The September Issue

I went to see The September Issue yesterday after work - a little date with myself! Having read Vogue magazine and being an admirer of fashion since I was a young teen, you could imagine my excitement when confronted with a behind the scenes view at the magazine and the entire production process of the coveted annual Bible of fashion, the September issue. Each year this issue is stuffed like a fat girl in a corset with all of the fall and winter trends. Next to September, March comes in second and is also a HUGE issue with all of the spring and summer trends. I have long read the names Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington but never knew what they were really like. I had an idea about Anna since she gets so much press about her fur wearing, ice queen ways, but Grace I had always seen listed as the fashion editor under photo spreads and nothing else. The movie profiles these two women and actually Grace stole my heart and the show. It was inspiring to see that the magazine that is responsible for staying one step ahead of the trends and forced to be on the up and up is run by women over the age of 50, Anna at 59 and Grace at 68.

Grace is the Creative Director of Vogue magazine and is so passionate about her work. She was commenting on how she still dresses the models and was on the floor buckling a shoe on a model, she likes to have total control over the shoot and the proves successful as all the spreads I have seen directed by her are amazing. We didn't see too much into Anna's life outside of Vogue, a couple scenes with her daughter and her alone traveling from place to place. She is pretty quiet (or was in the movie) but definitely opinionated and will step on any one's toes to make sure "her" magazine is the best.

I respect them both, they were both models in the UK when they were younger. Grace was forced to retire from modeling due to a car accident, she was an Assistant at British Vogue and moved her way up the ladder. You have to read Anna's bio to believe it, she was a firecracker - I love that she once met Bob Marley and then disappeared with him for a week! They didn't dig too deep into Anna, she spoke at times, but was very icy.

I could go on forever, but don't want to bore anyone.

To sum it up, if you like Vogue and are interested in the behind the scenes look - check this movie out! I loved it. It is a documentary so don't expect grand pans across the Vogue offices, the transitions are a little shaky, but I liked it, it was like someone just came in with a camcorder and did their job, no fancy director of photography needed.