As New York's Fashion Week comes to an end, few people will have watched the designers' collections more closely than Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of "Vogue." Wintour is widely considered to be the most influential individual in the fashion industry because her decisions to include or exclude designers' looks from "Vogue" can make or break a career.
Creating each month's "Vogue" is an enormous undertaking, and R.J. Cutler's new film "The September Issue" follows Wintour and other editors as they assemble the magazine's biggest annual issue.
This process is obviously stressful for designers because they all hope to be included in the pages of the influential publication. But it is also nerve-racking for employees of "Vogue" because of Wintour's demanding management style.
Wintour has been editor-in-chief of "Vogue" since 1988, and in that time she has earned a considerable reputation for her signature look, strong opinions and decisiveness. Some see these characteristics in a less-than-positive light, including Lauren Weisberger, whose novel-turned-movie, "The Devil Wears Prada," (2006) depicts a hardnosed fashion editor purported to be modeled after Wintour.
In "The September Issue," however, Wintour is not depicted as the far-from angelic character in "The Devil Wears Prada." Make no mistake, Wintour is startlingly forthright. She tells designer Oscar de la Renta in a pre-show display of his work that he shouldn't include a look in his fashion show, and says that another designer, Stefano Pilati, from Yves Saint Laurent, might want to rethink his collection.
The film, however, offers insight into Wintour's life in a way that "The Devil Wears Prada" does not. It begins with an interview with Wintour that is interspersed throughout the film. Through the editor's answers, viewers get a sense of Wintour's perspective on the magazine as well as her family life.
It may come as a surprise that the editor's family is not fashion-centric. Wintour's siblings are engaged in very different lines of work than her own, and she says they are "amused" by what she does. Wintour's daughter is also interviewed in the film, and despite her mother's hopes, she indicates that she has no interest in pursuing fashion in the future.
The majority of the film focuses on Wintour as she assembles the September issue of "Vogue." At over 800 pages long, the issue is their largest each year. It features a number of elaborate photo shoots.
Among the most important editors who work with Wintour is Grace Coddington. As Coddington explains in the film, she began her career with the publication as a model for British "Vogue," and eventually began working for American "Vogue." Now, as creative director of the magazine, she is one of Wintour's most trusted aids and one of the few who is willing to challenge the editor-in-chief.
Coddington oversees many of the magazine's photo shoots and is the creative force behind some of the setups. "The September Issue" takes a unique behind-the-scenes look at several of these imaginative photo shoots.
After the shoots are completed, the photos are brought back to the New York office where they are — like much of the magazine's content — rearranged, reduced and at times pulled entirely from the issue by Wintour. This is one of the most frustrating parts of the publication process for "Vogue" employees because some features are eliminated entirely. Some of Coddington's photo shoots are among those that get rearranged and reduced by Wintour, and the film makes it clear that this is an emotional process for Coddington.
Because Coddington is so open and because she represents many "Vogue" employees, the film becomes as much about her as it is about the famed Editor-in-Chief.
Wintour and Coddington have clearly forged a strong working relationship. At one point in the film, Wintour says, "Grace is a genius." This is high praise from Wintour, known for her tolerance of nothing but perfection.
Like so many fashion films, "The September Issue" is replete with footage of designers, shows and elaborate gatherings in Paris. But this film is unique in that it offers unprecedented access to "Vogue," one of the most influential publications in the multi-billion dollar fashion industry.
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