Looking Back at BBC’s ‘The Look’

When it comes to fashion and movies, there are a lot of levels on which we can discuss it. Cinematography includes fashion and it still does. Sometimes films are very “fashion” such as the Sex and the City movies, at other times they just include many designs without being so “out there”. But there’s one thing we can say for sure, and that is that style and life go hand in hand. Whether we care about it a lot and in a conscious way or just in a not very conscious way, our identities revolve a lot around the language and tools fashion give us.

In this article we look back at the BBC series”The Look”. This was a six-part documentary presenting the different aspects of fashion and style: from the concept, to the social impact, the business and it’s evolution.

There are also some documentaries worth seeing, on designers, brands and magazines. The film focuses on how clothes are more than just a fad, how style is lifestyle and more. It is produced and directed by Gina and Jeremy Newson, and was brought to TV in 1992.

It might be funny that we brought up an old documentary from the dust, but this is what makes it more interesting. Watching it, you can really tell that some things never change: for example “What we wear is an expression of who we are”, as Ralph Lauren explains. Putting  the film in perspective really makes you analyze what are classic, timeless values and what is just a trend, and therefore it’s an amazing lesson of fashion.

We can see a younger Ralph Lauren, a young Karl Lagerfeld and learn a lot from them. What is great about the Ralph Lauren part is that he did not express in his clothes who he was, but who he wanted to be and through his creations, he turned the dream into a lifestyle. The proof that clothes are more than just objects and that they can have an enormous impact. It’s interesting how we can learn so much from these designers, how style is achieved and embellished with the present, and how identity evolves.

We enjoyed seeing the now retro runway shows, which are so different than they are now, they were a lot more dynamic and strange, and full of “irony and parody”.

The documentary is not a visual masterpiece, you can see the 90s visual style, but it’s content is interesting and makes you think, we thought the rip-off part was interesting, but don’t want to give it all away.

There is an episode in which the power of the press is being talked about. Funny how that has changed so much since then, with the Internet and the millions of fashion blogs. In the end, we can say that the Internet has brought up a whole new sense to the “fashion journalism” concept. But the question we need to ask ourselves is “are all the people who own fashion blogs right? Or is fashion always right, just that we can’t see that?” That’s an open debate that we couldn’t close right now, even if we wanted to.

It would be interesting to imagine how the documentary would end out if it was brought up to day with today’s fashion. Yes, fashion did not change, style is still style, but the new vibe fashion has, has definitely something to say about us. There would be a lot to say about the series, but we will let you watch it and continue the conversation in the comments!

You can watch all the episodes on Vimeo.
Fraquoh and Franchomme

P.S What do you think about the film? How do you think it would look today?