Sydney Film Festival just dropped a fashion-focused lineup

Here’s what to watch.

If your group chat has been equal parts runway and film reviews lately, consider this your crossover event. Returning from June 3 to 14, Sydney Film Festival (SFF) has unveiled its first program drop and in good news to us, it’s all about fashion.

‘Sartorial: Fashion on Film’ brings together seven pictures that explore how clothes shape identity, culture and power. Leading the lineup is the world premiere of Australian film French Girls directed by Hyun Lee, which follows a young woman drawn into Sydney’s modelling industry. It sits alongside the Australian premiere of Marc by Sofia, a love letter to Marc Jacobs by longtime friend, Sofia Coppola.

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A selection of restored classics and cult favourites round out the rest of the program, from Agnès Varda’s portrait of Jane Birkin to Frederick Wiseman’s unfiltered take on New York City agency life. Whether you’re here for the fashion, the filmmaking or both, this is one festival worth planning outfits around.

While you’ll have to wait until May 6 to see the full SFF program, here are seven films to have on your radar.

French Girls (2026)

If you’re only going to watch one, let it be this. Making its world premiere at Sydney Film Festival, French Girls is a Sydney-shot indie that dives headfirst into the modelling industry’s stranger side. Director Hyun Lee follows Mia, a twenty-something pulled from construction sites into a surreal new world of castings, cash and simmering unease. It’s a chaotic, refreshingly honest take on fashion’s contradictions.

Marc by Sofia (2025)

Sofia Coppola’s first documentary offers an intimate look at Marc Jacobs from his early ’90s grunge days, to his influential stint at Louis Vuitton, all the way to a behind-the-scenes peek into his recent collections. Drawing on three decades of friendship, Coppola gives us a rare portrait of creativity, influence and longevity. It’s as much about their shared history as it is about Jacobs himself.

Watch the trailer here.

Model (1980)

A restored classic from Frederick Wiseman, Model takes you inside a New York modelling agency with zero filter. Nothing is held back as prospective models at the agency are evaluated to their face: too short, not the right look, try again later. Revealing America at its most hyper-commercial and image obsessed, the film brilliantly captures the unique energy of New York on the cusp of the 1980s, with Andy Warhol even making a cameo.

Watch the trailer here.

Notebook on Cities and Clothes (1989)

In Notebook on Cities and Clothes, director Wim Wenders turns his lens toward Yohji Yamamoto, drawing parallels between filmmaking and fashion. Shot between Tokyo and Paris, this intimate diary-style film is more than just a profile, it’s a moving reflection on self-expression and the way clothes can shape how we see ourselves.

Watch the trailer here.

Prêt-à-Porter (1994)

Messy, chaotic and packed with cameos (Jean-Paul Gaultier, Naomi Campbell, Cher, to name a few), Prêt-à-Porter drops you straight into Paris Fashion Week via Robert Altman’s signature ensemble style. With glitzy runway shows, bitchy backstage antics and an all-star cast featuring Julia Roberts, Kim Basinger and Sophia Loren, it’s a ’90s fashion week fever dream.

Watch the trailer here.

Jane B. par Agnès V. (1988)

Director Agnès Varda’s portrait of Jane Birkin offers a playful view of the pop icon, the ultimate It Girl whose influence traversed music, fashion and film.

When Varda met Birkin their lives were in a similar orbit, as artists and mothers of teenage children. Birkin expressed trepidation about her upcoming 40th birthday and Varda proposed to film her portrait as a gift.

Uninterested in crafting the usual biopic full of famous faces and historic references, Varda views Birkin through all her facets, from Jeanne d’Arc to Calamity Jane, and even a nod to the namesake Hermès bag she inspired. Beyond a portrait, the film is a meditation on femininity and image.

Watch the trailer here.

Useless (2007)

In Useless, director Jia Zhangke moves between factory floors in China and couture runways in Paris to trace the human cost of fashion. Beginning in the garment factories of Guangdong, the film contrasts mass production with artisanal design and asks: Who really pays the price for what we wear?

Watch the trailer here.

To buy tickets to Sartorial: Fashion On Film, head here.