In Vogue: The 90’s Review
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Vogue’s 90’s documentary allows fashion lovers to relive the iconic decade.
Can you ever get enough of the '90s? Especially '90s fashion. This defining era in fashion saw huge changes in the industry, with creative booms, new designers beginning to take the reins, and a certain young Kate Moss emerging onto the scene, destined for stardom.
It seems the perfect subject, then, for one of the latest fashion documentaries to devote your evenings to.
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In the latest series, In Vogue: The 90s, the iconic fashion magazine takes us behind the scenes of this period of change, giving us previously rarely seen footage of the team at work.
The six episode series opens with All Change at Vogue, focusing on the arrival of Vogue's global editorial director, Anna Wintour. Further episodes include The Fashion Rebels, exploring the emergence of new British designers such as Alexander McQueen; The Hollywood Merger, examining fashion and Hollywood combining on the red carpet; The Rise of the Met Gala, charting how the famous New York event has grown over time; Hip Hop Takes Fashion, looking at how hip hop and fashion embraced each other; and, finally, The American Moment, focusing on the global impact of American designers Calvin Klein, Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren.
Standout highlights include Tommy Hilfiger's impact on hip hop in Episode 5. Seeing the influence created when both worlds embraced each other in what seemed an unlikely partnership was refreshing. Episode 2's introduction to the British designers' takeover brought with it some fascinating backstage footage and humorous moments, particularly Kate Moss quoting Alexander McQueen when told that big names were unable to get into his show: "Fuck 'em."
Emotional moments also feature throughout the series, such as the focus on Gianni Versace's death, with Naomi Campbell visibly emotional as she discusses her relationship with the iconic designer.
For fashion lovers going into it, the nostalgia seen in episodes offered many famous moments worth seeing and reliving again.
Throughout the series, Vogue goes all out with its interviews, featuring A list celebrities from across the worlds of modelling, acting, music and design. In a documentary centred around the '90s, however, it does beg the question: was Kim Kardashian's appearance really necessary?
In a documentary centred around the '90s, you can expect nostalgia galore. Seeing some of the rare backstage footage was a real eye opener and a source of pure excitement for fashion lovers. The series did, however, leave us feeling slightly starved of this material. While it offered glimpses behind the curtain, we wanted to see more of what went on behind the scenes, particularly within the Vogue offices themselves.
In an earlier episode centred around the merging of fashion and Hollywood, we are treated to one of these insights as the team discuss a cover shoot with global megastar Madonna. The clip provides an intriguing look at the decision making process within the magazine. Moments like this, however, were just a little too few and far between. As lovers of this side of the industry, we simply wished there had been more.
Talking of more in depth exploration, earlier episodes introduced important subjects such as AIDS. Given the significance of the topic, the documentary seemed to skim over the issue somewhat. A deeper examination of Vogue's approach to the crisis at the time would have felt more insightful.
Another point to note is that, as the series progresses, the format seems to move away from Vogue specifically and towards broader fashion history. Compared to the earlier episodes, particularly the opening instalment, the later episodes feel more like explorations of wider '90s fashion movements rather than examinations of their direct connection to the magazine.
