Confidentially speaking

Lagerfeld with Nicole Kidman

Last Friday night I had an old fashioned recession date night. A friend came over, I made blueberry pancakes, and we did nothing the rest of the night but drink mimosas and watch Rodolphe Marconi’s documentary "Lagerfeld Confidential." If you haven't seen it, then you probably shouldn't be reading this blog. Kidding, just kidding. If you haven't seen it, it's worth planting yourself on the sofa and watching. The Chanel creative director is part genius, part madman, and completely fabulous.

A scene from the amazing "Polly Maggoo"

In fact, next week (starting Feb. 9), the Sundance Channel is showing a week of fashion programming, including "Lagerfeld Confidential" and one of my favorite fashion movies of all time, William Klein's 1966 "Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?" For the complete schedule of fashion movies, follow the jump.

The full Fashion Week line-up is as follows:
Monday, February 9th
7:00pm
Lagerfeld Confidential (U.S. Television Premiere) - Directed by Rodolphe Marconi. Shot over the course of three years, this documentary offers an extended, entertaining and illuminating visit with celebrated couturier Karl Lagerfeld. Marconi captures Lagerfeld gliding through various milieus: backstage at Chanel, where he has reigned for 25 years; on a private plane bound for Monte Carlo, en route to a lunch with Princess Caroline; at a Paris nightclub, photographing Nicole Kidman for an ad campaign; in his cluttered Paris study, sketching dresses for his new collection. Throughout the film, in sit-down interviews and on the go, Lagerfeld speaks wittily and at length about his life and his work, opening up – in his fashion.

Tuesday, February 10th
7:00pm
Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? – Directed by William Klein. Celebrated photographer Klein made his feature debut with this 1966 comedy, which casts a sly look at the frenzy surrounding supermodel Polly Maggoo (the adorable Dorothy MacGowan) a freckle-faced Brooklynite living and working in Paris. Fashion editors swoon; a besotted prince fantasizes about making her his bride; and a television crew follows her every move, clucking cynically about Polly’s emptiness but secretly enthralled.

Wednesday, February 11th
7:00pm
Ralph Rucci: A Designer and His House – Directed by David Boatman. Often likened to legendary couturier Cristobal Balenciega, American designer Ralph Rucci creates exquisitely detailed, thoroughly modern garments through painstaking workmanship and the highest quality materials; garments that are truly marvels of the imagination. This documentary follows the creation of Rucci's Spring 2008 ready-to-wear and Fall 2008 couture lines and features a sequence narrated by Martha Stewart, as well as interviews with the world’s leading fashion insiders

Thursday, February 12th
7:00pm
Jack Taylor of Beverly Hills – Directed by Cecile Leroy Beaulieu. In today’s prêt-a-porter world, tailors like Jack Taylor teeter on the verge of extinction. For more than 60 years, this American icon defined men’s fashion for Hollywood’s A-list, dressing Cary Grant, Sid Caesar and Elvis Presley in his custom-made suits. Inspired by his illustriousness and dedication, director Beaulieu chronicles Taylor’s life and historic career, paying bittersweet homage to a bygone era while recognizing one man’s role in shaping it.

Friday, February 13th
7:00pm
Seamless – Directed by Douglas Keeve. This appealing documentary looks at the style and substance of several up-and-coming designers, all finalists for the Vogue/CFDA prize: Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, the precocious duo behind hot label Proenza Schoeler; Korean-born Doo-Ri Chung, who creates exquisite dresses in a studio above her parents’ dry cleaning business; and Alexandre Plokhov, whose menswear label Cloak has garnered fans including Sarah Jessica Parker.

Saturday, February 14th
7:00pm
Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton – Directed by Loïc Prigent. Considered the most influential designer of his generation, 44-year-old Marc Jacobs is the creative force behind two of the world’s most successful and fashion-forward brands: his eponymous American line, and the venerable French house of Louis Vuitton. Prigent captures Jacobs at work on his spring 2007 ready-to-wear collections for the two labels, revealing a quirky talent who draws together disparate thematic threads - from cookies to Cubism – as he conjures clothes, bags and shoes that will be coveted by stylish women of all ages.

Sunday, February 15th
7:00pm
Yves St. Laurent: 5 Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris – Directed by David Teboul. Teboul follows the legendary French designer as he prepares his final women’s collection in 2001 -- the first and last time St. Laurent allowed cameras into his atelier. Over the course of eight weeks, the designer’s simple black-and-white sketches are transformed into magnificent reality as every nuance of fabric, color, decoration and fit is meticulously considered.