Fashionable Movies are ones that include beautiful outfits, stunning locations and hopefully a great story. They transport you away from home and into a world of glamour for a few short hours leaving you uplifted and inspired.
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The usual list of best movies fall into the same two categories – fashion documentaries or the same old list of fashion movies – Sex and the City, Devil Wears Prada, Clueless etc. But I’ve seen those movies too, so I created a more fashionable movie list.
In this fashionable list, you will find at least three Vogue cover stars, at least two Chanel Muses, one fashion icon and one fashion designer and Hollywood’s finest actors and actresses!
The list does not include fashion documentaries, which I hope to cover in a future article.
The Most Fashionable Movies to enjoy
Barbie (2003)
The blockbuster smash of 2023 was pure fashion and fantasy. “If Margot wears anything that we didn’t make, it’s pretty much [all] Chanel,” costume designer Jacqueline Durran told Vogue.
Almost every scene in Barbie features beautiful outfits worn by fashion icons like Claudia Schiffer back in the Nineties. There are five main ‘looks’ curated by Chanel exclusively for the movie which is almost two hours of positive fashion!
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris (2021)
Adapted from the 1958 ‘Claire Harris goes to Paris’ this fashionable films tells the story of Mrs. Harris (played by Lesley Manville) as a widowed housekeeper in post-World War II London who dreams of owning a Christian Dior dress. She scrimps and saves for years until she finally has enough money to take a trip to Paris to buy the dress.
Most of the action, and the fashion takes place in Paris as she navigates the pecking order of Dior clients until she is befriended by the house Muse, growing in confidence and enjoying the very best of Paris society. We see plenty of Dior dresses and fashion as Mrs Harris attends fashion shows, goes dancing and finally buys her coveted Dior Dress.
This feel good film is a feast for the fashion senses. Academy Award winning costume designer jenny Beaven (Cruella) is nominated again in 2023 for her work recreating the house of Dior fashions. The Oscars A Frame has a wonderful article looking at how she brought the classic 1950’s fashion back to the screen.
Available to buy or rent on all streaming platforms. Apple, YouTube, Amazon Prime.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
This film is a visual feast from start to end. The story of a rich young Asian man who takes his unsuspecting girlfriend Rachel home from New York to Singapore for a family wedding. What she doesn’t realise is that the family is seriously rich… Crazy Rich.
This is the ultimate Fashionista movie. From the touch down in Singapore, this film is just a roll call of beautiful locations and outfits. Designers include Elie Saab, Dior, Alexander McQueen and Ralph Lauren.
Fashionista has more of the lowdown on the fashion showcased in the movie…
While the movie is packed with high-end Western designers — according to The Hollywood Reporter, Ralph Lauren sent 30 dresses while Marchesa lent Rachel’s floral-embellished gown worn to Araminta’s wedding — the director and Vogt also focused on celebrating local Asian fashion. Vogt credits two of her assistants from Kuala Lumpur, who tapped their regional knowledge, design school alumni and fashion connections to find homegrown talent including Malaysia’s Ong and Dubai-based Pinoy couture designer Michael Cinco, who designed the yellow gown Princess Intan (Kris Aquino) wears to the wedding. Hong Kong jewelry designer Michelle Ong lent pieces from her line, Carnet, and Shanghai’s Shiatzy Chen created the regal gold embroidered shawl worn by Nick’s grandmother Su Yi (Asian cinematic treasure Lisa Lu) to the dumpling wrapping gathering.
This film is a hoot! Watch it for the fashions but enjoy it for the crazy story!
Available to buy or rent on all streaming platforms. Apple, YouTube, Amazon Prime.
A Simple Favor (2018)
A Simple Favour stars Anna Kendrick as a ‘Mommy Vlogger’ who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily’s (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town.
Emily is the big city exec. working for a fashion brand with a wardrobe to die for. Wearing a selection of vintage Ralph Lauren pantsuits inspired by Helmut Newton, Blake Lively looks effortlessly cool in every scene.
Anna Kendrick’s movie outfits goes from dowdy mommy to a little more stylish as her fortunes change throughout the movie.
After the overall movie aesthetic was agreed, designer Renée Ehrlich Kalfus worked to build up a full repertoire of outfits to make this truly a fashion film..
compiling extensive research and poring over archives from Helmut Newton, old photos of Marlene Dietrich, and vintage Chanel pantsuits. Newton, in particular, became a main inspiration for Emily’s wardrobe and soon enough, Kalfus had an entire mood board of his portraits: black-and-white photographs of a woman wearing a suit holding a cigarette, a table full of women all in menswear, Lauren Bacall leaning impishly against a couch. All contributed to the mood of the film and the aesthetic from which Emily’s clothing was based.
A Simple Favour received mixed reviews, in part I think because it is a dark thriller played out in beautiful outfits and broad daylight. Some although think it’s a comedy, which it isn’t. Keep watching for the Twists!
Available to buy or rent on all streaming platforms. Apple, YouTube, Amazon Prime.
Priceless (Hors de Prix) (2006)
Chanel muse Audrey Tatou starts in this hilarious french movie charting the journey of a beautiful young con artist working the French Riviera. Expect sunshine, laughter and a string of beautiful dresses.
Costume Designer Virginie Montel chose the outfits to support the story, opting for a string of beautiful sexy dresses, as Irène works to hook a wealthy older man.
Priceless is also one of my best movies set in the South of France. Check out that list if you want some more glamour!
Available to buy or rent on all streaming platforms. Apple, YouTube, Amazon Prime.
Focus (2015)
Will Smith and Margot Robbie sizzle in this tale of Nicky, a veteran con artist (Smith) taking a novice named Robbie’s Jess under his wing.
Jess’s wardrobe helps plot her story from wannabe hustler, to succesful con artist. Starting with *just* a Givenchy Skirt and Jimmy Choo ankle boots, her style evolves to include Trina Turk floral-print dress, Gucci shades, Alexander Wang pumps and a plenty of Dolce & Gabbana too.
A pivotal scene by the pool called for a Herve Leger bikini and Prada platforms. A beautiful, red Roland Mouret dress rounds off an incredible ensemble.
Romance, break up and plenty of twists make this a great movie to watch again and again.
Both actors look fantastic but it is Margot Robbie’s wardrobe that makes this an unmissable fashion watch.
Available to buy or rent on all streaming platforms. Apple, YouTube, Amazon Prime.
Personal Shopper (2016)
Another Chanel muse, Kristen Stewart plays Maureen, an American in Paris hired to be a personal shopper to her client an unseen model.
Dressed down in jeans and converse, Maureen flits across Paris on errands for her model boss. These errands include picking up beautiful dresses from Chanel and Christian Louboutin shoes for her boss. As both Jess and her boss are the same size, Jess breaks the rules and tries on a few of these beautiful outfits.
Stewart wears Chanel in the film, too—but it’s not her Chanel. After picking up a silvery sequin-encrusted dress for her boss, she briefly slips into it, as if to temporarily forget her haunted journey and assume a glamorous, unencumbered life. “It’s that game of dreaming of being who you work for,” Doering says. Much of his research focused on those clothes Maureen shopped for, as those scenes were pivotal moments in the film. “Olivier would say, ‘Why Chanel?’ or ‘Why Vionnet?’ because we didn’t want it to feel too obvious.” (read more on Vogue)
But that isn’t the point of the story. Jess is also a medium who receives ever stronger “signs” from her dead brother. And a string of ever more threatening texts from a stalker. I know that sounds miserable, but what you have is a wonderfully deep thriller with a dash of beauty.
The end will have you thinking for days…
Available to buy or rent on all streaming platforms. Apple, YouTube, Amazon Prime.
Jackie (2016)
Jacqueline Kennedy has remained a fashion icon since her time as one half of the glamorous Kennedys. In a succession of beautiful outfits, this movie focuses on Jackie as she is widowed in front of the world’s press and how she has to cope with her own grief, that of her young children and of a nation.
Sympathetically played by Natalie Portman, the movie is a gentle exposeé of her life in the White House before and after John’s death.
The Tourist (2010)
The opening scene introduces us to Elise (Jolie) as watching investigators comment on her outfit, a sheath dress in camel and ivory colours, matched with gloves and a wrap. The outfit is inspired by a similar piece designed by the famous Irene Lentz.
All of Angelina Jolie’s Tourist outfits were designed specifically for the Angelina Jolie’s part, with the exception of a vintage 1950s Charles James Gray dress that fitted Angelina perfectly.
Based on the french film Anthony Zimmer, the Tourist moves the action away from The South of France to the equally glamorous Venice.
(read more about the design inspiration here)
Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009)
The story of Chanel and Stravinsky focuses on the alleged love affair between the designer and Russian composer, whilst he stayed with his family at her villa outside Paris.
Set in the early Twenties, the film has a very very strong aesthetic that evokes the spirit and style of the period. Yet even more so it celebrates Coco Chanel’s striking, highly individual and innovative take on design.
Chanel’s country house, Villa Bel Respiro in the Paris suburb of Garches, was reconstructed for the film with a great attention to detail. The villa decor and associated settings make for a visual feast enhanced by Chanel’s outfits making this a perfect movie for the fashionista in you.
Karl [Lagerfeld]has an inspiration cupboard where he keeps little prized vintage tokens – not all of them Chanel – but just special little finds that he uses to help him. He opened that up to us and said ‘Help yourselves’. It was incredible,” [costume designer] Chattoune told us. “Anything we didn’t have the budget for he helped us with – like the gold buttons we used on Coco’s pyjamas and the occasional feather. Of course there was a huge pressure as we had to seek the approval of the house of Chanel with every sketch we drewn but we enjoyed the challenge. (read more)
A Single Man (2009)
For the Directorial Debut of Tom Ford you would expect something beautiful and elegant. And you wouldn’t be wrong. What you also get is a wonderfully sensitive portrayal of an English professor (Colin Firth) coping with the loss of his partner.
Lost in LA, shunned by the family of his late partner, George Falconer (Firth) decides it is time to commit suicide. As he gets is affairs in order, George starts to see the friends around him, who can see how this single man has now changed.
Gradually, he starts to find warmth in the attention of friends and others he meets during his potential last days and hours. This wonderful fashion film works on so many levels, from Tom Ford’s attention to detail, through to the maturity with which he directs his actors.
And Colin Firth in a Tom Ford suit is never a bad thing to see!
This really is a beautiful and sensitive film. Giving you more of the storyline may well spoil this wonderful film.
American Hustle (2013)
Christian Bale plays Irving Rosenfeld an amteur forger who falls for fellow grifter Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams.) Together they become professional hustlers until they are caught by FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper.)
Irv and Sydney are forced to work undercover as part of DiMaso’s sting operation to trap a corrupt New Jersey mayor (Jeremy Renner) whilst Irv’s jealous wife (Jennifer Lawrence) could bring the whole plan down.
Loosely based on the Abscam sting, this film provides an entertaining and nail biting tail of risk and reward. An ideal Fashion Film for the Seventies, fashionistas will love a succession of sometimes risqué outfits worn by Adams and Lawrence that are totally in keeping with the ‘real’ New York of the time.
A cracking soundtrack and wonderful acting from the entire cast, this is another movie to watch and watch again.
The Great Gatsby (1974 & 2013)
With Great Gatsby you have two for the price of one! Both the Robert Redford and Leonardo DiCaprio films are chock full of preppy fashion. The 1974 version has leads Robert Redford and Mia Farrow bedecked in New England style. For the gents, it was all about the linen suits, wide lapels and pastel colours. The ladies colourful shift dresses silk stockings and silk underwear. Ralph Lauren provided a few suits for Robert Redford but most of the style credit goes to costume designer Theoni V. Aldredge.
For Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 update, the movie fashion was lead by Prada working with costume designer Catherine Martin to create over 40 looks inspired by the archives of both Prada and Miu Miu.
The designs take the form of shimmering dresses, covered with crystals, fringing and sequins, in shades of emerald, jade, topaz and gold. Fabrics come in luxurious velvets and furs, with the story’s Twenties setting at the heart of each style. The creations will be worn by the film’s star cast, which includes Carey Mulligan as the flighty Daisy Buchanan. American brand Brooks Brothers has designed costumes for the movie’s male actors, such as Leonardo DiCaprio who plays the enigmatic Jay Gatsby and Tobey Maguire who stars as narrator Nick Carraway. (read more at Vogue)
I hope you liked the list!
