Sunday Documentary film: Advanced Style

Directed by Lina Plioplyte, this documentary focuses on the interest and work of designer Ari Cohen. Cohen has a longtime interest in clothing and style and a lifelong affinity for his elders. When he was growing up, his late grandmother Bluma (a librarian) was his best friend; her “energy and attitude towards life” continue to inspire him. As a result, he couldn’t help but question the absence of mature faces in the lifestyle and fashion media. “I noticed a lack of older people in fashion campaigns and street style sites,” he says. “I wanted to show that you can be stylish, creative and vital at any age.”

His first book published in 2012 has sold over 150,000 copies worldwide. In addition to developing a blog that’s been touted by the New York Times, the New Yorker, Vogue, and Forbes, Cohen’s photographic work includes the 2013 Summer Eyewear campaign for Karen Walker, a digital campaign for Coach, and fashion editorials for Vogue Australia, Grey Magazine, and German Rollingstone.  In 2015 New York Times fashion director, Vanessa Friedman, credited Cohen with helping to create the recent movement towards the fashion industry embracing older models. Before creating Advanced Style, he spent years working in fashion production and retail management.