This is the third and the last blog about the documentary The September Issue.
The first time you see Anna Wintour on screen in this film, it’s up close and personal. She has a lovely face and looks much younger than her 58 years (during filming in 2007). She has a girly-girl, almost fragile look about her, which certainly belies the formidable nature of her personality.
Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Magazine: Anna Wintour
Ms. Wintour is model thin—a left-over characteristic of her modeling days? ALL of the outfits she wore in the film were fabulous. (I wish the filmmaker had let the audience know the designer—and retail price.) The mink-trimmed Chanel (or Chanel-looking) tweedy jacket and skirt were the most spectacular. It takes a “certain woman” to pull it off, and Ms. Wintour has that stature.
As mentioned before, her hair is perfect in its presentation—although the style is too Little Dutch Boy meets Cleopatra for me. Likewise, the color job is top notch. How do I know she colors her hair? As my Mom used to say:
“There isn’t a woman over 40 that doesn’t need to color her hair. So if the color looks good, it’s NOT Mother Nature.”
I’ve been coloring my hair since 8th grade. I call my DIY color: “More-or-Less Here-and-There Blonde.” I would call Ms. Wintour’s color Golden Topaz Kissed By Sunlight. (I seriously doubt she uses a home-made recipe.)
The perfection of Ms. Wintour’s hair, clothes, and carriage is exactly what you’d expect from a perfectionist High Priestess of Haute Couture.
That’s why her #2 Person, Grace Coddington, the uber talented Creative Director is such a kick. She and Ms Wintour are Yin and Yang—“complementary opposites within a greater whole.” Their relationship is the most interesting aspect of the film. Despite their different style/personalities, they both flourish because of a shared passion for what they are doing. Both are totally dedicated to their “mission.” Vogue would not be the respected magazine that it is without Grace Coddington—and Ms. Wintour knows it.
Ms. Coddington butts heads with Ms. Wintour over the production of the magazine because it needs to be done and she knows what she is fighting for. Her 40+ years experience give her the gravitas and reverence to be the called the BEST in the business.
Grace Coddington and Anna Wintour from the documentary: The September Issue
The first time Grace (can I call you Grace?) appeared on the screen, I was taken aback.
She looked haggard—in a Wicked Witch of the West kind of way. Her lined face looked liked it had been run through a ringer. And indeed it had. Grace was involved in a car accident at about age twenty-five—which ended her modeling career—as her face and eye smashed into the rear view mirror. OUCH.
Instead of posing for fashion magazines, the accidents led Grace into the editing side instead.
As structured as Ms. Wintour’s hair is, Grace’s is equally UNstructured. Hers is long, free, flowing, wild, wavy, and unruly—and copper red. Her hair looks like it does what it wants to, whereas Mr. Wintour’s does exactly what SHE tells it to (as it sits like a trained pedigree on her head).
Grace is no stick figure like her boss. She’s zaftig, like a Renaissance painting (the Venus of Urbino maybe?). At the age of 66 in the film, she doesn’t try to hide her age. I don’t think she even wears much make-up. I think she’s comfortable in her own skin. And that is rare for any woman on the planet.
Another stark difference between the two colleagues is the clothing they wear. Ms. Wintour is Madame Fashionista to the Max—donning many outfits throughout the film. Grace wears the same thing—a black outfit. Not really sure what it was. I couldn’t tell if it was a belted dress or a tunic top and pants. At first I thought it was an artist’s smock. Then I thought it was a nurse or dental hygienist’s baggy uniform. Whatever it was, it looked comfy!
Over the course of the film, as Grace grew on me, so did the black outfit. (But not the shoes—brown huarache sandals?)
As the film continued, the contrast of Ms. Wintour to Grace amazed me. Of course I had heard of Ms. Wintour before, but I had never heard of Grace before. By the end of the movie, Grace was so clearly “the star” and so clearly a more outstanding person.
If VogueLand is a mythical forest, Ms. Wintour is the Sphinx that always gets her way through her cunning and beauty and deadly stare. Grace is the Crone, dispensing wisdom, kindness, and magic to all who need it.
Ms. Wintour is the self-absorbed impish waif. Grace is the embodiment of the fully-realized feminine spirit. (And that’s a powerful thing!)
Where Ms. Wintour is the Manager, Grace is the Artist. Miss Winour is abrupt, cutting, and arrogant. Grace is warm, funny, and empathetic. (She actually fastens a buckle on a model’s shoe—not only something Ms. Wintour would never stoop to do even though it would help the photo shoot, but no other Creative Directors in the biz get near the models—as mentioned in the film.)
I could go on…but suffice to say, Grace is the kind of gal you want to be friends with. The kind you’d love to have a slumber party with, share a cup of tea with, GO SHOPPING WITH!
Unlike Ms. Wintour, who you wouldn’t even want to share an elevator with because you’re not allowed to speak to her!
It is Grace who orchestrates and implements the fashion shoots. It is Ms. Wintour’s job to say Yay or Nay. It is Grace’s imagination that gives Vogue its avant-garde fashion spreads. For having a bum eye, she has extraordinary vision.
At the end of the film, I loved Grace but loathed Ms. Wintour. I honestly think Grace could run the magazine and Vogue would not miss a beat. I think she’s the heart, soul, artistry, and brains of the magazine. And I bet there would be a lot more happy campers on the payroll if she did.
Sienna Miller on the cover of Vogue - September 2007
P.S. Sienna Miller is the cover model of the issue that this film is based on. She comes across as an airhead with bad hair—and not particularly good looking—especially not with those eyebrows painted on! In the film, the model with the wild blonde hair (who eats a tart after the photo shoot) is much more interesting and glamorous than the dippy Sienna. (And why is she famous?) But Ms. Wintour insists on the “celebrity factor” to sell her product.
P.P.S To Grace – If you’re ever in my neck of the woods, I’d love to show you my vintage wiggle dress collection and take you to lunch!
P.P.P.S. Besides Grace, the other best thing about the film is seeing the age range of the Vogue staff, which skewed to the “older” end of the scale. Let’s hear it for “mature” workers!
