As one of the 13 million American consumers that earnestly awaits Vogue's September issue, I had expectations. In a film about the iconic magazine, I expected to fully understand their process. I expected to discover how the Louboutin clad fashionistas identify the upcoming trends, the cultural anomalies and create a legendary magazine. Like most fashion junkies, I expected a film that embodied this annual phenomenon to reflect the glossy publication and its devoted creators.
But what director R.J. Cutler delivers in his 2009 film The September Issue is a character driven drama with minimal discussion of the actual project.
The premise of the documentary offers viewers a comprehensive examination of the nine month process that creates Vogue's iconic September issue. This film promises to explore the intricacies of the office headquarters, editorial shoots, meetings and personal drama that create fashion's most influential material.
However, the camera more often turns to American Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour. What this film actually delivers is proof of the real life version of The Devils Wears Prada anti-heroine Miranda Priestly. When Prada originally debuted, it was widely known that Miranda Priestly, like so many fictional fashion bosses, was based off the infamous Anna Wintour.
The film opens with an interview of the legendary editor. She describes how her father chose her career and how her high-powered siblings condescend her "amusing" work. The film moves into the offices of Vogue and quickly turns into an examination of Wintour's perfectionist work and her dictatorship of a $300 billion industry. With every editorial created, designer visited and fashion show attended, the over-arching theme of "What Anna says, goes" is proven true. Anecdotes and snippets of the supporting casts' personal lives continuously adds more human elements to the machine that is Vogue and Anna Wintour. While the film does not offer a true examination of the issue, it gives an interesting perspective on the life and motivation of Wintour.
Disappointed expectations aside, the film is good. There is an interesting cast and dynamic. Every situation which seems to typecast characters, especially Wintor, into fashion stereotypes is almost immediately contradicted by a juxtaposition of their softer side. You learn Wintor has a daughter who thinks, quite frankly, the fashion industry takes itself too seriously. You see Wintor's own insecurities about the relevancy of her profession. You feel the pain that Creative Director Grace Coddington experienced in the car accident that ended her modeling career. These elements are what truly make the film a success although often overshadowed by the editing and productions processes.
Those two key processes are lacking especially for a film documenting the nine-month run of a magazine bought by one in eight American women. A little gloss would go a long way to mirror the tone of the film. The editing was choppy and inconsistent often taking abrupt turns and moving too quickly through some stages while crawling through others. Regardless of if it is the real Vogue office or the one created for Hollywood cameras, Vouge is still Vogue. It is still crisp and classic, not a choppy and grainy endeavor. Even shot without the typical movie magic, this should have been done better.
With all these components in mind, I offer two final pieces of advice. If Rodarte is meaningless to you, walk away. This documentary will be, at best, the icy biopic of a woman whose importance, even by the end of the film, somehow escapes you. If you know the true Bible of women's fashion is Women's Wear Daily, you will experience a choppy glimpse at the industry's most influential woman. And if you accept that as the film's value, you will not be disappointed.
