Tonight on the Sundance Channel at 8pm is the debut of the French documentary Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton ($22.49 at Amazon). I actually bought this DVD before the holidays from the Marc Jacobs boutique since I saw that it was done by French TV and figured I could practice my French skills. What I love about this documentary is that it truly is taken from the French perspective. Loic Prigent, the filmmaker takes you inside the world of Marc Jacobs -- how he works, his creative process, the business world of fashion, and of course the parties, all in preparation for the LV Spring 2007 show.
One of the most interesting pieces was the creative process of this Louis Vuitton Tribute Patchwork bag to celebrate LV's anniversary. Of course we all know it turned out to be a big flop (and horribly ugly) but it's amazing to see the amount of work done, even to the last minute to create this bag and send it on down the runway. Think Joan Cusak running with the videotape in Broadcast News. Pretty exciting!
I love the human touch Marc has with his clothing and how he gets his inspiration from vintage goods. One of the best parts is seeing Anna Wintor of Vogue visit Marc in the Paris Louis Vuitton studio and watch her get a preview of the collection. In the end, you can see how fashion and creativity takes a toll over Marc's health. Throughout the documentary he's downing vitamins, eating health bars, and still not getting much sleep. It's an amazing in-depth look at how one of the world's top fashion designers and how a luxury label like Louis Vuitton is run. After you watch it on cable, I'd recommend to get the DVD, it's definitely something you'll want to keep in your fashion collection.
Watch more footage behind the scenes by the French Channel, Arte.tv.
