The September Issue
By
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

We should all apprentice under Anna Wintour.

I've read Vogue magazine my whole life. I'll read it on my way to Hell. I hate the damn magazine. The articles are written by women who want you to think they were educated in a Swiss convent and related to European aristocracy. Typically there are articles about a writer's grandmother who wore hats. Writers also do stories about their "must-haves" for the new season %u2013 usually a pair of $1,700 stilettos. Socialites with toddlers who design handbags are always featured in glorious tributes as if they discovered penicillin.

It's vulgar.

The editors love to inject one word throughout the magazine so you know it's been tampered with. The word they love is "eponymous".

The fashion world is ruled by Vogue's American editor Anna Wintour. She is feared. And her influence is legendary. However, in "The September Issue", Wintour comes across as a bemused, indulged supreme dictator. There is no second opinion. No one questions her. To please Anna is every staff members' sole task.

Wintour takes her power in stride as if she were born to rule the fashion world. Though the camera is generally placed in close-up on her, Wintour never reveals any emotion. She's brilliant! There is no need to express emotions of approval or disapproval. There is nothing to gauge. Her will be done.

Just how much power does Wintour have? It was recently rumored all over the world that Victoria Beckham, former Posh Spice and wife of soccer god David Beckham, had her 34DD breasts (the result of two breast augmentations) reduced to a 34B size to please Wintour.

A source told UK's The Daily Mail: "Anna said she would consider putting Victoria on the cover, but told her to lose those ridiculous implants before it happened. That this rumor even exists is a testament to the power Ms. Wintour wields in the fashion industry. The woman could feasibly demand cover subjects get plastic surgery, and no one would bat an eyelash."

I'm with Wintour on this one.

The September issue of Vogue is the most prestigious issue of the year %u2013 and the largest in sheer pounds. The documentary of the preparation of this 2007 issue, directed by R. J. Cutler, is incredibly revealing.

While Wintour is the imperial force behind Vogue, Grace Coddington, the magazine's longtime creative director, is acknowledged as a genius. Coddington, a former Vogue model herself, has abandoned every beauty regimen. Somewhere, she lost her eyebrows. Living for over 40 years in the vortex of Vogue glamour (first in the U.K. and now in the U.S.), she, and everyone else who toils for Vogue, have stringently renounced personal beauty.

Grace, may I please replace your Salvation Army shoes for you? We can go to PayLess!

Apparently, it's a badge of honor to be around thousands of dollars worth of clothes, accessories, makeup and hair people, and carry your stuff in a supermarket plastic bag. Clearly, no one is slipping out with designer merchandise.

Oscar de la Renta, why can't you gift Grace a dress from last season?

Coddington is the magic that makes "The September Issue" interesting. As her work is shunted around, then dismissed by Wintour, her frustration shows.

But, in every case, it appears Wintour is right.


My weekly column, "The Devil's Hammer," is posted every Monday. The Devil's Hammer on FTB. If you would like to be included on my private distribution list for a weekly preview, just email me at masauu@aol.com.

Victoria Alexander lives in Las Vegas, Nevada and answers every email. You can contact Victoria directly at masauu@aol.com.