Calendar Girl

Ruth Finley hasn’t quite been covering fashion since these columns were new.

(2020) Documentary (Ditlev) Ruth Finley, Kathleen Turner, Tommy Hilfiger, Betsey Johnson, Bill Cunningham, Joseph Siegel, Carolina Herrera, Gael Greene, Diane von Furstenberg, Nicole Miller, Larry Lein, Mickey Boardman, Harold Koda, Ellin Saltzman, Mary Packer, Steven Kolb, Ralph Rucci, Garry Wassner, Debbie de Monfort, Ruth Thale, Andrew Bolton, Nanette Lepore. Directed by Christian D. Bruun

There is no doubt that New York is one of the primary stars in the fashion constellation. It is chock full of events from showings to preview parties to honors ceremonies. Keeping track of everything is a full-time job, but a necessary one for the industry to function.

For 65 years, Ruth Finley, founder and editor of Fashion Calendar, was the glue that held the industry together. Her calendar, which appeared weekly for a time and then bi-weekly and printed on distinctive pink paper so it could be found quickly on a cluttered office desk, became a bible allowing buyers to make sure they were getting to all the events they needed to, and for designers to maximize attendance at their shows.

Finley, a tiny woman towered over by statuesque models, made this her life’s work and a labor of love it was too. With a small staff (which at one time included future Emmy-winning actress Doris Roberts), she kept track of everything fashion going on in the Big Apple, a kind of oasis of order amidst the chaos. In an industry where ego was big and tantrums were often bigger, Ruth was different in that she was kind, and helpful, particularly to new designers trying to establish themselves in one of the most notoriously cutthroat industries in the world.

Finley is naturally a modest woman but also possessed with a core of steel; she was a career woman in an era when that was exceedingly rare. She also divorced her first husband in 1954, an era when that was scandalous, and after her second husband died suddenly in 1959, she became a single mom, something very rare for that era. She remained so for the rest of her life, never remarrying although towards the end of her life she did have a boyfriend (Joseph Siegel, a former executive at Macy’s).

She did things her own way and was stubbornly analogue even when she was pleaded with to put her magazine online. She worked into her mid-90s, reluctantly selling Fashion Calendar to the Council of Fashion Designers of America who did eventually put the magazine online, discontinuing its print edition but in tribute to the magazine’s founder, kept the color of the calendar pink.

Bruun takes a fairly conservative approach to the documentary, relying mostly on talking head interviews with friends, family and admirers of Finley, interspersed with archival footage and photographs from both Finley’s personal life and from the fashion industry in general. It does get a bit hagiographic after awhile, but the more Finley is on-camera, the more you realize that the admiration is well-earned. Finley is the film’s secret weapon; charming, self-effacing and joyful about an industry that she loved. In her mid-90s for most of the film, her energy and joy is infectious. Yes, this is mostly going to appeal to those who love fashion and in particular the New York fashion scene, but documentary buffs will get a kick out of Finley who will charm even the most curmudgeonly viewer.

The movie recently made its world premiere at DOC NYC and remains available for virtual viewing at the link below through today. While it has yet to get a distribution deal, it is extremely likely that it will see at the very least several film festival appearances this fall, as well as some sort of distribution or streaming deal at the very least. Keep an eye out for it.

REASONS TO SEE: Finley is a delightful subject.
REASONS TO AVOID: May not appeal to non-fashionistas.
FAMILY VALUES: There are some adult themes.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Finley passed away in August 2018, three years after filming was completed at the age of 98.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Virtual Cinema
CRITICAL MASS: As of 11/19/20: Rotten Tomatoes: No score yet; Metacritic: No score yet.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Iris
FINAL RATING: 6.5/10
NEXT: A Crime on the Bayou

Picture Me (A Model’s Diary)

Not exactly dripping with glamour…

(2009) Documentary (Strand) Sara Ziff, Karl Lagerfield, Nicole Miller, Caitriona Balfe, Missy Rayder, Cameron Russell, Gilles Bensimon, Sam Haskins, Diana Dondoe, Hussein Chalayan. Directed by Ole Schell and Sara Ziff

For most of us it’s hard to give the supermodel much sympathy. We see them as the height of glamour and fashion, wearing the latest clothes, jetting all over the world to amazing locations, partying with rock stars and generally being the envy of every little girl who just wants to be pretty. But there is a price for prettiness.

Sara Ziff is the daughter of a NYU neurobiology professor and a lawyer (her mom, who appears later in the film to fuss over her daughter’s education). However although she’s plainly an intelligent girl, he’s drawn to the world of modeling and with her fresh-faced good looks, blonde hair and sunny expression make her a natural.

Her boyfriend and her initially are taking home movies from her early days breaking into the model world. Mostly we see her reactions to things that happen in her career but as time goes by this becomes more of a true documentary about conditions in the world of modeling. We see the pressure Ziff comes under to stay thin, eventually competing with girls much younger (as in 12, 13, 14). She starts talking to her fellow models and gradually a picture of an industry in which models systematically starve themselves, are often overworked to the point of exhaustion (and the malnourishment contributes heavily to this) and on top of it are subject to being sexually abused by predatory photographers who are sadly not as rare as you might think.

Still sound glamorous? You have to understand that very few models make it to be Tyra Banks or Heidi Klum. While some can make a decent living wage or better, an awful lot of models live hand to mouth, taking dodgy assignments that often have them not getting paid or having to have sex with their photographers in order TO get paid. Keep in mind that much of the population of the modeling industry is made up of teenage girls and that is a demographic that can be – and is – easily exploited.

This is an eye-opener. The girls are undeniably beautiful and certainly as a man I’m aware of their beauty and the unconscious sexuality of the models (models are very aware of their bodies, used to having them on display so they seem almost flip about how they are occasionally viewed as sexual objects). However, those who thought that a beautiful girl can get pretty much whatever she wants out of life should watch this. These girls might well describe their beauty as a curse, something that almost invites exploitation and attracts predatory sorts into their orbits. There are no unions in this industry and quite frankly there is nobody watching over the rights of the models because there is far too much money on the table. The girls only see a fraction of that money at best.

Since making this movie Ziff has gone on to become an activist working for better working conditions for the models, and vigorously going after sexual predators in the industry. Before seeing this I wouldn’t have thought there was a need for an activist. Now I can truly say that it’s a good thing that there’s a Sara Ziff around to help these girls. For those who think of models as shallow and selfish with little going on between the ears, I give you Sara Ziff.

WHY RENT THIS: This is no America’s Next Top Model. Ziff is an articulate and intelligent woman who turns the stereotype of the profession on its ear.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: Started out as a group of home movies and some of the material would seem to be less important to anyone other than Schell and Ziff.

FAMILY VALUES: There is some swearing and a few adult situations.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Ziff graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University with a degree in Political Science.

NOTABLE HOME VIDEO EXTRAS: None listed.

BOX OFFICE PERFORMANCE: $22,369 on an unknown production budget; it probably didn’t take much to shoot this movie but I’m pretty sure it took more than that.

COMPARISON SHOPPING: Girl Model

FINAL RATING: 6.5/10

NEXT: Vanishing on 7th Street