I finally saw "The September Issue" last night and it's the first movie I've watched in years that I wish were hours longer rather than shorter. All the reviewers who have been saying that Vogue Creative Director Grace Coddington steals the show are absolutely correct. From her less-than-fashionable wardrobe and hair to her grumblings about Anna Wintour and musings on beauty, we fall in love with her and see that she really is the heart and soul of the magazine.
I don't often read Vogue because I think the editorials and style are both unrealistic and often old-fashioned, but after hearing Coddington talk about her inspirations, I see that this is the whole point. She's trying to create a fantasy world, not pages of wearable fashions, which I suppose it was catalogs are for!
So, here are some Coddington editorials I've dug up to give you an idea of what she's talking about:
The film isn't entirely unflattering to Wintour either. We get a sense from her that she's just trying to be taken seriously in a world, and an overachieving family, that is constantly telling her that what she does and loves is just silly. We also get an idea of how hard it must be to be taken seriously when she looks like such a small and fragile girl (the shots of her being driven in her car make her look almost like a child).
However, now that I'm flipping through Vogue, I'm wondering whose idea it was to redesign Vogue to look more like a tabloid? Anna, I'm looking at you.
