In his new documentary film “Fashion Babylon,” Gianluca Matarrese examines a changing industry, and the characters living on the edge of fashion.
, the American musician, artist and onetime presidential hopeful, and Violet Chachki, the burlesque performer, model and a winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”Matarrese films all three doing the Paris and Milan fashion show circuits season after season, getting themselves photographed and hustling for work — or even just a ticket to the show.at the Théâtre du Châtelet, which took place just weeks before COVID-19 strikes in early 2020.
“There is no more circus carnival, like before, and there’s more awareness for sure. I think fashion is evolving in other directions, with digital shows, for example,” says Matarrese.Matarrese followed Spooner, Chachki and Elie for around three years, and says he usually starts his projects by filming — and then seeing what happens. “I start with small stories, and then go bigger,” he says. “And I’m always attracted to collapses.
“Fashion Babylon” is dark, although it has some funny moments, like when Chachki declares, “I can’t sit down in this” as she changes into a sparkly jumpsuit in the back of a car on the way to a show.