This past Friday, I had the priveledge of attending a screening of The September Issue thanks to the great folks over at SILVERDOCS who sent me a lovely press pass. Seated next to Michael Clements of Washington Life magazine, I watched the queen bee along with her obeying followers of worker bees as they worked to create the 2007 September issue of Vogue - the largest issue to date. Director RJ Cutler, who was in attendance for the screening, was given unprecedented access to the ins and outs of the creation of the September issue and presented Nuclear Wintour in a humanizing, if not vulnerable, manner. With cameos from industry top guns - Karl Lagerfeld, Vera Wang, Andre Leon Talley, Chanel Iman, Mario Testino - you aren't thrust into the dream world that very much makes up the fashion industry, a world where ultra dramatic clothes are oh too common. Instead you are taken behind the scenes, a world where creations are made and the queen bee herself decifers between what she likes and what she doesn't. Some would say that she very much "is" the fashion industry, with designers changing their collections at her request - as evident in the film when Miuccia Prada changes the fabrics of an entire collection because Wintour finds them too heavy, a moment that only seems to validate how much control she holds. More than that, though, we are given a taste of how Wintour speaks her mind and holds nothing back when she tells a Vogue stylist that her work isn't just minimal, but she is too. I also found it quite comical when she dissects a shoot with Jennifer Gardner and says that she looks pregnant. Ouch. Without a doubt, that photo never made it into Vogue because when Wintour speaks, everyone else follows. Everyone except the co-star of the film, Grace Coddington - model turned photographer. As Vogue's Creative Director, Grace holds just as much power as Wintour and isn't afraid to weld it, even against Wintour herself. Cutler very much uses Grace as a foil to Wintour. Wintour being of structure and perfection, Grace is the total opposite, a self proclaimed romantic. She is the only one who seems to go against what Wintour says to any avail, which seems to be the basis of the film - these two woman who have been working together for 20 years fighting to have their vision present in the September issue. And though Wintour gets the final say in all things Vogue, it is quite clear that she takes Grace's interest to heart, even without showing so much as a smudge in her facials. "We understand each other...pretty much," says Grace, and that seems to pretty much sum up their relationship, along with "I know when to stop pushing her buttons, she doesn't know when to stop pushing mines." Their relationship is shown throughout the film as Anna seamlessly throws out photos that Grace loves and ignores outfits that Grace would love to shoot, much to Grace's dismissal and anger. In the end, their relationship of respect is validated when the issue goes to press and majority of Grace's photos, most of which were earlier thrown out by Wintour, fill the entire issue. More touchy moments that humanize the queen include Wintour confessing that her siblings think what she does is "amusing" and telling the story of how her father decided for her that she would become editor of Vogue. Not too make it too emotional, after all we are talking about Anna Wintour here, the film ends with a scene straight out of the Devil Wears Prada...Wintour walking to her office saying, with attitude in tow, "Is anyone else going to this run-through?" One of the most remarkable quotes in the film, however, has to be its opening where Wintour remarks, "There's something about fashion that can make people very nervous." Considering its a $300 billion industry, Ive now come to realize what that something is...power.
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