The New Nars Cosmetics Documentary Is a Love Letter to Its Founder

Every so often, beauty lovers are gifted a special glance behind the curtain from those who’ve shaped the industry. These peeks come more often these days with the invent of social media (we love you, makeup artist content creators), but there remain a certain few who have enough lore to hold our attention for a very, very long time. Take Nars' founder and creative director, François Nars, for example.

Last week, a new film about the life and work of Nars was released. Directed by filmmaker Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Unknown Beauty: François Nars (which is billed as a document, not a documentary, and features minimal dialogue) explores Nars’ background, muses, influences, and art through the years. According to the film’s description, the photographer aims to take viewers “on a tour” of all that’s shaped him. “The fashion designers and models of ‘70s Paris, the underground of ‘90s New York, and the cinema,” the release reads. While mostly consisting of eye-catching clips from his favorite movies and runway shows, Unknown Beauty also includes mementos from Nars’ childhood in the South of France.

“As long as I can remember, my sensibility was always there when it came to beauty,” Nars, who founded his namesake makeup line in 1994 with 12 lipsticks, says in the trailer. “Whatever you didn’t expect, I liked to do. Whatever could shock, I was there.” While Nars has never been shy about sharing his wisdom—he released a fantastic how-to book, Makeup Your Mind: Express Yourself in 2011—this is perhaps the first time his influences have been cataloged to such a degree.

The movie also features the voices of a number of icons who shaped and continue to inspire Nars, including main narrator Charlotte Rampling, who starred in his makeup brand’s fall 2014 campaign at age 68. Other stars include designers Marc Jacobs and Anna Sui, stylist Patti Wilson, director Fabien Baron, and models and actresses Betty Catroux, Dayle Haddon, Lauren Hutton, Isabella Rossellini, Penelope Tree, and Sylvie Vartan.

“I wanted to do something very different, not your obvious documentary of me sitting on a chair, answering questions and talking about my life,” Nars previously said. “Lisa understood that it had to be a more rebellious documentary because somewhere deep inside, I'm a rebel. I don't like conventional things; I like when you break the mold. I like [to surprise] people in a good way.”