The September Issue

Fashion is in right now, its appeal to a certain filmgoing demographic rivalled only by that of vampires. It’s surprising that the two worlds haven’t yet collided on screen – ‘Prada by Twilight’, anyone?

In the meantime, RJ Cutler’s documentary nods in that direction: focusing on Anna Wintour, the glacial editor of American Vogue, in the run-up to the publication of the magazine’s biggest ever September issue, it shows a business in which looks can kill even if fangs aren’t bared. (When Wintour is obliged to say ‘excuse me’ to an assistant in her way, you fear the girl’s days are numbered.)

Longtime colleague Grace Coddington, the only person who talks back to her, provides a warmer foil, though the editor herself sometimes seems accessible, even vulnerable: Wintour may be a peerless titan in her field but her family view her work with amused indifference. Consistently funny and engaging, ‘The September Issue’ is also a window onto the top echelon of an industry in which fanciful escapism is deadly serious.