“Anna Wintour is fascinating, but the documentary doesn’t add up to much.”

I chose to catch The September Issue here at the Sundance Film Festival because I am completely and utterly clueless about the world of fashion. I considered this documentary to be my crash course. It chronicles the creation of the 2008 Vogue September issue, the biggest and most critical fashion bible of the year, as seen through the eyes of editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and creative director Grace Coddington. The film encapsulates the nine-month creation process, including the stylistic battles, various photo shoots, and the industry’s thoughts on Anna and Vogue in general. Overall I was interested, and entertained … but I don’t think it’s nearly as fun as The Devil Wears Prada or as meaningful as many other documentaries.

Anna Wintour is a fascinating case study on the pursuit of perfection. Though it’s difficult for the casual viewer to figure out the difference between the fashion she’s asked to judge around the clock there’s very little doubt in my mind that there is a genius at work. She’s an unyielding, unrelenting, unsatisfied matriarch of fashion. Her natural ally and foil is the creative director Grace, who seeks to impose her creative eye on the fashion world as a whole. The tug of war between Anna and Grace forms the crux of the documentary.

Who wins? A little of both I’d say. But Anna is definitely in charge. You can sense that she lords over the world of beauty like an angry Old Testament deity. Her small face contains such rage and disappointment at the slightest imperfection in clothing or accessories. Her minions dance around her, always trying to make her happy … and very rarely succeeding. So in a sense Anna had pushed creativity forward because she won’t accept just anything. She’ll make you keep trying until the full potential of the idea is met, and that’s what is easy to admire about her.

What’s more difficult about The September Issue is finding relevance or context. Anna herself admits that many people find her world silly and mock it, though in her view that’s only because they’re afraid to learn. While I like looking nice as much as the next guy it’s a struggle for me to grasp why black is in our out this year, other than because of the whims of a few powerful people. Yes, looking good is fine, but why is it essential? The whole system seems to be placed upon a system of arbitrary rules. I find myself interested in the process, but not able to replicate it in my mind.

As such, The September Issue is probably preaching to the converted. Fans of fashion will find the film interesting I’m sure, and fans of documentaries will find the portrait of Anna compelling. But overall this one isn’t going to change lives and isn’t essential to your cinematic growth.

C+

Tags: anna wintour, september issue, vogue magazine