There'll be some for whom a documentary about Bergdorf Goodman is as worthy an investment of their time and money as a Nazi propaganda film. Matthew Miele's portrait of Bergdorf's is unwaveringly celebratory of the prestigious Manhattan department store, from its founders and its history to its fashions and its employees, and its position in contemporary society as a bastion of glamour and aspirational culture. We, the audience, must submit to Miele's argument, that Bergdorf's represents the be all and end all of high fashion for the (selected) masses, if we are to take any of this in without a trace of cynicism. Even for a fashion lover as myself, that's no easy task. But as a shining, sparkling, sumptuous exercise in examining this culture of the style elite, it's tonally bang on target, and thorough enough in its limited runtime to sustain interest. Miele doesn't attempt to engage in debate of any manner, instead embracing all aspects of this microcosmic menagerie of elegance and affluence and beauty in their essence; he allows the cynics their chance, throughout, to sneer and snarl away. Bergdorf Goodman exists, and is a success, and is beloved by many, and here we have a documentary about it made with and for those many. Technical elements are as polished and professional as they must be, needless to iterate, and Miele is apparently allowed wide access to the inner workings of the institution, unsurprisingly perhaps, given the jovial tone with which he is greeted by every last one of his interviewees.
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