The September Issue and the Meaning of Life

SPOILER ALERT.

Thanks to the lovely folks at Worn Fashion Journal, I won tickets to see The September Issue. I was fascinated all the way through - it was crazy seeing how shoots come together and I had no idea designers showed Anna their goods before the clothes even hit the catwalk. But what I was most enthralled with was the juxtaposition of Grace and Anna and what it taught me about how I want to live my life.

Grace Coddington is the Creative Director of Vogue USA, and responsible for styling many of the fashion spreads that appear in the mag. Anna Wintour is the Editor-in-Chief, and held responsible for bringing Vogue back to relevancy.

If one were to judge them by their Wikipedia entries, Grace would be a mousy, unimportant blip in the world of Fashion, and Anna the Emperess. They are both older women, Anna being 60 this year and Grace almost 70, and they've worked together at Vogue in NYC for over twenty years. (There is a much better biography of Grace here.)

The film inadvertently pits them against each other: Grace styling gorgeous, romantic, and eye-candy-laden shoots, and Anna cutting them from the issue. Designers, staffers and famous photographers cowering in front of Anna, and Grace cheering them up afterwards. In the end, much of the magazine is filled with Grace's talent, though Anna will always get the credit.

Throughout the film, Anna lives up to her Ice Queen reputation, often responding with cutting insults or simply a blank stare. Grace makes us laugh, defends pot bellies and cries at the beauty of the gardens at Place Versailles.

Though Anna has lengthy Wikipedia pages to her name, I would rather live my life as Grace.


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