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Valentino Unzipped
Doc chronicles famous designer’s retirement from haute couture
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Vanity Fair correspondent Matt Tyrnauer makes his directorial debut with Valentino: The Last Emperor, a documentary for fans of both film and fashion, opening at Film Forum this month. Two years in the making, Valentino follows legendary designer Valentino and his partner in both life and business for the past five decades, Giancarlo Gaiety, through the ultra-glamorous world of high fashion.
Initially, Tyrnauer took a journalistic approach to the film (it does follow Valentino up to his famous retirement from the world of haute couture), yet the movie unexpectedly morphs into a touching portrait of Valentino and Giancarlo’s relationship. One scene finds them playfully bickering over where they met: a restaurant or the bar across the street? You can expect the usual “warts and all” treatment as the diva displays his short temper by throwing many tantrums.
On the issue of Valentino’s retirement, the film, it should be pointed out, chronicles the last of a dying breed. There are no famed designers left working at their own houses. Fans of Douglas Keeve’s Unzipped will enjoy this behind-the-scenes look into the fashion world.