‘Unzipped’ (R)

Director Douglas Keeve captures the superficial essence of high fashion in "Unzipped," a giddy inside-the-industry documentary that's simply to die for. Glittery with super-models and their Hollywood groupies, this absolutely fabulous frockfest proves once and for all that the emperors of swank aren't wearing any clothes.

Keeve, a fashion photographer, turns his camera on Isaac Mizrahi, who appears to have suffered more for his art than anyone since van Gogh. Not that Mizrahi would ever cut off an ear lobe—he can't bear the pain of a bad review, much less real physical agony. "I'm a baby when I go for a facial," confesses Mizrahi, whose quick wit and campy sensibilities are the inspiration for both his own and Keeve's creations.

"Unzipped" looks at the creative process, and the whole rag industry, by examining Mizrahi's 1994 fall collection—from ditsy inspiration ("Nanook of the North" meets '50s cheesecake) to flashy fake-fur fait accompli. We see Mizrahi explaining his vision to his staff, handpicking models—even working with garments now and then—and all the while he's also regaling friends or the lens with whatever observations, asides and anecdotes happen to be spinning from the whirligig of his runaway mind.

On Eartha Kitt and her two poodles: "It's almost impossible to have style nowadays without the right dogs."

On Loretta Young's makeup, still perfect after four days of exposure in "Call of the Wild": "If you must freeze on the tundra, this is the way to do it."

On why fur pants aren't big: "It's about women not wanting to look like cows."

On a late delivery of gray flannel: "They act like we asked for the hide of some exotic animal!"

Keeve, who shot the picture on an assortment of film stocks, mimics Mizrahi's wildly funny musings and shifting moods by jumping from black-and-white to color, from 16mm to 35mm. Sometimes he cuts from the couturier's reenactment of a favorite movie moment to the actual clip, say of Bette Davis in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" Mizrahi calls it "The Yarn't Scene":

"Yarn't ever gonna get out of that chair, Blanche," says Issac.

"Yarn't ever gonna get out of that chair, Blanche," says Bette.

There's even a telling snippet of a home movie in which the wee Mizrahi rattles the bars of his crib, as if he just had to get out and cut up. All grown, he's still a captivating imp, like a kid playing with living dolls as he and his staff get their models ready for a gaudy runway show. One slapstick moment finds them struggling to yank a leggy super-model free of her hip-length boots.

Keeve, who captured the fuss and muss backstage, is rumored to have staged a cat fight between models Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista for still more effect. And as Mizrahi's former lover, he may have left any unflattering footage on the cutting room floor. No matter: The film fits the subject beautifully.

Unzipped is rated R for profanity and partial nudity.