Based on Ari Seth Cohen’s titular blog, the documentary Advanced Style posits the notion that Advanced Age is the New Black. The doco aims to challenge the ageist mindset in street style and dares to ask if this new demographic might gain momentum in the commercial fashion industry.
‘Punk and archaic are now in the old’ Cohen asserts and in a way, he his right. The Punk look and ethos was originally about individualism, and not the somewhat homogenous look and anti-authoritarian attitude it came to symbolise. Anarchism is another word for defying norms. Nowhere is this statement more evident than in the seven women featured in this film. These new style icons, ranging from 62 to 95, force us to not only rethink what punk is, but also notions of attractiveness, ageing, and style – who owns it, who claims a monopoly on it, and who is entitled to it.
Cohen produces this documentary with director Lina Plioplyte and the help of Kickstarter crowdsourcing funds. Despite its feature length, Cohen’s delving into the lives of seven subjects doesn’t allow for any in-depth investigation. However, for a first-time effort by both filmmakers, they have done a smart job by sticking to the adage ‘show, don’t tell.’ We are shown these sprightly women in action, living ‘style’ their daily lives, still working in their 90s, working the New York streets as their runway, and enjoying every minute of it. They are shown to reclaim the spot, in the most visual way possible, where women are largely invisible.
Fashion documentaries have become a welcome genre over the past few years, thanks to the success of The September Issue, and Bill Cunningham New York. Both of these documentaries look at fashion from a commercial publishing angle, via a main protagonist. What Cohen and Plioplyte have done here is identified their subjects from a street-style blog and placed them front and centre. The success of this film lies in their choice of highlighting the street style of older women. Imagine if this film was about any one of the thousands of street-style blogs out there, which mainly feature people under 30? It wouldn’t have the same impact, and what story could it tell?
For all its advanced age championing, the film doesn’t exactly shy away from the idea that people are struggling with seeing older women in this light. While interviewing 62 year old Deborah Rapaport, her partner recalls their first meeting – being put off by her bright and colourful outfit. Her reaction is priceless, and very telling. Even the blog’s creator may struggle with this idea as well. In one particular scene, his mask slips a little. He is seen having a word to one woman about her overbearing personality, albeit politely, yet unmistakably condescending.
This highlights the main story these women tell about the deeper issue of agency. Fashion style is an agent for expression, individuality, identity, creativity and mental agility. Most importantly, and this is the crux of the film, these women don’t so much defy age as live and work really well with it. They do not deny their age. They do not try to look younger (remarkably, and thankfully, none of these women seem to have had plastic surgery). They use their life experiences and draw wisdom from it. And they look fabulous while they do it.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Advanced Style
Director: Lina Plioplyte
USA, 2014, 72 mins
Melbourne International Film Festival
www.miff.com.au
31 July – 17 August
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