Q&A: Filmmaker Douglas Keeve reflects on ‘Unzipped’ documentary with Isaac Mizrahi
In 1994, Douglas Keeve filmed the documentary, “Unzipped,” about his then-boyfriend, Isaac Mizrahi, preparing his Fall 1994 collection. The film now returns to theaters in a new 4K restoration that looks as gorgeous as some of the designer’s fabulous clothes. “Unzipped” chronicles Mizrahi finding inspiration in “Nanook of the North” and creating a collection that … Read More
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In 1994, Douglas Keeve filmed the documentary, “Unzipped,” about his then-boyfriend, Isaac Mizrahi, preparing his Fall 1994 collection. The film now returns to theaters in a new 4K restoration that looks as gorgeous as some of the designer’s fabulous clothes.
“Unzipped” chronicles Mizrahi finding inspiration in “Nanook of the North” and creating a collection that is full of color and style. One of the conceits of Mizrahi’s runway show is to have the models — Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, and Linda Evangelista among them — get dressed (and undressed) behind a sheer scrim on stage.
Keeve captures Mizrahi’s busy life designing clothes and fitting the models, meeting with Eartha Kitt, palling around with Sandra Bernhard, and being a fly on the wall backstage as the chaos and magic happens.
The filmmaker spoke with Gay City News about making “Unzipped” with Mizrahi.
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Doug Keeve.Doug Keeve[/caption]
How did this film come about? Did you say you wanted to make a film or did Isaac say, “You should film me?”
I was a fashion photographer, but I wanted to make films. I asked clients, “Do you want to make something — a movie or a short film?” I just kept bugging people to do stuff because I really was a film buff. I didn't care to make a film about my boyfriend. I knew Isaac before we were together. He was one of the people in fashion that I was obsessed with. Like Andre Leon Talley, Polly Mellon, Diana Vreeland, Carrie Donovan. All those people were amazing and larger than life. I was like, “Let's make a movie!” Nina, who worked with Isaac [agreed] and Isaac, who was the ultimate performer, was down for that. I thought we were just making this little film where I was going to show Isaac doing his collection. I didn't think it was going to be anything. I hoped that it would be something important and big, and so I approached it as making something cinematic and visually beautiful, and having a powerful story, and really funny, and really moving.
What decisions did you make about filming “Unzipped,” such as the use of black and white?
I had been a fashion photographer for a while, but I was still that guy who was looking at this world [of fashion]. I thought it was just so mesmerizing, and I just wanted to show people what I saw. One of the reasons why the film is in black and white was because I didn't want people to see the color of the clothes, because it would have distracted from the story we were telling about a guy who is trying to create something and put it in front of the world, and how hard that is.
The film has a mosaic-like structure, capturing moments in his life at that time. What can you say about your approach to tell this/Isaac’s story?
I've never heard “mosaic” used before, but I think that's very astute in the sense that it reflects how I made the film. My approach wasn't, “We're going back to the studio today…” It was more Eartha Kitt was in town at the Carlisle — let's go up and film with her. To me, the movie is: What makes Isaac tick? Who is Isaac? He is not this guy who is putting pins in a dress. He’s a complicated person. Let’s just capture everything in his life. His conversations with his mother, his cooking, his playing the piano, all those little things that makes the story work in the way that it does.
When I put Isaac playing “Clair de lune” in the film, he saw that and said, “You are not putting that in the movie!” He didn’t care if he was in the bathtub. We had a very long, very, intense fight about it, and I was not taking that out, because it is not that he is playing the piano, it is the way that he is playing the piano. He is kind of flubbing and halting and stuff, and the texture of playing that way makes that song so powerful and so interesting. You feel him trying to feel it out and to make the mistakes and that translates to everything that he is doing in fashion and otherwise.
Can you talk about keeping up with Isaac? He seems to flit about both mentally and physically. I expect knowing him as you did at the time helped, but I can also see it being exhausting.
I think more than exhausting, it is patience and fortitude, but mostly patience. Because making documentaries is the most boring thing in the world. And Isaac is probably the least boring time I have had making a documentary — except when I made one about Naomi.
Isaac says at one point in the film that he likes to feel in control. How much control did he have about the content of the film?
I would not show him the film until it was done, so there were no control issues. I am probably as much of a control freak as he is, so I wasn’t willing to change one frame of it, really.
There are some fabulous “celebrity” moments including scenes of Richard Gere and Liza Minnelli backstage before the show. What can you say about the criteria for what scenes to include and how you showcased these moments?
I think it was really important to give all those people three frames of the film. They were just glimpses. I didn't linger on them, because I wanted you to understand the excitement and the power of doing a show like this, and the people who show up for it, and the energy in the room, which is palpable. It was intuitive to show those people in the way that worked for the film and the story.
Your film shows Isaac in his element — from the excitement and anxiety of being backstage during the show and the exhilaration on the runway to the quieter moments in his life. What do you want viewers to think about him?
While the film does capture Isaac and who he is, the film is my truth. It is not the truth. You can make a person lovable and hateable, and they are the same person. We’re all complicated, and we have many sides. I think I showed people what I saw in Isaac. He was such an innocent, in a way. He got such a kick out of that stuff, that he had to show everybody and tell everybody, and that’s the Isaac that I want people to see. He’s complicated, but there is nobody in that business who is not without issues, including me. But I think it is a really good, honest, respectful, portrait of him, and it does exactly what we set out to do. Our job was to take you on this ride and make you have a hell of a good time, and just laugh and cry, and be moved by it. Isaac is at the center of it, but it’s really kind of a love letter to all those people.
“Unzipped” | Directed by Douglas Keeve | Opening September 25 at the Film Forum | Distributed by Janus Films
There will be several Q&As featuring the folks behind "Unzipped," including on Fri., Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. with Isaac Mizrahi, Douglas Keeve, and Nina Santisi; and Saturday, Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. with Isaac Mizrahi.
Doug Keeve.Doug Keeve[/caption]
How did this film come about? Did you say you wanted to make a film or did Isaac say, “You should film me?”
I was a fashion photographer, but I wanted to make films. I asked clients, “Do you want to make something — a movie or a short film?” I just kept bugging people to do stuff because I really was a film buff. I didn't care to make a film about my boyfriend. I knew Isaac before we were together. He was one of the people in fashion that I was obsessed with. Like Andre Leon Talley, Polly Mellon, Diana Vreeland, Carrie Donovan. All those people were amazing and larger than life. I was like, “Let's make a movie!” Nina, who worked with Isaac [agreed] and Isaac, who was the ultimate performer, was down for that. I thought we were just making this little film where I was going to show Isaac doing his collection. I didn't think it was going to be anything. I hoped that it would be something important and big, and so I approached it as making something cinematic and visually beautiful, and having a powerful story, and really funny, and really moving.
What decisions did you make about filming “Unzipped,” such as the use of black and white?
I had been a fashion photographer for a while, but I was still that guy who was looking at this world [of fashion]. I thought it was just so mesmerizing, and I just wanted to show people what I saw. One of the reasons why the film is in black and white was because I didn't want people to see the color of the clothes, because it would have distracted from the story we were telling about a guy who is trying to create something and put it in front of the world, and how hard that is.
The film has a mosaic-like structure, capturing moments in his life at that time. What can you say about your approach to tell this/Isaac’s story?
I've never heard “mosaic” used before, but I think that's very astute in the sense that it reflects how I made the film. My approach wasn't, “We're going back to the studio today…” It was more Eartha Kitt was in town at the Carlisle — let's go up and film with her. To me, the movie is: What makes Isaac tick? Who is Isaac? He is not this guy who is putting pins in a dress. He’s a complicated person. Let’s just capture everything in his life. His conversations with his mother, his cooking, his playing the piano, all those little things that makes the story work in the way that it does.
When I put Isaac playing “Clair de lune” in the film, he saw that and said, “You are not putting that in the movie!” He didn’t care if he was in the bathtub. We had a very long, very, intense fight about it, and I was not taking that out, because it is not that he is playing the piano, it is the way that he is playing the piano. He is kind of flubbing and halting and stuff, and the texture of playing that way makes that song so powerful and so interesting. You feel him trying to feel it out and to make the mistakes and that translates to everything that he is doing in fashion and otherwise.
Can you talk about keeping up with Isaac? He seems to flit about both mentally and physically. I expect knowing him as you did at the time helped, but I can also see it being exhausting.
I think more than exhausting, it is patience and fortitude, but mostly patience. Because making documentaries is the most boring thing in the world. And Isaac is probably the least boring time I have had making a documentary — except when I made one about Naomi.
Isaac says at one point in the film that he likes to feel in control. How much control did he have about the content of the film?
I would not show him the film until it was done, so there were no control issues. I am probably as much of a control freak as he is, so I wasn’t willing to change one frame of it, really.
There are some fabulous “celebrity” moments including scenes of Richard Gere and Liza Minnelli backstage before the show. What can you say about the criteria for what scenes to include and how you showcased these moments?
I think it was really important to give all those people three frames of the film. They were just glimpses. I didn't linger on them, because I wanted you to understand the excitement and the power of doing a show like this, and the people who show up for it, and the energy in the room, which is palpable. It was intuitive to show those people in the way that worked for the film and the story.
Your film shows Isaac in his element — from the excitement and anxiety of being backstage during the show and the exhilaration on the runway to the quieter moments in his life. What do you want viewers to think about him?
While the film does capture Isaac and who he is, the film is my truth. It is not the truth. You can make a person lovable and hateable, and they are the same person. We’re all complicated, and we have many sides. I think I showed people what I saw in Isaac. He was such an innocent, in a way. He got such a kick out of that stuff, that he had to show everybody and tell everybody, and that’s the Isaac that I want people to see. He’s complicated, but there is nobody in that business who is not without issues, including me. But I think it is a really good, honest, respectful, portrait of him, and it does exactly what we set out to do. Our job was to take you on this ride and make you have a hell of a good time, and just laugh and cry, and be moved by it. Isaac is at the center of it, but it’s really kind of a love letter to all those people.
“Unzipped” | Directed by Douglas Keeve | Opening September 25 at the Film Forum | Distributed by Janus Films
There will be several Q&As featuring the folks behind "Unzipped," including on Fri., Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. with Isaac Mizrahi, Douglas Keeve, and Nina Santisi; and Saturday, Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. with Isaac Mizrahi. 
