Rolex, influencers and H&M smiles: Triangle of Sadness nails the fashion industry | Morwenna Ferrier

The image painted of the fashion world in Triangle of Sadness, Ruben Östlund's Palme d'Or film, is not kind. Its title refers to a pair of frown lines that lie between the eyebrows. It's one of the most botoxed areas of a person's face, probably because (as the name suggests) they only show up when you're unhappy, and no one wants that. p>

This particular triangle belongs to Carl (Harris Dickinson), an aging model (he's 24) with soft strawberry-colored hair and a sweet pout. We meet Carl during a casting call for an unknown fashion brand; as soon as he is out of earshot, the panel discusses whether his triangle needs Botox. Unhappy old Carl is unable to smooth things over.

The rest of the film, in theaters now, continues to ridicule the industry and the super-rich who consume its goods - and fittingly takes place on (and off) a $250 million luxury yacht where Nutella is airlifted and champagne flows freely. The yacht's ecosystem, from lavatory cleaners to oligarchs, serves as something of an allegory for global consumer capitalism. An example: Carl and Yaya, his model/influencer girlfriend, aren't paying for the vacation because Yaya – played by the late actor Charbli Dean – is gorgeous. Rich without a penny to his name? Such is the life of an influencer.

But this isn't just a fashion movie. It is about the precariousness of beauty as currency in a world where money is synonymous with power. Carl and Yaya use their looks to get ahead, but as Yaya points out, even personal advancement has a lifespan - and when disaster strikes, it's brought to light. After all, what good is a Rolex on a desert island?

So how accurate is the portrayal of the fashion industry in the film? I had never come across the term "triangle of sadness" before. Nor had a facialist I asked before writing this. Based on this, it would be easy to dismiss the film as apocryphal. This isn't the first time fashion has been used in film as an avatar of moral corruption, as Cruella, Miranda Priestly and Mugatu can attest. But as a fashion journalist, moments in the film - even hyperbolic ones - left me staring behind a pillow.

At Yaya's fashion show, the front rows are glued to their phones in the specific way people are at a parade (it's a way to kill time without having...