When it comes to people’s interest in fashion, the demography can almost neatly be demonstrated in a Venn diagram as those devout to the world prêt-a-porter and haute couture, those who are apathetic and those who are smack bang in the middle. Whatever the demography you fall into, we cannot help but get seduce into the debates and discussion surrounding the fashion industry, and whether having the latest J Brand label means seriously considering selling your mother or you simply couldn’t give a flying [fill with whatever appropriate swear word] about the label tucked inside your clothes, we are all, or rightly or wrongly so, slaves to our image. And by that sheer fact, and depending where you fit within the Venn diagram, we are all, consciously or unconsciously, followers of the religiously sect and cult that is fashion. And for every devote worshiper, the high priestess and demi-god is Anna Wintour, and the bible, Vogue.

RJ Cutler’s documentary on Vogue magazine and supreme editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is a enlightening exploration of the creative, as well as laboring, process behind the most anticipated edition of the fashion calendar, the September issue. This is an enthralling glimpse into the decision-making, chaotic and sumptuous world of fashion. But “The September Issue” almost loses it’s initial agenda – assuming that this was supposed to be an all Wintour documentary, and gets distracted by the other characters and facets behind the scene, which culminates in a documentary that is accessible and cerebral. Yet, despite this sense of accessibility, Cutler knows his place, or rather Wintour would have probably put him in his place, and doesn’t necessarily provoke any stimulating debates or discussions that were fairly controversy, even in 2007, and often remains a fly-on-the-wall and allows Wintour and Vogue to dictate the ‘objectivity’, but Cutler does get his two cents every so often. Challenging to the fashion, it is not, but entertaining, most certainly is.

The documentary quickly becomes less, Wintour’s Vogue, more Wintour versus Grace Coddington, and it is this fiery-haired Welsh woman in black who steals the metaphorical runway from Wintour, and rightly so, because for one Grace is antithesis of Wintour’s winter demeanor, despite the seemingly ironic black wardrobe. A former model, Grace started working at Vogue on the same day as Wintour, now her superior and this hierarchy is a clear point of conflict for both women, which Cutler latches on, with comedic result. In their almost sisterly arguments, both women become cartoon-ish caricatures; Wintour does nothing to dispel her supposed characterization in The Devil Wears Prada as a tyrannical fashion dictator, while Grace, who is a – a term not used lightly, genius, has her stunning photographic toils subject to Wintour’s (dis)approvals. Her disappointment and frustration aren’t hidden, but recognizable and relatable, and it is Grace who ultimately saves this documentary from being a one-dimensional fly-on-the-wall. Through her sheer imagination and intuitive artistry demonstrated during the shoots, Grace sees life outside the fashion vacuum and adds a degree of integrity to the fashion industry. She isn’t taken by the commerce, the celebrity culture or the status value that luxury brand have become today; fashion, for Grace, is reminiscence of a little girl losing herself in her mother’s cloths and make-up, it is pure escapism and fantasy. Yet ironically, although Wintour is ruthless in ensuring Vogue’s commercial relevance, it is clear that Wintour has clearly created a bubble, a fantasy, for herself to keep certain appearances. While Grace’s humorous backbiting are the cracks in Wintour’s disposition, proving the so-called Pope of fashion isn’t as formidable as she would like us to perceive. Cutler plays with the black and white antithesis between the two women, which ultimately gives the documentary a central story, while the creation of the September Issue takes a back seat, and rightly so.

Wintour herself, ever playing the ice-queen, seems unwilling to allow the camera to penetrate beneath her iconic bangs and dark glasses combination. But even she couldn’t keep her pokerf-aced facade, and when Wintour does momentarily slip behind the safety of her glasses – and this is such a rarity that if you blink you will miss it, you see a woman, who has reached an iconic and powerful status within her profession, still fraught with feelings of inadequacies and seeking some recognition of approval from those whose opinion matter most to her, her family. In an almost juxtaposed contrast to previous scenes, and one of the few sessions outside the New York Vogue offices, we are privy to Wintour’s interaction with her daughter. Wintour relinquishes some control and opinion about the magazine in a loving but futile attempt to engage her daughter, who she hopes will her footsteps into fashion, with her career (and ultimately a part of her life). But with her daughter viewing her career a touch pretentious, you feel a little sympathy for Wintour, and as the sibling with the least earnest career, you begin to understand why she is the woman that she is; she is the noir sheep of the family.

Apart from Wintour and Grace, Cutler grants some insight into Vogue’s other projects such as American designer and rising talent Thakoon Panichgul; the sheer ego of photographer Mario Testino, who, commissioned to photograph the center piece for the September issue, in short, makes a harsh of his assignment causing panic mode at Vogue HQ; while editor-at-large, no pun intended, Andre Leon Talley, provides the comedy relief in between scenes – someone should consider doing a documentary on him! If anything is learnt from this film, it is this: Wintour may be the head of Vogue, but Grace is artistic talent and neck that ensures the head’s movement, and it is through her interaction with the documentary that the artistry, beauty and craftsmanship – attributes often overlooked due to the commerce and celebrity attached to fashion, recognizes and validates fashion as art. During the screening, when Grace receives the images for 1920s flipper shoot, just about everyone gasped with approval; at this point fashion ceased to be merely pretentious. The September Issue does not require a PhD in fashion to watch and understand it; this isn’t just a commentary on fashion, it is about culture, celebrity, money and art, and thoroughly engaging.

For those expecting a real-life Ugly Betty, you will be disappointed. Wintour is far from being Wilhelmina Slater and there is no assistant as badly dressed as Betty, and the big difference, these people work, and they work HARD. If anything, this documentary asks the apathetic towards to the fashion industry set aside our preconceptions about fashion, whether or not these preconceptions are justified, and recognize that these people work really hard for what they are extremely passionate about and, because of that, who are we to judge their profession as pointless. After all, there are many professions that are equally insignificant to society, but we don’t criticize – many we in fact laud, as much as we do fashion. Cutler’s film doesn’t go in with the intention to justify the fashion industry, but, through Grace, makes the case for it.