The September Issue - Fierce Fashion

A Look at Anna Wintour’s Preparation for the Fashion Issue

Oct 9, 2009

The popularity of 'The Devil Wears Prada' sparked an interest for the fashion world, particularly seeing the not-so-glamorous side. This documentary takes a peak.

The Devil Wears Prada meets the reality of the MTV shows The Hills and The City is the best way to describe the new documentary, The September Issue. The film follows Vogue’s Editor-in-chief Anna Wintour in her daily activities in the Vogue office in the months leading up to the publishing of the large September issue, which is packed with the newest fashion items and designer clothing lines.

Not Anna Wintour, but Grace Coddington

If one expects to learn about Anna Wintour the person or about her life, career or opinions, one will be sorely disappointed. Although Anna Wintour does make several appearances, her character is presented through interviews with other people, whose opinions – such as her nickname, the ‘ice woman’ – create her image. Anna herself acts merely as an example of the high-end fashion world and the directors who control the fashion world.

The contributing designers, who are interviewed for this documentary, call Anna the most powerful woman – or person – within the fashion world, claiming she is more sought after than well-known movie stars. These designers look up to her and, at times depend on her professional opinion to make it in the fashion world. She is a woman with a fierce opinion, which this film clearly demonstrates.

It is through Vogue creative director Grace Coddington, one of Anna’s close colleagues, that the portrayal of the professional Anna shines through.

The Perfect World vs. the ‘Imperfect’ Reality

It is Grace’s opinion that comes through this documentary more than Anna Wintour herself. Grace’s claim that the fashion world is simply superficial and perfect drives the film and its overall message. The message is reinforced at the end of the film when the man who follows Grace and Anna around documenting their actions for the film is caught on tape. Grace reinforces the fact that he does not need to be retouched before printing.

The documentary does a great job in capturing what Grace wants people to know about the fashion world. As Anna states in the beginning of the film, she clearly believes that people are afraid or intimidated by the fashion world or think it is silly. However, Grace makes sure to mention several times that it is simply superficial. This superficiality is supported by the designers’ experiences with Anna in her office, Anna’s tough methods of elimination for the September issue of Vogue and the treatment of models and workers within the field as shown in the film.

A perfect example of this is shown when Grace arranges a photo shoot with a client. When Grace, however, has all of the photos developed, printed for the magazine display, Anna decides that it is not what she had hoped for and cancels the order. As Grace puts it “that’s $30,000 right out the window”.

This film is not about Anna Wintour, the Vogue Editor-in-chief nor is it about her as a person. Rather, she merely serves as an example of perfection – not in terms of human form – but rather of the superficial perfection the fashion world exudes.

The copyright of the article The September Issue - Fierce Fashion in Documentary Films is owned by Malene Jorgensen. Permission to republish The September Issue - Fierce Fashion in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.