Wintour of Content

This season, the first date you note down in your Smythson Fashion Diary should be a viewing of The September Issue.

This ground-breaking documentary - never before has Anna Wintour, quite simply the most powerful and revered woman working in fashion today, allowed a camera crew into her offices - sees the Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue giving respected filmmaker R.J. Cutler full access to the inner workings of the magazine's most important issue of the year.

Vogue's September issue has weighed in at over four pounds (in 2007), and reaches an audience of 13 million. The magazine has a greater influence over the international fashion industry than any other publication of its genre.

If you loved Robert Altman's Prêt-à-Porter (1995), and felt that The Devil Wears Prada (2006) was a saccharine version of what it really takes to work in the fashion world, then you will love The September Issue, which takes its viewers behind the scenes of this $300-billion dollar business, which can at times be arduous and emotionally draining.

Check out the trailer here:


Anna Wintour's trademark hairstyle and perma-sunglasses make her an unforgettable and easily recognisable fashion figure, and her headline nickname "Nuclear Winter" may be a good play on words, but all those who know her respect a priceless perfectionist streak.

She is particularly reputed for discovering - and launching the international careers of - new talent.

"People constantly make the mistake of comparing London with New York, Milan and Paris and that's not what it's about. London has its own fashion identity. You come to London to find the next Alexander McQueen or John Galliano," Wintour once said.