Research on popular Fashion Documentaries

How to look good Naked - Channel 4

 Stylist Gok Wan helps women and sometimes men of all shapes and sizes to feel good about their bodies without restorting to surgery.

Format

The format of the show is based on self esteem building exercises that Wan guides the participent through. These include:

- Showing a large picture of the participent in question semi nude in a public place (e.g. projected onto the side of a building or van), asking passers-by what they think. The reponse shown is positive, building the self esteem of the participant.

-Wan burns the participants underwear replacing it with more flattering items including "tummy tuck pants)

-The participant is invited along to a secret location for having their very own  naked photoshoot

- In the emotive finale, the participant parades down the catwalk with their new look in front of friends and family.

Catchphrases

Wans favourite and most famous catchphrases include "bangers"  which is his pet name for women's breast and "gorgeous" and  often calling the female participantating in the show "girlfriend".

Many of his other cathchphrases are puns on his name such as "Gok Shock" and "Fairy Gok Mother."

Snog, Marry, Avoid - BBC Three

Hosted by Jenny Frost

It focuses on transforming "fakery obessed" or "slap addicts" in Britian into natural beauties by stripping them of their skimpy clothes and layers of makeup and giving them a make-under instead of a make-over with the help of POD "personal overhaul device"

POD is a computer that "only understands natural beauty." It conducts a public analysis to ask the public wheter they would snog, marry, or aviod the participant as well as another random question which offers thosed questioned a chance to praise or criticise. After the questions it allows the person to choose their styles based on a celebrity and dresses them accordingly. It sometimes orders the person to "deep cleanse" where they have to take off all their makeup. After the transformation POD asks the public whay they think of the person.  The person is then re-introduced to their partner or relative outside the TV studio and their reaction is generally a positive one towards the more natural look. Later on in the show Jenny Frost will meet the person to see if they have kept their look and dicuss the transformation.



What Not To Wear - BBC

Presented by Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine.

Both women are often known for their tactile behaviour with the participants and for frequently referring to breast as "tits". They were also renowned for their direct comments on the show where Trinny comments have reduced some participants to tears and Susannah once spontaneously pulled a female candidate's underwear down during filming as her knicker line was present.

The participant is nominated by their friends and family for being particulalry unfashionable. The show then secretly follows and videotapes the nominated participant for two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, furthur experts review the secret footage and preparet to surprise the participant. During the surprise the participant is offered a £2000 cheque to buy a new wardrobe, however they must hand over the their entire existing wardrobe and be prepared for some harsh crictism and to receive fashion advice from two experts.

On the first day of the participants visit to the studio, there is a reveiw of the secret footage along with the participant. On videotape there are normally comments from family members and friends about the participant's style and appearance. The experts then go through their entire wardrobe, which has been brought with the participant. They critique the items and then most of the clothing gets discarded or even cut with scissors. The participant is asked to put on an outfit that they like and think most suits their figure, and then must face the 360 degree mirror. The experts comment honestly on why the outfit does not suit them, often being brutally honest.The experts give suggestions throughout the day and then present three different outfits to the participant to help illustrate the rules that they will need to follow as they shop for better clothing.
The participant is then given two days to shop for suitable clothing at a suitable and selected location. On the first day, they are left to their own devices, to test how much they have learnt about which clothes are suitable and comply with the rules. On the second day, the experts ambush the nominee and comment on whether the previous day's purchases complied with the correct guide lines as to which clothes to buy. The second day, the fashion gurus sit in a cafe and watch live video footage of the participant shopping and comment on whether the participant is following the rules given. If the participant is struggling, they rush to the scene to help. The experts then accompany the participant around the shops, providing advice and assistance, often being critical.

After all the shopping, hair stylists and makeup  artists work on the nominee's hair and makeup respectively. After the makeover, the participant reveals themselves to the experts and are brought to a full-length mirror to see their transformed state. The participant models three outfits for the experts, often showing confidence and poise. The participant departs and soon after, reveals themselves with their transformed appearance to their friends and family. Some time after the participant's makeover, the fashion gurus would pay them a surprise visit, in order to establish whether they have adhered to the rules for their clothing.