Premieres: September 9-12, 10pm ET
Network: Sundance Channel
What’s It All About? Leonard Bernstein is often quoted as having said, “To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.” Likely nowhere is this more consistently true than in the world of high fashion. Long before the flashbulbs pop and the parade of models flows across the catwalk, long months of sketching, stitching, fitting and experimenting have taken place. But the real test of genius often comes in the last hours leading up to the runway, when last-minute editing decisions, alterations and outright changes have to be made on the spot, and necessity breeds inspiration like a spark of lightning.
Sundance Channel’s documentary miniseries The Day Before brings viewers behind the curtain of the couture world to get a glimpse of this electrically kinetic process. Fashion journalist and filmmaker Loïc Prigent has been given access to some of the world’s most prestigious houses of fashion, including Parisian Sonia Rykiel’s 40th anniversary celebration in her hometown; Proenza Schouler’s latest unveilings in New York by its two wunderkinder, Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez; Fendi by Karl Lagerfeld in Milan; and Jean Paul Gaultier’s collection in Paris. Each episode captures the unique flavor and tone of each house’s working rhythm, its tenor, its egos and the magic that make it all come together.
