Scatter my Ashes at Bergdorf's is Matthew Miele's documentary on the famous Manhattan department store, Bergdorf Goodman. Taken from a New Yorker cartoon, the film highlights the department store in three story lines that are intertwined: the fashion side, the history of the building, and the art that goes behind the windows.
Going into this movie, I will admit that I was slightly ignorant to the story. I knew of Bergdorf but was not aware of the history of the store; be that as it may, you do not have to be a fashionista to enjoy the film. There is that story line of the movie, yes, and you hear from all the top names in the fashion, and they give you a behind the curtain glimpse of the cutthroat industry that is fashion and getting your name in a store. There is quite a bit that goes into having your name up in the big lights, or in this case having your own clothing section. Miele's does a good job of not only interviewing the designers but also the personal shoppers and famous actresses who have graced the store.
If you are not into fashion, Miele also goes into the art of the store. How the store goes from a design which then goes to the artists who then bring everything together. How they prepare for each season weeks in advance and how the powers that be supervise every aspect of what goes up in the windows, because even if people can't afford to shop there they still must put on a show for all the tourists that pass by. The steps that are taken and enacted to make sure that everything is precise and can go up within a few hours are quite amazing, and it's not just a few window fronts, but throughout the entire store on every level and how they decorate the store within just a couple of hours.
The third leg of the film is the history of the department store, which was fascinating. Founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf, the store has been in its same building since 1920. There were many aspects about the store that I didn't even realize and that I will keep to myself so that you do have to go out and watch the film. One great story I will say made me really enjoy this film was the story of a bag lady that walked into the store to buy a mink coat. When told that the mink was out of her price range, she reached into her bag and pulled out the money to purchase the coat. The message of the story was to never judge a book by its cover and to treat every customer like they have the money to shop there.
In the end, this is a really good documentary about an industry that can be seen as superficial. When you read what other people say about the movie that is their main problem with the documentary and they seem to have a problem distinguishing between the subject matter and the movie itself. The movie was well executed and well plotted and is a movie that is interesting to watch on a Friday night.
