Documentary Goes Behind the Curtain of High Fashion

The acclaimed Dior and I spends eight frenzied weeks in the life of Raf Simons.

The legendary fashion houses of Europe project a uniformly specific image: glamour, luxury, affluence, travel, romance—in essence, a life of plenty, free from labour and worry. But the designers’ fantastical garments don’t come from the ether fully formed. Like any creative pursuit, that which looks effortless is usually the product of hundreds of hours of blood and sweat and worry. Dior and I, a hugely acclaimed documentary from Frederic Tcheng (who previously journaled the life and work of Valentino Garavani and Diana Vreeland), follows Raf Simons as he scrambles to create his first haute couture collection after taking over as creative director of Christian Dior. He has only eight weeks to do so. Elle magazine described it as “simply the best movie about fashion,” but anyone who appreciates the arts—either as a producer or a consumer—will be drawn into Dior and I’s portrait of creative anxiety, sky-high standards, and the drive to overcome seemingly impossible public expectation.Vancity Theatre presents the only local screenings of Dior and I, today through May 30. Click here for tickets and showtimes, and see the trailer here.