Prêt à Porter / Ready to Wear (1994) – Altman’s chaotic satire
Robert Altman delivers a chaotic satire of the fashion world. What begins as an average murder mystery spirals into absurdity of the ludicrous clown world of high fashion industry.
The film’s genius is its handling of nudity. Altman puts top supermodels walking completely naked on a catwalk and achieves something masterful, he flips perfect female bodies from erotica into complete asexuality. What should be sensual becomes raw, sterile, and dehumanized, just another absurd human spectacle in the fashion circus. The naked walk brilliantly symbolizes The Emperor’s New Clothes, exposing the naked truth behind the industry’s pretentious facade. It’s genius level in ridiculizing voyeurism itself.
Altman managed to pull off a satire about the absurd ideology of drugs, sex, and rock & roll in fashion industry, with a great ensemble of A level actors.
Underrated and unforgettable.
