W Magazine Skewers the Paris Fashion Week Crowd in a Wildlife Documentary-Style Parody

Film Captures the Displays of 'Paris Butterflies'

Published On
Mar 15, 2017

Editor's Pick

Conde Nast's W Magazine excels at lovingly sending up the industry it covers (previous work include a spoof examining a "day in the life of a beauty director" and hilarious faux makeup tutorials. )

Its latest effort, "The Butterflies of Paris," examines some of the different types you'll find at Paris Fashion Week, all in the style of a wildlife documentary.

Narrator James Gillies (who sounds uncannily like iconic nature broadcaster David Attenborough) points out different species, such as the "Walking Jellyfish," the "Sherbet-Flocked Hubris" and the "Binoche-ish" as we see footage of the real fashion crowd "focusing attention on themselves with bright displays of contrast, adornment and chic."

The film offers hilariously insightful observations of its various "creatures" -- like those who "walk without using their eyes" (because they're too busy staring at their devices) or others who make "false exits," only to return seconds later, presumably to draw more stares. Watch out for some famous faces, too.

The video is produced by W magazine and directed by filmmaker Aaron Christian, who worked with writer Mike Albo on the script, in collaboration with the W team.