R.J. Cutler offers up a deliciously indulgent peek at fashion-icon, Anna Wintour, Editor-in-chief of American Vogue since 1988 in this fascinating and addicting documentary. You might remember it was Meryl Streep’s character, Miranda Priestly, in The Devil Wears Prada that was “loosely” based on Wintour’s reputation. Like being a fly-on-the wall, Cutler offers us a rare real-life opportunity to witness the talented and smart Wintour, who r-u-l-e-s the $300 billion-a-year fashion industry and her inner circle of editors, designers, photographers, & models as they frantically prepare for the voluminous, and cinematic-like production of the September issue.
If one were to describe Wintour based solely on the majority of articles written about her, you would be missing many nuances of her personality. I actually found her to be quite charming and very likable at times. For example, it’s when she’s invited to an all-important meeting with the CEO of Neiman-Marcus in which he professes the influence she has with designers on a global level, and how she can be of extraordinary help to the omnipotent retailer in regards to order delivery, that she reveals a very human side by making numerous gestures of gently touching his hand while responding. It was interactions like this and those between her and her daughter that show off a bit of her softer side.
Despite Wintour’s need to control every detail of every page with perfectionist reasoning, I came to the conclusion that is was OK. After all, she’s well aware, and it comes across crystal-clear, that the ultimate success of the magazine lies clearly in her hands. But at the same time she still encourages and supports her minions, especially that of her ingenious and very talented creative director, Grace Coddington. Although there’s plenty of incidences showcasing Wintour and Coddington desperately clashing over creative differences, the underlying mutual respect and trust between them is quite evident.
Seek out this movie. Even if you’re not a fashionista, I think you’ll at least appreciate the business aspect of what it takes to put together such a massive and arduous production that is Vogue’s September issue.
-Vanessa O’Connor
DiscSox Team Member