Fashion Reverie Exclusive: Vlad Yudin Speaks about His Documentary “Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer”

How do you capture the creative genius, versatility and passion of fashion enfant terrible, Jeremy Scott? From his winged sneakers for Adidas to his debut McDonald’s-inspired collection for Moschino, Jeremy Scott has become many things to many people; especially young fashion consumers.  But most of all, Jeremy Scott is true to himself and his design aesthetic.

Either you love or you hate him. There is no middle ground with Jeremy Scott. And Vlad Yudin captures Scott’s tenacious spirit and love of fashion brilliantly in his documentary “Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer.”

Jeremy Scott is a rebel with a cause and that cause is his perspective on what fashionable young people want to wear, even before they know that want to wear it. Only a true fashion visionary could boldly pronounce“ I don’t speak Italian, but I do speak Moschino.” And boy does he speak the Moschino of the present and the future.

On the eve of the VOD release of “Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer,” Vlad Yudin spoke with Fashion Reverie about Jeremy Scott’s triumphs, his struggles, and why he chose this dynamic fashion talent as the subject of his documentary. 

Fashion Reverie: You have gone from films and documentaries about young adult angst, to hip hop to the current bodybuilding scene. Now, you have delved into the world of fashion. Why a documentary about the fashion industry’s enfant terrible, Jeremy Scott?

Vlad Yudin: When it comes to documentary filmmaking I love working on something that is new and unknown to me. I wanted to discover something that was uncharted territory for me and because I was new to the fashion industry, perhaps, I see things that people who are more familiar with the industry take for granted, and I see those things with a fresh perspective. I also wanted to learn about the process of fashion design and building a global fashion brand.

I became interested specifically in Jeremy Scott because in my opinion he is an innovative visionary. He represents the voice of the young generation. His fashion fan base is very progressive and project to the future. They are attracted to Jeremy Scott because he is creating so many new trends in fashion.

FR: Is that why you titled the documentary “Jeremy Scott: the People’s Designer”?

Vlad Yudin: That is one of the reasons. One of the key reasons I came up with that title is because Jeremy Scott is a regular dude from Kansas City. He was not a fashion insider, related to any major figure in fashion or the kid of a celebrity. He is really from the people. And because of his grassroots background he is more in touch with youth culture and that is expressed in his fashion brand.

FR: The fashion community can be a very closed community. How did you break into that world and get access to Jeremy Scott?

Vlad Yudin: I connected with Jeremy Scott and had a conversation with Jeremy and his team. We had a few meetings and I discussed with him what my vision was for the documentary. He told me more about himself and his own personal journey.  I wanted to go deeper than just footage of his runway shows and backstage footage. Unfortunately, that’s what most fashion documentaries do.

I wanted to explore Jeremy’s background and his design process. My perspective impressed Jeremy and he also understood that I was a seasoned filmmaker. Once he agreed to the project, Jeremy opened the access doors for my team and me. It became an easy collaboration.

FR: This documentary has an edgy raw style, sometimes not showing fashion people at their best. You also have a lot of behind the scene footage from backstage, the the air travel, to model castings, fittings, garment construction, decision making about the collection to even the presentation to the Moschino execs. In other words, you show everything or almost everything.  Why this approach?

Vlad Yudin: I believe it’s more interesting to show the rough edges.  I appreciate other fashion documentaries, but showing beautiful clothes, runway footage and gorgeous models has been done to death and can be pretty boring, particularly to people outside of the fashion industry.  You can look at that stuff on youtubes.

I wanted to show real side of fashion. Getting ready for a fashion show can be pretty chaotic. Even when you are established designer, there are still lots of challenges to overcome. Ultimately, the raw footage approach is more fun for me and for the audience.

FR: How would you describe your filmmaking style?

Vlad Yudin: For me it’s about making the film interesting. Jeremy Scott’s story is already interesting so for this documentary it was about getting the right moments of his story that would work well. The look and style is secondary. The most important thing to me is the story and how engaging that story will be to audiences.

FR: How acquainted were you with the fashion industry before you decided to do this documentary?

Vlad Yudin: I like to buy clothes but I was not connected to the fashion industry in any way. I was just an ordinary fashion consumer.

FR: So you wore Jeremy Scott before you decided to do this documentary?

Vlad Yudin: Yes, I did and still do have a few of his sneakers. In fact, I have never actually worn the sneakers because they are so unique that I didn’t want to spoil them in any way. They are like pieces of art.

FR: In the beginning of the film you show Jeremy working in all these international fashion capitals. Then, in the middle of the film you show him going back to Kansas City, his hometown, which is not a glamorous fashion capital. Why this juxtaposition?

Vlad Yudin: In the beginning of the film we show a few of images of Kansas City and speak a little bit about Jeremy getting rejected from FIT. Then we jump to the fact that he is an established designer, showing Jeremy working in NYC and Milan in chronological order of his runway presentation during New York Fashion Week and later filming his first season as creative director of Moschino during Milan Fashion Week.

What was extraordinary about this whole process was that as Jeremy Scott was presenting in NYC he was also prepping for Milan. We shot the footage from Kansas City after the Moschino Milan show that Jeremy Scott says was the biggest moment of his life.

Moschino is such a legendary brand and him acquiring the creative directorship of this Italian design house prompted us to go back and look at his very humble beginnings. Hence, the Kansas City footage, that in my opinion adds a different patina and scope to this film. He really had to show and prove to the fashion industry that he really possessed great talent and vision, so I felt it was really essential that we highlight his upbringing.

Even today a lot of fashion critics don’t believe in Jeremy Scott’s talent and don’t believe he should be at the helm of Moschino. So, one of the themes of this documentary is Jeremy Scott believing in his vision and dream and never giving up. He really marched to his own drummer and internal rhythms.

FR: You covered the spring 2015 and the fall 2015 fashion seasons in this documentary. That said; what is the actual length of time spent with Jeremy Scott in shooting and documenting him?

Vlad Yudin: It took almost three years including six months of editing. We did have to go back and shoot additional footage because Jeremy wasn’t always available because of prior commitments. There was the London collection, plus; collaboration with Miley Cyrus, as well as an award he received in Los Angeles, the Superbowl with Katie Perry. So there were some stops and starts.

FR: There were a few instances in the documentary were some pop artists contend that Jeremy Scott was the first designer to successfully combine street culture/pop art with fashion. We know that’s an incorrect statement. That said; were you concerned what some fashion purists and critics might say about this film?

Vlad Yudin: No, I was not that wary of fashion critics or fashion journalists’ opinion. I wanted the film to be authentic. The opinions expressed in this film were some young artists’ opinion, even if it was uninformed. If Rita Ora believes what she says and if that is what she knows based her youth, then so be it. She has discovered something through Jeremy Scott that speaks to her and that is a good thing.

FR: You have a lot of interesting personalities in the documentaries Katy Perry, Rita Ora, Suzy Menkes, Vanessa Friedman, Joe Zee, Michel Gaubert, Matthew Schneier, etc. How did you get these celebs and industry professionals to participate?

Vlad Yudin: They are in the film because most of them are friends of Jeremy Scott, love his work, and believe in his vision. Many of these people have worked with Jeremy, worn his designs, or reviewed his collections. They are a reflection of his circle of influence.

Jeremy knew Katy Perry before she was a big pop star. Many of these artists were his friends before they became household names. Vanessa Friedman is the Fashion Director at The New York Times and not a fan of Jeremy Scott’s first collection for Moschino. I really wanted to have that perspective in the film. Jeremy does have critics and she represents a divergent point of view. People love Jeremy or hate his perspective on fashion. There is really no in-between with Jeremy Scott.

FR: What do you want the viewer who is not a part of the fashion industry to get from this documentary?

Vlad Yudin: I want this film to be for an audience that is not enamored with the fashion industry. I think audiences will be inspired by his story. He came from a place where is talent and genius was not appreciated or understood. He resisted, he was persistent, and he has triumphed.  He did not let his flame die out. This is universal story that is very relatable.

FR: What’s next for you?

Vlad Yudin: I have documentary coming out next year called “The Hurt Business.” It is about the competitive world of mixed martial arts and anime. It features artists such as George St. Pierre, John Jones, and Rashada Evans.

“Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer is available on VOD October 20. For more information, go to https://vimeo.com/ondemand/jeremyscott

—William S. Gooch