Pop Fashion: The Ugly Truth?

Last Friday I had the opportunity to see the limited release RJ Cutler documentary The September Issue (hooray for Mpls’s dedication to the arts!). I went into it thinking that it would be a shocking behind the scenes look at the making of Vogue, similar to The Devil Wears Prada (in fact, the documentary’s main subject, editor of Vogue Anna Wintour, was supposedly the inspiration behind Meryl Streep’s character in the film). However, I was somewhat disappointed. Or was I pleasantly surprised? I can’t yet decide what emotional effect this has had on me, but for better or for worse the fashion world just didn’t seem that shocking to me. What was so shocking was not a world full of constant drama, the evil snobs running the show, or backstabbing coworkers, but rather how…normal everyone seemed. No one was evil; they were just busy trying to get their jobs done. The drama seemed minimal and even appropriate for such a high stress world.

Overall I think the documentary was very well done and I enjoyed every moment of it. While some might have found the lack of outrageous drama boring, I appreciated that the world presented to us by the filmmaker seemed real, even attainable, and not at all sensationalized. It was kind of like what the Sex and the City movie could have been if they had taken out the stupid storyline and just let us look at the clothes. Of course some *cough* Qualler *cough* think that I generally enjoy "boring" movies *cough* Marie Antoinette *cough* I, however, would not equate lack of action or lack of outrageous conflict with boring. The characters were real and interesting, there were several laugh-out-loud moments, and there were also moments when the audience truly felt for some of the main characters, particularly Anna and Grace Coddington, Vogue's Creative Director. Anna was often harsh but at other times very human and vulnerable, particularly in the closing scene when she said that her uber successful siblings are "amused" by what she does. The director did a good job of painting a portrait of his two main characters, Anna and Grace, without making the audience feel as if it had to sit through any tacked-on exposition or biography. We knew exactly what we needed to know about their families, their childhoods, their aspirations, and their intentions through spacely utilized direct interview, and the rest we could gather for ourselve by watching the characters do their work and interact with each other.

One thing I loved about the documentary was how little the models seemed to matter. For the most part, older women who dressed like they could be my college French teachers were calling the shots. No one looked like they’d had any work done. The world of high fashion is not what we see in America’s Next Top Model. The models might be more fun to watch and definitely seem to be full of drama, but they aren’t even close to running things. For the most part they weren’t even featured in the film—it was all about the creative directors, the writers, and the editors, and a little bit about the designers. But even the designers weren’t really in charge of things. The good women at Vogue magazine were.

I think that this movie managed to show that the world of fashion is not really the Tyra banks show—it isn’t models dealing with constant drama and ridiculous challenges. It’s people going to work and doing a job. In some ways this might make these untouchable icons more human and more accessible, and thus, fashion is more accessible. I often give Tyra a hard time, but reality shows like hers and like Project Runway did manage to bring the world of high fashion to the level of the masses. Designers like Isaac Mizrahi and (?) make lines for Target so that we can all afford designer names (sort of). Fashion isn't so scary--and it really shouldn't be. The film opened with Anna speaking directly to the camera, saying that people tend to mock fashion because they're afraid of it. That might be true...afraid or not, at times it still seems to ask for a little mocking. But whether you love it ironically or just love it, fashion has always been a major factor in pop culture, and Fashion as an industry seems more accessible than ever.

I really did enjoy this film. When I first heard about it, I hoped against hope that it would come to Minneapolis, and when it did, I was thrilled. I wondered what this movie would reveal to me that I didn't already know--what would be the shock factor. Well, there wasn't really one. The revealed secret was that people in fashion are just people, the industry really isn't full of drama, and that there's nothing scary about it. I give the movie my highest rating: Puppy Playtime

It wasn't shocking, but I was happy about that. It was a real documentary that let me glimpse a world in a way I haven't before. If you aren't into fashion, I think you could still enjoy this movie. If nothing else it's a lovely backdrop to a nice nap, right Qualler?

This entry was posted by Brigitte, on Thursday, September 17, 2009. You can leave your response.