The September Issue

In the opening moments of The September Issue, Anna Wintour is compared to the Pope and Madonna, declared the most powerful woman in America, and reduces someone to the brink of suicide. Welcome to the world of Vogue, where it’s perfectly acceptable to wear sunglasses to meetings, and Louis Vuitton to a private tennis lesson.

This world was loosely portrayed in 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada with Meryl Streep as a demanding fashion editor. Adapted from a book by Wintour’s former assistant, it was common knowledge that the character was based on the editor-in-chief nicknamed ‘Nuclear Wintour’. But she could never be as bad as that, could she?

Well, yes, actually. Director RJ Cutler landed a dream gig when he gained access to follow Wintour and her staff for most of 2007 as they put together Vogue’s September issue (840 pages, 727 of which were adverts). The end result is an intriguing and entertaining peek behind the fashion world’s impeccably tailored curtains.

Wintour is an elusive character. No one outside of the industry really knows who she is, and those on the inside wouldn’t dare sully her name for fear of being blacklisted. But as the cameras roll, she makes no attempt to dispel the reputation she’s accrued over 20 years in the job.

Stylists, editors and designers pitch to her with quivering hands. She sits there, arms folded with a steely-eyed poker face, intent on giving nothing away. In sporadic one-on-one interviews Cutler is able to penetrate the ice queen mask as Wintour becomes defensive when the fashion industry is criticised, and shows some uncharacteristic vulnerability when admitting that her siblings (her sister works in charity; her brother is a political editor) find her job ‘amusing’.

Surprisingly, however, it’s other members of the team that provide most of the entertainment, namely the gloriously OTT André Leon Talley, Vogue’s editor-at-large (who provides the quote of the film: “There’s a famine in beauty, darling! I want beauty!”), and creative director Grace Coddington, whose relationship with Wintour is especially intriguing. Both British, yet polar opposites, they started on the same day, and Coddington is the only one who’s not intimidated by her boss.

For all the criticisms that the publication has faced in recent years, The September Issue shows that Vogue is a melting pot of creativity and personalities. It’s recently been rumoured that Wintour’s days at the mag may be numbered, but on this evidence it’s hard to imagine anyone else at the helm.

Limara Salt

Anticipation:

A no-holds-barred look at ‘Nuclear Wintour’? The definition of a must-see movie.

Enjoyment:

Who knew watching people put a magazine together could be so entertaining?

In Retrospect:

Turns out there is more to life than fashion. But only just.