Jess Jones reviews R.J. Cutler’s ‘The September Issue’…

“Wintour lives up to her image of ‘froidure’…“

It might be surprising to hear that a documentary about the process of putting together American Vogue’s biggest and best selling issue in September 2007 contains some memorable and tender moments, but it’s true. They do not however, come courtesy of renowned Editor in Chief Anna ‘nuclear’ Wintour, but of her Senior Fashion Editor, Grace Coddington.

Both women hail from the other side of the Atlantic, Wintour from England and Coddington from Wales, and they both started working at American Vogue on the very same day in 1988. They work closely together, and at many points during the film are side by side; whether it’s at a private showing at Oscar de la Renta’s atelier, or the front row of a Paris couture show. But two more different women you would be hard pressed to find. The films director, R.J. Cutler obviously picked up on this dynamic, and their rocky relationship becomes the main focus of the film.

Whilst throughout the film Wintour lives up to her image of ‘froidure’, inapproachability and abruptness, Coddington is warm and funny, getting on with the camera crew like they were old friends, even to the point of using Bob the cameraman in one of her fashion shoots. We are shown Wintour involved in the business side of the fashion industry, wining and dining clients at the Vogue Annual Retailers Breakfast and meeting with up and coming new designers whom she has helped get started in the industry. Coddington on the other hand, appears to be the antithesis of the typical fashionista. She is in her late 60s,  does not adhere to fashion trends and is mainly seen bounding about the Vogue corridors in her uniform of black belted dress and flat black sandals, her mane of red Romanesque hair trailing behind her. But it is when we see her at work, styling a 1920s inspired shoot that you suddenly feel as though you are watching a true master of their craft. Whilst Wintour’s world seems caught up in sales figures, estimates and goals, Coddington’s is one of beauty, art and make-believe. She is the artistic drive behind Vogue, her visions are so beautifully rendered that she manages to transform clothes into works of art. She allows us to see them as they should be seen; in dreamy visions, exciting and otherworldly. Her visions are bigger than clothes, bigger than fashion, they encompass history and art and are ultimately, achingly beautiful.

“…one of the last fashion editors to style the models herself…”

Whereas Wintour states abruptly, “Fashion is not about looking back, it is always about looking forward”, Coddington repeatedly looks to history and art to inspire her shoots. She references the photographer Brassaï in her 1920s shoot, poring over his work beforehand for inspiration. In no way does she seem to fit the Vogue mould, but she is all the better for it. Wintour is demanding and irritable, whereas we see Coddington turning up to a shoot armed with pastries for the models, claiming to be one of the last fashion editors to style the models herself as she pulls and plays with the shape of a giant oversized woollen scarf for a shoot on ‘textures’. She exudes passion for her job, and becomes more and more emotional as her beautiful pictures are cut from the issue by the ruthless Wintour, who deems one such picture, “unnecessary…too much”.

Years of working at the forefront of the fashion industry have hardened Wintour, or maybe she has always been tough. But she never seems particularly impressed. If anything, most of the things shown to her elicit an underwhelming response, if any at all.

The tender moments in the film come courtesy of Coddington, when she talks about her early years as a model for British Vogue before a car accident brought her modelling career to an abrupt end, her love for her work and her anguish at seeing thousands of dollars worth of work cut by Wintour. The most touching moment however, comes when the Vogue team decamps to Paris for a shoot. Coddington escapes to one of Paris’s beautiful gardens where she is physically taken aback by the beauty of the natural scene before her, becoming quite visibly emotional as she says wistfully through teary eyes, “It’s beautiful….I think I got left behind somewhere because I’m still a romantic. You have to go charging ahead, you can’t stay behind” She could be summing up the differences between herself and Wintour.

“…other staff members are shown shamelessly sucking up…”

There are some great scenes when we see Wintour and Coddington tête-à-tête, both stubborn, neither one willing to back down, such as when Wintour demands that Bob the cameraman’s stomach be airbrushed. Coddington indignantly rings the air brusher, warning him not to do anything of the sort, she wants Bob to look normal, and after all, “not everyone can be perfect”.  Coddington seems to be the only person at Vogue willing to stand up to the mighty Wintour, whilst many other staff members are shown shamelessly sucking up, not daring to give their own opinion until they are sure it matches Wintour’s. I bet Wintour likes the fact that Coddington is not a push over and although there is often an icy atmosphere between the two, it is Wintour who dishes out the most deserving compliments, saying of Coddington; “Grace is a genius. There is no one who can understand the direction of fashion or produce a great shot like her, she is just remarkable”

The front of the DVD cover announces “Anna Wintour and the making of Vogue” but the true star to emerge from the film and its unsung hero is in fact Grace Coddington. She is the heart and soul of Vogue and alongside Wintour, they have both made the magazine the great success it is today. This film is not to be missed for anyone interested in fashion, it is the first time American Vogue has opened its doors to a film crew, and gives some fascinating insights into the world of high fashion.

Jess Jones