On its opening weekend, The September Issue was the 5th highest all-time per screen average opening weekend for a documentary. Yeah – that feat does sound like a reach, but for a film about fashion, it’s quite an accomplishment.
Director R.J. Cutler was the man behind the poignant political doc, The War Room and held the directing reins for many television shows. He is a well-versed man when it comes to being behind the camera and when it comes to the stage (he used to direct plays), but when it came to tackling fashion’s most relevant magazine, Cutler’s resume made it seem like he was stepping into some unfamiliar territory. Very unfamiliar territory.
Weeks ago, I was waiting in the empty hallways of the Four Seasons in San Francisco to chat with the director. I kept on wondering why he, a guy totally unaware of the industry, would have the balls to document its most intimidating editrix.
When I was led into the room where our interview would take place, it was gigantic. A ballroom – like the one in the Von Trapp mansion. In the center of the room was Cutler sitting at a table draped with a fine hotel-certified tablecloth. Next to him was a tray with an unfinished salad and peppered about the table were empty glasses, coffee mugs, random sheets of paper with doodles and a telephone.
I shook his hand and he greeted me with a smile – which was unexpected. I always expect documentary filmmakers to be a bit guarded. Snooty. Aloof. Pompous. Cutler was anything but.
As soon as we got to chatting he told me that he had no preconceived thoughts or opinions about the fashion industry, let alone Vogue. “My perspective was acquired from (watching) Unzipped,” says Cutler as he poured some sugar into his coffee. “I read a lot of magazines when I was a kid. I read Rolling Stone and National Lampoon and Sports Illustrated. Those were my magazines. My mother read Vogue. I couldn’t understand why it engaged her. There were so many advertisements. I couldn’t find the table of contents. It smelled funny. I had no connection to that magazine.”
From Anna Wintour to Grace Coddington to Andre Leon Tally, I wanted to pick Cutler’s brain and see what it was like to get an intense first-hand experience within the walls of Vogue. And of course, we had to see if Anna was as cold as the general public thinks she is.
Anna Wintour is very guarded. Was she a hard shell to crack?
It’s a challenge with everybody to open up. It’s a blossoming process. In the beginning, Anna was far more accessible than Grace (Coddington). Grace wouldn’t let me film her for the first four months.
Really?
She was chasing me away. The first words out of Grace Coddington’s mouth when I met her were, “Go away.” From January to April, she would not let me film her. I finally went to her in May (and) she warmed up.
Good. It wouldn’t be the film it was without her.
I couldn’t figure out another way to make the film. If she weren’t in it, it wouldn’t have been a story. There are a thousand movies to make at Vogue in that nine month period, but for me this was the only story: Anna and Grace’s relationship. Their dynamic; the nature of the relationship; the fact that they are both women of a certain age; that they started on day one together – they appear to be polar opposites, but they are kind of symbiotic collaborators. It’s quite an amazing thing. The more I learned about it, the more I (said) there’s no way this movie can’t be about Anna and Grace. It’s not possible. It was with that conviction that I went to her and just asked her for one hour. I told her if she didn’t like it, she would never hear from me again. She gave us one hour and over time, she opened up. And Anna, over time, opened up. Quite honestly, the more Grace opened up, the more Anna opened up.
Did you put the Thakoon storyline in there to showcase Anna’s brokering skills?
You’re certainly on to something – in terms of my point of view. I think Thakoon’s work is beautiful. It’s not just Anna who has deep appreciation for Thakoon. Grace loves his work too. They feel a real connection with him. Everything in the movie is about Anna, Grace or Vogue as defined by Anna and Grace – and Thakoon is all those things. Certainly, part of why he is in the movie is because he reveals Anna’s power. He’s also in the movie because he’s so young and they’re so old (laughs). They’re impact is going to be felt decades after they have stopped doing this.
It’s almost like bridging a generation gap.
Exactly – but there’s a reason why Oscar de la Renta is in the movie. Anna is telling him what to do. You’re seeing her influence span decades. That’s a big part of this.
I see.
Thakoon is a very talented designer and it seemed like Anna just stepped on the gas pedal a little bit to accelerate his success – and he is so gracious about it. He’s a sweetheart. He’s humble, gifted and works hard. I feel this way about all these guys. They are all amazing. They’re so talented. I think that reflects well on Anna too. In my estimation, one of the secrets of her success is that she surrounds herself with such extraordinary people. She’s not afraid or threatened by them. She’ll fight with them and beat up on them on occasion. As Grace says, she’ll break their hearts, but she knows she needs them around.
With documentaries covering Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs and Valentino coming out of the woodwork, do you think fashion documentaries are having a moment?
You mean a “fashion moment”? (laughs)
Yes.
It doesn’t surprise me that someone wants to make a movie about Karl or Marc Jacobs. It doesn’t surprise me that Matt (Tyrnauer) wanted to make a film about Valentino, especially after writing that article. I mean, why not? That’s the good thing about documentaries. If you can get into the heart and soul of the story, there’s no limit to what can be done.
In the beginning of the film, Anna’s “monologue” sets a good tone of the movie. There’s this stigma that fashion has and it’s like an outer shell that people can’t get past –
Exactly. People always ask me, “What have I learned about fashion?” I learned that it is frivolous, vain, indulgent, frothy, excessive, sometimes ridiculously expensive, weird and elitist. It’s all that. And it is essential to our lives. Everybody wakes up in the morning and gets dressed. Every time you get dressed you’re making a choice even if that choice is “I don’t care.” You’re saying something. (Fashion) drives industries and economies. I mean, the entire American economy is driven by the fashion industry. Fashion is in automobiles and microchips – seriously. It’s industry, shipping, manufacturing, textiles – it goes on and on in terms of its impact on the economy. It’s a huge part of publishing. It is a repository of some of the most important artists’ work since Louis XIV. It is illuminates culture and society. It takes both sides of everything I just listed and does it simultaneously. You can’t describe it as vain without describing it as an economy driver. And guess who gets that as deeply and profoundly as anybody alive? Anna Wintour.
The September Issue is currently playing at the Metreon and the Sundance Kabuki Theater in San Francisco
- Excited
- Fascinated
- Amused
- Bored
- Sad
- Angry
