Saturday, August 8, 2009

See behind the scenes of Vogue - The September Issue


Did you ever wonder whether Anna Wintour is as cold as she seems? Whether fashion publishing is the glamorous world it's made out to be?


The September Issue is the fly-on-the-wall documentary that goes behind the scenes of production of the 2007 September issue of US Vogue. People who love the magazine and the larger than life editor Anna Wintour will love it. Anyone who ever wondered what goes into producing those glorious expensive fashion shoots will learn a great deal, and those who wondered how magazines make money will also get an education.Director R.J. Cutler and his crew gained unfettered access to the Vogue team, following them from New York to Rome and Paris. Apparently all Cutler had to do to get this unprecedented access was to ask. The film does not always paint Wintour in the kindest light. Nor does it portray her as a ghoul. Yes, she shakes down Mario Testino for not delivering a shot of the Colosseum. Sure, she throws out $50,000 worth of beautiful photography breaking a senior stylist's heart. But overhwleming, she comes across as quietly powerful, driven, single-minded and even generous. She gains young designers Thakoon a lucractive collaboration with Gap and cracks and warm smile, sharing kind words at the collection launch. She also labels her creative director Grace Coddington a genuis, without prompting.Coddington, it turns out, is the star of the film.


A former model, she started at Vogue on the same day as Wintour 20 years ago. Coddington is the creative and romantic foil to Wintour's steel. It is she who delivers the luxurious and expensive photo shoots we love to flick through. With the look of Queen Elizabeth I, and possibly of the same age, Coddington puts her heart and soul into Vogue. She is battered when her shoots are pulled and soars when her ideas are accepted by Wintour. A must see for all aspiring fashionista's.

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