The September Issue

>>Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

• R.J. Cutler, the documentarian who directed The September Issue, is working on a fashion film based on Fabulous Nobodies, the chronicle of an '80s Manhattan nightclub hostess written by former Vogue Australia Editor-in-Chief Lee Tulloch. The screenplay is ready, and Cutler's goal is to start filming by this Fall — now all he needs is a "stylish twentysomething actress for the lead role" and he'll be set. [The Cut]
• Fashion designer Victoria Beckham debuted a new haircut this week, chopping off her long locks in favor of a just-below-the-shoulder-length cut. Beckham tweeted a picture of her freshly shorn hair on the floor of her salon this weekend with the message "Chopped it off!" and paparazzi captured her summery new 'do shortly thereafter. [Stylelist]
• Filming has begun on the new Sex and the City prequel show The Carrie Diaries, and AnnaSophia Robb — the actress playing young Carrie Bradshaw — has been spotted toting around a paint-splattered handbag emblazoned with her character's name. One of the first episodes is said to include a shopping trip to Century 21. The show will air on the CW this Fall. [The Fashion Spot]

We're not usually advocates of sitting at home on a Saturday night, but this week there's good reason to trade in your girls' night out for a movie night in. For the first time ever The September Issue is airing on TV. That means you can relive all of the fashion, drama, and amazing insider access to the making of Vogue's high-profile September issue with Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, and André Leon Talley. Be sure to tune in tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on A&E and enjoy the show!

Yes, we are huge fans of Edward Enninful's work with photographers like Steven Meisel and Craig McDean, but our favorite Enninful moment is a short scene during The September Issue when the superstar stylist claims (giant Jamba Juice in hand) he wants to kill himself after an upsetting meeting with Anna Wintour. Wintour had just responded to his latest work for the magazine by asking, "Where is the glamour? I mean, please, it's Vogue."

Despite (or because of) her sharp critiques, Enninful credits Wintour with introducing him to a lighter side of fashion. In a recent interview with One Management's Christopher Michael for Models.com, he says: "With Anna, I learned that fashion can be fun and it didn’t have to be dark, fashion could be all these things and still have an edge, and still be a business.”

The model-obsessed stylist, who has been working in the industry since his days at i-D in the late 1980s, also weighed in on fashion's current fixation on girls with curves: "I’m all up for healthy beautiful women, you know. Cindy, Naomi…they were 8’s, 10’s … They were amazing women, they were not stick thin insects. So, for me I hope this carries on and I know that most magazines are really happy that we now have just beautiful women. It’s definitely a step in the right direction."

Source: Getty

If you feel like bumming around this week, I have the perfect couch potato companion: new DVD releases! Here are my three picks, but Sorority Row and Everybody's Fine also hit shelves today if you want to add them to your queue.

The Informant!

Part crime caper, part silly comedy, The Informant! stars Matt Damon as the bumbling vice president of a major agricultural corporation who goes undercover with the FBI to expose the company's shady price-fixing. Damon's mustache and his inner ramblings are good for laughs — and he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance — but I was left scratching my head over the jumbled plot towards the middle of the movie. Maybe it'd be easier to follow a second time around?

Extras include deleted scenes.

77%

The September Issue

Giving us an insider look into the secret world of Vogue, The September Issue is full of flashbulbs, celebrities, gorgeous gowns, and (somewhat surprisingly), heart. Yes, we get to see the infamous Anna Wintour without her trademark glasses, but I admittedly fell even more in love with her coworker, friend, and nemesis Grace Coddington. The film is style and substance – and a great watch for the weekend.

Extras include 90 minutes of extra footage, including Wintour putting together the high profile Met Ball.

84%

One more release when you read more

The September Issue DVD will be coming to a store near you on Feb. 23, and is filled with juicy never-before-seen footage — two extra discs, to be exact. Like what, you might ask? How about 90 minutes of deleted scenes, commentary from director R.J. Cutler, and photo galleries? And, if you buy it at Barnes & Noble, you'll receive an exclusive mini-documentary about the illustrious Met Gala. Amazing. While we eagerly await Tuesday, feast your fashion eyes on our exclusive clip!

For all you NYC gals, check out a special discussion about The September Issue led by André Leon Talley, Grace Coddington — love her — and director R.J. Cutler, along with other Vogue editors featured in the film. Go to the Union Square Barnes & Noble in Manhattan on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. Admission is free; believe me, you don't want to miss this.

Vogue creative director and star of The September Issue, Grace Coddington, is getting used to all the public attention she's received since the film's release, telling the Times UK that at least five strangers approach her on the subway every morning. “It’s driving me nuts, actually,” she says. “And I’m loving it.”

Coddington famously ignored director R.J. Cutler's cameras when they arrived on the 12th floor of 4 Times Square to film the Vogue documentary, telling Anna Wintour either the crew leaves or she would. Eventually Cutler won the genius redhead over (through a meeting with his cinematographer) and secured key footage of the power struggle and mutual admiration between Wintour and Coddington from which the film pulls its most compelling story.

Now Cutler and Coddington are again working together on a film based loosely on "The Catwalk Cats" a book penned and illustrated by Coddington. “It’s a bit of a battle, actually,” she says of the collaboration. “I’m fighting for it not to turn into some Disney thing.” Somehow we think she'll get her way.

Source: Getty