“Becoming Karl Lagerfeld” and more: Streaming highlights for Fashion Week

Fashion Week starts in Berlin on July 1st. Fashion enthusiasts from all over the world are making a pilgrimage to the capital again. But there is also plenty of fashion for those who stay at home – streaming providers such as Disney+, Netflix and Co. are offering all kinds of films and series on the topic of fashion.

Daniel Brühl as Karl Lagerfeld

“Becoming Karl Lagerfeld” has recently been causing a stir on Disney +. In the series, Daniel Brühl (46) embodies the legendary fashion tsar in his younger years. The six-part miniseries is set in the 1970s – long before Karl Lagerfeld (1933-2019) became the icon with the sunglasses and the white ponytail. His path to the fashion Olympus is marked by intrigue, excess, resentment, jealousy and a great love. Brühl impressively manages to bring the aloof Emperor Karl to life for the audience.

The greatest designers and supermodels of all time

But Disney+ also has some great designers up its sleeve apart from Karl Lagerfeld. A miniseries of the same name was also dedicated to Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972). Alberto San Juan (56) portrays the Spanish fashion icon as a mysterious maestro who revolutionized the world of fashion. The new documentary “Diane von Fürstenberg: A Woman at the Top” shows von Fürstenberg’s (77) life and her 50-year career from her childhood as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor to the creation of the iconic wrap dress.

Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008) cannot be missing from the ranks of the great designers. In 2014, two films about the French designer were released: “Yves Saint Laurent” and “Saint Laurent”. The former, with Pierre Niney (35), focuses on Saint Laurent’s relationship with his business partner and partner Pierre Bergé (1930-2017); in “Saint Laurent”, Gaspard Ulliel (1984-2022) plays him at the height of his career from 1967 to 1976. Both films are available on Amazon Prime.

The focus of “The New Look” on Apple TV + is on the designers Christian Dior (1905-1957) and Coco Chanel (1883-1971). The high-profile historical series tells the story of haute couture in Paris during the Nazi occupation and in the years that followed. Christian Dior (Ben Mendelsohn, 54) and Coco Chanel (Juliette Binoche, 59) are equally at the center of the plot.

French cinema icon Binoche paints an extremely multi-layered, complex portrait of Nazi collaborator Coco Chanel, while Mendelsohn’s Christian Dior, even in the darkest hours of the occupation, does not lose faith that his designs can restore courage and esprit to Paris and the entire planet after liberation.

The miniseries “Halston” (2021) on Netflix is ​​based on the life story of the US designer Roy Halston Frowick (1932-1990) played by Ewan McGregor (53). The five episodes tell the rise and fall of the fashion designer in the 70s and 80s.

Fans of the legendary supermodels will get their money’s worth in the Apple TV+ documentary series “The Super Models”. In a total of four episodes, viewers can immerse themselves in the glamorous cosmos of model icons Naomi Campbell (54), Cindy Crawford (58), Linda Evangelista (59) and Christy Turlington (55). In “The Super Models”, filmmaker and Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams (61, “Music by Prudence”) and his colleague Larissa Bills shed light on the unfiltered careers of their protagonists – with all the ups and downs that the fashion world has to offer.

The nasty side of the fashion world

But there are also fashion films worth watching that take place outside of the real fashion world. “The Devil Wears Prada” from 2006, for example, with the devilishly good combination of Anne Hathaway (41) and Meryl Streep (75) shows on Disney+ how toxic the fashion world can be. Streep plays the bossy and arrogant editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly, and the legendary “Vogue” boss Anna Wintour (74) is said to have served as inspiration.

“Cruella” (2021) blows the same horn on the streaming platform: Emma Stone (35) tries to make a name for herself as the clever con artist Estella in the midst of London’s punk rock revolution with her creative looks. In the process, she increasingly transforms into the feared and vengeful Cruella de Vil, who will use any means necessary in the competition for the perfect design.

In the Netflix series “Emily in Paris,” fans accompany the American Emily (Lily Collins, 35) – always dressed in expensive luxury brands – through her adventures in the fashion capital. In a Paris marketing company, she has to deal with all kinds of culture shocks and mean colleagues. The protagonist also faces numerous challenges in love. The fourth season of the popular series will be released this year in two parts. Part 1 will be released on Netflix on August 15, 2024. The second half of Season 4 will follow on September 12, 2024.

The cult series “Sex and the City” is considered the model for the style in “Emily in Paris”. All six seasons with Sarah Jessica Parker (59) and her friends as well as the two seasons of the spin-off “And Just Like That…” – including outfits and shopping scenes in the old Carrie Bradshaw style – are available to stream on Sky.

Fashion can also be fun

“Shopaholic” on Disney+ shows that fashion doesn’t always have to be taken so seriously. In the 2009 film, shopaholic Rebecca (Isla Fisher, 48) dreams of a career at a fashion magazine, but ends up in business. In the teen comedy “Clueless” (1995) on Paramount+, Cher (Alicia Silverstone, 47) – dressed in crazy 90s outfit creations – tries to help a classmate gain more popularity through a makeover.

“Zoolander” shows Ben Stiller (58) as a limited male model who has to assert himself against his competitor Hansel (Owen Wilson, 55). The 2001 film is also available on Paramount+, and the sequel “Zoolander No. 2” (2016) is also available on Sky.

If you still haven’t had enough of dresses, skirts and shoes, you can look forward to it: Disney+ will soon be releasing another fashion series, “In Vogue: The 90s”. Featuring numerous stars and “Vogue” boss Anna Wintour, the episodes take you back to the 90s and show the most famous fashion and pop culture moments of this special decade.