Pre-screening discussion with Harold Koda, Kohle Yohannan, and Dorothy McGowan
Directed by William Klein, 1966, 102min
In this excoriating satire of the fashion industry, Polly Maggoo is a 20-year-old Brooklyn-born fashion model in Paris, on the runway at the big shows where magazine editor Ms. Maxwell is the reigning opinion maker. The ridiculous passes for sublime. Polly becomes the subject of an episode of a vapid TV news documentary series called "Qui êtes-vous?" and is pursued by the filmmaker and by the prince of Borodine, a small country in the Soviet bloc. We watch as the documentary is shot, we await Polly's arrival in the principality, we observe a lunch in the suburbs, and we learn of her childhood. Is there more to Polly than her pretty face? Is anything below the surface?http://www.metmuseum.org/tickets/calendar/view.asp?id=2764
This is an all-time favorite of mine:
Funny Face
Pre-screening discussion with Harold Koda, Kohle Yohannan, and Carmen Dell'Orefice
Directed by Stanley Donen, with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire, 1957, 103 min
Fashion photographer Dick Avery, in search for an intellectual backdrop for an air-headed model, expropriates a Greenwich Village bookstore. When the photo session is over the store is left in a shambles, much to salesgirl Jo Stockton's dismay. Avery stays behind to help her clean up. Later, he examines the photos taken there and sees Jo in the background of one shot. He is intrigued by her unique appearance, as is Maggie Prescott, the editor of a leading fashion magazine. They offer Jo a modeling contract, which she reluctantly accepts only because it includes a trip to Paris. Eventually, her snobbish attitude toward the job softens, and Jo begins to enjoy the work and the company of her handsome photographer.http://www.metmuseum.org/tickets/calendar/view.asp?id=2763
Both Movies:
In conjunction with the exhibition, The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion.
The exhibition is made possible by Marc Jacobs.
Additional support is provided by Condé Nast.
