with them. Every department must be informed with Mr.Lagerfeld enters and leaves the building. You can see the tension in the room during meetings and showings and you can see how everyone relaxes when he leaves. But maybe that is the kind of attitude you need to have to run an empire like Chanel.
