The September Issue

It is best to remember that this film is pre-economic breakdown and surely many of the perks are gone. That said, the September issue is really an unfolding mystery story about a woman with little talent who manages to become the editor of the most popular fashion magazine in the world. The documentary is also a war story between two minds, Wintour and Coddington's. Wintour is the general, so she gets to decide and in general, no pun intended, she makes bad decisions. It is impressive that the documentary got made and that Wintour, who must have seen it was OK with the image its portrays of her because, the source of her power, her editorship are nowhere to be found. Wintour behaves like a celebrity because when the veil is drawn, there is not much there. Her visual sense is tired and the manner in which she makes her decisions, with wimp art director Charlie Churchward, is appalling. It is one of those ongoing ironies that editors get to claim the honors for their magazines, when the real visual artists, in this case, Grace Coddington, have to play second fiddle to people so clearly less talented. The only one to escape this fate was Fabion Barone, who having worked for Harper's Bizaar, actually is seen as the force behind the success of the magazine. The other elephant in the room about this documentary is that no one seems very happy. Anna clearly is depressed about being seen as a lightweight in her family (i.e.,fashion), even her own daughter, while clearly enjoying the riches of her mothers fame, doesn't "get it." Grace and her weathered face tell it all: it is torture to work with his talentless woman called the editor and all the minions run around in fear—of what exactly is the real question...which reveals Anna's only real talent and power she has: the ability to fire people.

The most interesting thing about this movie was that it wasn't about fashion. The movie was about work and excellence. Vogue wouldn't be a success without the creativity of Grace Coddington and the business acumen of Anna Wintour.

Grace Coddington was a revelation and her ability to tell stories through still images is inspiring.

I long suspected that The Devil Wears Prada was a cruel screed against Anna Wintour. I think in this movie we see a more accurate picture of who she is. While not the warmest person in the world, she comes across as incredibly real and she is good at what she does. That must be respected.

I saw this documentary at the Galway Film Fleadh. The anticipation was high, and the screening was sold out; I'm happy to report that the audience wasn't disappointed. This doc details the run up to the printing of the titular September issue of American Vogue magazine, which an estimated one in eight American women purchase annually. The documentary style is fast-paced with out being breakneck, with one of the freshest soundtracks I've had the pleasure of hearing on a cinema sound system. (Ladytron, Ratatat, Cinematic Orchestra, Mark Ronson et al.) It focuses on mostly on the upper echelons of Vogue, namely inscrutable ice queen and inspiration for "The Devil Wears Prada", editor Anna Wintour. Creative director Grace Coddington brings some welcome levity during the more "fashion has no mercy, dahling!" moments. If you enjoyed Ugly Betty, The Devil Wears Prada, America's Next Top Model and Project Runway, you already know that this is right up your street; for everybody else it's a fascinating and occasionally funny study of an inordinately influential individual at the apex of a bizarre and enthralling industry, and those that surround her.

Meryl Streep's character in The Devil Wears Prada is rumoured to be inspired by Anna Wintour, the legendary editor-in-chief of the fashion magazine Vogue, and it's not hard to see how so. A cup of Starbucks in hand, the bob hairdo, the cutting remarks, people going into a frenzy whenever her name is mentioned, and worse when dazzled by her presence. Even the vogue office does seem quite similar in terms of layout, and the number of assistants constantly scurrying around looking busy and executing to her every instruction.

It's hard not to see why Wintour and Vogue for that matter, became the subjects of a documentary, since both are very powerful in setting the agenda for an entire industry, with what's being said and featured in the magazine, goes. R.J. Cutler's documentary provided that sneak peek into the behind the scenes working of what's to date the largest single issue of the iconic fashion magazine (it's September 2007 issue), where little interesting nuggets of information get dropped around, such as the distinction and importance of the September issue (hence the title) in trend-setting what's hot and what's possibly not, over the next 12 months.

There are always people curious about the glamorous industry, filled with pretty clothes, flamboyant designers, glitzy fashion weeks in trendy capitals of the world, and of course, the beautiful clothes-horse models. It does seem to be this perfect little eco-system filled with perfect people on the surface, though those looking toward this film in digging out some skeletons from the closet will be sorely disappointed. This in part due to the power that Wintour wields, where you see not only new designers in awe, but veterans from the established fashion houses that come with reverence, for possibly fear of offending the almighty, the high priestess or so she's called, in charge of the bible of the industry.

But of course one editor a magazine maketh not. R.J.'s documentary provided a more holistic look at the making of the magazine. And not just any magazine mind you, but THE one brand that has been around for more than a century, and with that comes trust and influence to make or break designers. R.J. was provided unprecedented access into the behind-the- scenes look at the assembling of an issue, and with that comes plenty of photo shoots, jet- setting lifestyles, the pursuit of deadlines, and enough of office politics. The amount of work is just staggering.

However, the filmmaker does seem to fall short in eliciting a lot more from Wintour, aside from talking-heads styled short interviews which became the bookends of the film. In fact, it's more of the Creative Director Grace Coddington's show, where you will probably be won over by her sheer genius and eye for creative art form in directing photo shoots and dreaming up storyboards on the fly for the still pictures to tell a story. I admit I was more impressed with Coddington's story, wry humour and creative style rather than Wntour's cool demeanour, which often sets them up for clashes, for the good of the magazine of course, in constantly raising the bar, though at times it does seem that someone's creative spark do get unappreciated and often doused with cold water. Such is their love-hate professional relationship.

Which primes this film with a "villain" so to speak, but of course the boss always has the final say and calls the shots. We do get to see how both of them rose to power (they started off as models!) through their joining Vogue at the same time, and rise through the ranks based on their respective strengths. Filled with countless of fashion celebrities, clothes, accessories and the occasional cutting remark (I do think Wintour seemed to have held back her tongue a lot more since a camera is constantly in her way), The September Issue is a superb look into the sheer intense and immense talent and hard work that goes into the publication of every issue, and would likely induce you to grab a copy of Vogue right after the show.

I'll never look at this magazine in the same frivolous light ever again, as they are really taken seriously given the money made available and someone's career probably on the line too.

R J Cutler's camera follows her into the industry's biggest names, and they positively cower before her or so we are lead to believe, as at the end of the day and sadly its a controlled doc about a dreary woman who sees fashion as a business and has been allowed to have a voice with the power of this magazine , director R J Cutler is a great filmmaker, and I feel that his creation was amazing but after seeing Varon Bonicos's - A Man's Story - an underrated and sadly unknown documentary film about black UK tailor and m men's guru designer Ozwald Boateng , I now retrospectively crave the reality of this woman's world not just her day job, yes its fashion, but who is AW? In my opinion Cutler obviously started shooting with Andre Leon Tally who sold the idea that AW would have a say in the production , she allows the camera in her life and answer's Cutler's questions, but sadly there is nothing of any emotion she never cracks her reserve, while the warm and emotional sidekick Coddington has her talent thwarted at every turn, and quickly becomes the heart of this film. It's like we need a part 2 about AW without the September "Issues" .RR