The September Issue, R.J. Cutler's observational take on the world of Vogue magazine (and through it, the consumer fashion market atop of which Vogue sits) has received huge press interest of late - possibly because of the light it shines on legendary editor Anna Wintour. The film itself is pretty much what you would expect; shiny, entertaining, revealing in parts (superficial in others), and a statement in itself of that period of time before the economic ceiling fell in.

Cutler himself is fully aware of how lucky he was being where he needed to be at that particular time, and of the excitement that access to Wintour brings the film.

So why make the film in the first place?

I first thought about doing a project about Wintour and Vogue when I read an article in New York Magazine about the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute Ball [the annual fundraising gala that Wintour oversees]. It created such a fascinating portrait that I couldn’t help but be compelled. I knew who Anna was, of course, that she was a formidable and controversial figure in the fashion world, though I didn’t know much more about her than that. I’m always looking for subjects who care a tremendous amount about what they’re doing and are doing it as well as they possibly can under high stakes circumstances. Certainly this was the case with Anna Wintour.

What was your biggest challenge making the film? 

Every film that you make is going to have its own specific world and challenges, and the world of Vogue was no exception. Sometimes the challenges are obvious, like when you’re making a film about people who are really fashion conscious and are wearing expensive, delicate clothes, you can’t put lavs and transmitters on them all day long. You’re going to need to record everything with a boom, and you’re going to need an awesome Sound Recordist, and which is why we brought Eddie O’Connor on board. At Vogue we were filming a group of people who had been working together for years, in some cases for decades. They communicated with nods and glances, not with grand pronouncements, so when we first started filming, we were stymied. When did that decision get made? How do you know that story’s happening? Who cut that photo spread? It was baffling. But then we realised that the creative process at Vogue is in the gestures, the glances, the conversations that last five seconds. Once we realised that, our jobs became much easier.

And what about the people?

Well, people in the fashion world are very suspicious of cameras. They’re used to a camera being the enemy, something that is prying and looking to catch you in a compromising position, something that’s judging you. Convincing the people who worked there that we weren’t like other people with cameras was a huge challenge. Ironically the person we had the greatest amount of difficulty with at the beginning was Grace Coddington. She ended up playing a very pivotal role in the movie, but her mistrust of anyone with a camera is fundamental to who she is. The first time we encountered Grace she said, “Get away from me.” The next time I saw her, we were at the Chanel show in Paris and she said, “Anna isn’t even here, why do you even have to come around?” She was not happy at all. Later that day, André Leon Talley said to me, “What did you do to Grace?” Eventually we were able to win her over.

What is your favourite scene in the film?

I loved being in the Vogue office, in the hallways, in the meetings, the moments in Anna’s office, I love all that, and of course, I love the scenes with Andre Leon Talley and the way the film breaks the fourth wall, especially towards the end. I’m also a huge fan of the way Bob Richman shot this film, the combination of intimate verite with those beautiful vistas of New York and Paris and the world of fashion. But I think probably the material I respond to most emotionally are the scenes that involve Anna confronting her family relationships; the scenes with her daughter Bee; the scenes where she’s talking about her dad and her relationship with him; the footage we see of Anna as a younger woman, and most of all the sequence towards the end of the film, where Anna is reflecting on her relationship with her siblings.

And finally, what were you most surprised about?

I didn’t realise just how prominent Anna Wintour’s position in the fashion industry was and the more I got to observe it, the more surprising I found it. You can make a hit movie without Steven Spielberg’s blessing, and you can publish best-selling software without Bill Gates’ blessing, but you can’t really be a be a successful fashion designer right now without Anna Wintour’s blessing. And remember this is a rapidly-growing 300-billion dollar global industry. Anna is such a singular figure, the way that every once in a long while individuals in various industries can be. And it’s remarkable and surprising when you realise the scope of her power and influence.

The September Issue, Momentum Pictures

An unprecedented look behind the scenes at what is authoratively described as 'the world’s most influential fashion magazine' under the leadership of legendary editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, The September Issue is award winning director, R.J. Cutler's take on the world of Vogue magazine, and the people who work there.

It's like Absolutely Fabulous, but with much, much more money (and talent) and is on U.K. release 11 September, 2009 onwards.

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