‘Unzipped’ Relives the Unbound 1990s in Fashion’s ‘Home Movie’

For those who care to remember New York in the 1990s, the re-release of the 1995 documentary “Unzipped” feels like slipping on an outfit of crisp white button-down and fluid black pants again. That is to say it feels good. Both cool and entertaining, the film captures a moment in time during the early-to-mid nineties when designers arrived larger-than-life, models were super, and fashion was fun as well as hugely influential. Yet 31 years after introducing Isaac Mizrahi to the world beyond the city and other fashion meccas, the swift and stylish picture is finding a second life with viewers who were barely born when it first hit theaters — who now find it as vital a portrait of the creative life as it was then. During a recent interview with the film’s director Douglas Keeve to coincide with the re-release of “Unzipped,” several topics were tried on for size and a lively discussion ensued. The following Q&A is excerpted from that conversation, touching on his reaction to the 4K restoration, which opens Friday at Film Forum, Charli XCX’s unexpected endorsement, and his thoughts on John Galliano.New York Sun: It’s been 31 years since the film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. How did it feel to revisit the doc and update it to 4K? Douglas Keeve: I’m probably crying every other day. When we finished the remaster and I watched it, I just started to cry. For me, it’s a home movie. It’s my life. [Mr. Keeve dated Mr. Mizrahi at the time and the two remain friends.] We worked and worked and worked to get the rights back. It’s kind of a miracle that we prevailed, honestly. The chain of title, companies going out of business — there are so many films out there where nobody can figure out who owns what, and they just disappear.I saw that Charli XCX posted about it recently.When Charli posted, I could suddenly see the film through her eyes. She got it. She talked about the passion, the ups and downs — she saw every bit of it. I dm’d her and said, “You did a better take on this movie than I’ve ever heard.” And she wrote back, “Oh my God, it’s you, oh my God!”Isaac Mizrahi and Cindy Crawford in ‘Unzipped.’ Janus FilmsWith interest in ‘90s aesthetics and culture still flourishing among younger generations, how do you feel the film speaks to them?The ’90s feel both like yesterday and prehistoric. It doesn’t seem that far away, and yet it’s so different. But the things I see in the film have nothing to do with the ’90s, really. It’s an artist at work and his creative process. What has changed is that people were less protected then. Somebody asked me whether you could make that film today, and — everything is so managed now. I was just making a little movie about Isaac doing a fashion show. Okay, here we go. But that kind of venture and opportunity is rare these days. Yet I think the universality of the film is more true today than it ever was, and that’s what a younger generation responds to. When you were gathering feedback during the editing process, who did you show it to?Not anyone in fashion. No one who had anything to do with fashion or even liked fashion. I showed it to stockbrokers and truck drivers and baristas. I was like this surfer dude, and when I got into fashion I was mesmerized — and it wasn’t the fashion, it was the people. These extraordinary people who could talk about Bergman and Proust and “Jurassic Park” in the same breath. That’s what I wanted to show. I wanted a surfer in Santa Monica to watch it and say, “Radical.”When the fashion crowd finally saw it, did you anticipate the reaction?We had no idea. The movie ended, the credits were rolling, and I ran out of the theater on 57th Street over to Bergdorf’s, where we were having the party. I drank a drink in two seconds. I was petrified. The first two people through the door were Steven Meisel [legendary fashion photographer] and Paul Cavaco [respected New York stylist and editor], and they came running at me saying the movie was incredible…then everybody came streaming in. I don’t think anyone had managed to capture fashion that way. People in the business were saying, “That’s what we love about this world, that’s what we see.” It wasn’t supposed to be a film about fashion — it was supposed to be about these people. But in doing that, I ended up celebrating what’s beautiful about fashion.The poster for ‘Unzipped,’ 1995. AmazonWatching it again, it’s even funnier than I remembered, primarily, though not only, due to Isaac’s quips and impressions.Yeah, I was endlessly in awe of Isaac, entertained by him, astonished by him. His wit, his work ethic, his ability to persevere under the worst conditions. Somehow, I managed to show what I saw. There are plenty of films made about amazing people that don’t do them justice, and it always upsets me. The Eartha Kitt material — the way we could intercut him with her, the way it blends together — that’s where the comedy lives. It’s funny when you’re watching Isaac do it. But putting it together in the best possible way is not always easy.Speaking of Eartha Kitt and New York doyennes and denizens, the city plays a central role in the film. How did you see it playing a role as you shot?I’m from Santa Monica, and when I moved here, I never felt anywhere else in the world to be home like New York. It gets in your blood. So it had to be in there. Let’s go to Tony Shafrazi’s gallery, let’s walk the streets, let’s go see Eartha Kitt. I told Isaac I wanted to film her and he said, “Why?” I said, “Because you love her and she’s amazing.” She was playing the Carlyle — that’s as New York as anything. She’s part of old New York, like Bemelmans Bar, like the Rainbow Room. Those places were bridging past and present and were treasures to me.Isaac Mizrahi flanked by Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista in ‘Unzipped.’ Janus FilmsYou’ve worked in fashion as a photographer and videographer for years. How has the industry changed?I see it through other people’s eyes. I was talking to Isaac the other day and he said, “Is there any more fashion in America? Are there any real designers left?” In those days we had young talents — Isaac, Todd Oldham, Anna Sui — and the big ones, Calvin [Klein], Donna [Karan], Oscar [de la Renta]. And some of those are still around.You know, the democratization that came with media exposure and social media has been a double-edged sword. Part of what made the fashion world special back then was that very few people had access to it. Now we’re exposed to everything, or seemingly everything, and we’ve lost the magic that comes from the mystery.And the film business?So many of my friends aren’t working. I could talk a long time about how commodified it’s become, how it’s been overtaken by the giants and how the films that are being made now are largely blockbusters. But incredible films are still being made, inside the system and outside it, and every time one comes along I think, wow, there are still amazing voices out there. What I love is walking out of my house in Williamsburg and seeing 20 trailers and somebody being hustled from a truck dressing room onto a set. I get excited just seeing the machine of the business, that it’s very much alive and happening. You can’t avoid it if you live in New York.As John Galliano appears briefly in “Unzipped,” I wanted to get your take on the recent cancellation of the designer’s Costume Institute exhibition.Galliano is one of the most brilliant designers. He doesn’t just reflect what he sees in the world — he moves fashion forward, and that’s rare. I’m very appreciative of his gifts and very, very troubled by his behavior. So John Galliano the designer absolutely deserves that show. John Galliano the person is a more complicated situation. There’s a line in Woody Allen’s “Bullets Over Broadway” — Rob Reiner’s character tells John Cusack that the artist creates his own moral universe. I think that’s just the truth. Artists are often very flawed, troubled, troubling people, and it’s hard to put those things together. I can still appreciate the work and the talent, whether or not I like them.

‘Unzipped’ Relives the Unbound 1990s in Fashion’s ‘Home Movie’

‘Unzipped’ Relives the Unbound 1990s in Fashion’s ‘Home Movie’

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