Double Vision: Passion, Fashion, and The September Issue
“September is the January in fashion.” Candy Pratts Price, Executive Fashion Director, Vogue Magazine.
R. J. Cutler’s 2009 documentary, The September Issue, a look at the arduous process of compiling Vogue magazine’s biggest edition of the year, was initially promoted as a profile of its Editor In Chief, Anna Wintour (left), but ended up shedding more light on Creative Director, Grace Coddington, resulting in her becoming the film’s most fascinating star.
Coddington’s free-spirited, yet focused passion versus Wintour’s structured, and equally focused, determination made for a compelling dichotomy. Even their hairstyles and overall fashion sense speak volumes: Wintour dons her signature bob, classic and conservative, a strand rarely out of place, while Coddington (below) rocks thick, flowing, rock-star-style red hair. Ironically, Wintour, often stern, tends to exude personality through attire that embraces prints and color, while Coddington, like the cool bohemian aunt in your family, is frequently draped in black, almost choosing to pull focus from what’s on her person to what’s on her pages.
Coddington fights to get her work into the magazine, but it repeatedly gets put to the side, as Wintour edits, then ultimately decides what fashion spreads will make it into the issue. As Coddington senses her spreads are on the chopping block, she can’t hide the defeat on her face, as she sits at her desk. She updates the documentary crew about her spreads’ seemingly limited lifespan: “They took two more out and there’s question marks on two more, so it’s been whittled down… and I’m furious,” she calmly discloses. After a somber pause, she reveals with a brief nervous chuckle: “And it’s very hard to go on to the next thing.”
Later, a trip to Paris reignites the inner fire that looked to be extinguished. In a film full of flash and fashion, and pretty pictures, it’s this section that shows the inner beauty, particularly as Coddington overlooks the gardens at Versailles, an inspiring perspective emerges: “You have to go charging ahead, you can’t stay behind.”
And isn’t that what fashion, and life, is all about. The September Issue is a glimpse into the glamour, but more so it’s in-depth insight into the relentless passion it takes to create, and the frustration that can happen along the (run)way.
The September Issue cinematographer: Robert Richman.
A Big Fan of Fran
Direct and decisive, Fran Lebowitz (author of Metropolitan Life; Social Studies; writer for Interview and Mademoiselle magazines) has offered up her observations and opinions about life, and life in New York, since the 1970s. In Martin Scorsese’s 2021 seven-part Netflix docs-series, “Pretend It’s a City,” Lebowitz goes from putting her perspective down on pen and paper (literally, as she doesn’t own a computer, a cell phone, or an electronic tablet) to conversing across a table with Scorsese about Times Square, public transportation, her lifelong passion, and strict reverence, for books, and much more. And in doing so, Lebowitz delivers something epiphanic in nearly every 30-minute episode (her thoughts on the basketball legend, Michael Jordan springs to mind, for starters).
When the end credits appear, there’s a desire for more Fran; likely Scorsese felt the same way, squeezing in one more sharp sentiment from the woman of the half-hour during the credits. Wishing for a sequel, Mr. Scorsese, “Pretend It’s Still a City.”
Bundle Up: Four Films for Fall
For many of us, skies are still blue and temps are still warm. So it may be hard to get into fall-season feels. But before you know it, nature’s A/C will kick in, and we’ll find ourselves wanting to bundle up under a throw, and get all comfy, cozy, and ready to watch a fall-season flick. Here are four films that are the motion-picture equivalent of a great big hug, ones that make you feel warm, not like on a summer day, but in a warm and fuzzy kind of way:
Screen Time
The 1998 Nora Ephron film, You’ve Got Mail delivers fall-season vibes big time: Tom Hanks; Meg Ryan; a witty rom-com script; New York in the fall (“makes me wanna buy school supplies”); a heartwarming soundtrack; the unforgettable Parker “I’m having my eyes lasered” Posey. Back then, it was dial-up email, now it’s Wi-Fi, social media, and sliding into someone’s DMs that can create love connections. Classic cinematic themes of opposite attract, the importance of internal beauty, and a tireless faith (fate) in love make this a fall-season film essential.
“I didn’t know who you were with.”
Right from the opening credits, which glides the viewer into a beautiful apartment, drapes flapping in the cool breeze, to a buffet table of savory selections, this film is the epitome of cozy cinema.
Come on in!
And remember, “that caviar is a garnish!”
“You’re taking all the caviar?!”
Change of Heart
Nine years prior to You’ve Got Mail, there was Rob Reiner’s When Harry Met Sally… The Nora Ephron-penned screenplay gave new life to the romantic comedy, allowing the viewer to watch the relationship between a man and a woman, the former who believes men and women can’t be friends, develop into just that, and eventually something more. Like summer turning into fall, the film is all about transition: each goes through a major breakup (Harry with Helen, Sally with Joe); the passage of time, complete with changes in fashion and hairstyles; and most significantly, time, and life lessons, cultivate a slightly more mature Harry, and a slightly less persnickety Sally. No one is completely transformed, but each undergoes a change of heart, entertaining the notion of letting someone in, not just someone new, but someone drastically different.
During the scene that has Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) walking through the park, Sally sharing details (or lack thereof) of a longstanding sexual fantasy, the cinematographer, Barry Sonnenfeld captures the various orange hues and verdant shades of green in the trees. Just as the colors of the leaves begin to change, a natural visual indicator of autumn’s arrival, a shift begins for Harry and Sally. Sharing of a sexual fantasy is reserved for a more intimate bond, but here it’s shared in the context of a budding, once highly unlikely, friendship.
“Well sometimes I vary it a little.”
In another scene, Sally, in a warm and toasty red turtleneck, confides in Harry about why she and Joe broke up. The “I spy a family” monologue is Ephron prose at its best. Sally mentions at the start of her story how she and Joe “wanted exactly the same thing.” But by the end of the story, they reach a crossroads, their “wants” become “needs”; it’s another change of heart, but it’s the type that divides people apart, instead of drawing them together.
“And I started to cry.”
As the film reaches its climax, not of the iconic deli-scene kind, it’s no surprise that it takes place on New Year’s Eve, the ultimate time of the year that signifies transition. Ephron writes another heartfelt monologue, this time Harry expressing an epiphany: “… When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” I’ll have what he’s having.
“I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich.”
Shue In
This next movie may not immediately conjure up images of autumn, or New York in the fall, but Chris Columbus’ Adventures in Babysitting has that fall-season state of mind. The 1987 comedy is set partially in the Chicago suburbs, and Columbus once again captures crisp, upper-middle-class living, suddenly turned upside down (a theme he would continue to explore in 1990’s Home Alone and 1994’s Mrs. Doubtfire).
Elisabeth Shue stars as Chris Parker, a suburban teen turned reluctant babysitter. Chris and the trio of kids now in her care are forced to leave the sheltered confines of suburban life, and head into the big, bad city to pick up Chris’ friend, Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller), who’s stuck in a downtown bus station. En route, everything that could possibly go wrong, does, and Chris must tap into her highly underdeveloped street smarts.
Shue’s Chris Parker is the anti-Ferris, an underrated heroine of the ‘80s teen-comedy genre.
All the while, Chris tries to stay cool, and keeps warm, wearing gloves, a multicolored striped scarf, and a long brown coat that she inherited from her grandfather. A gold heart-shaped brooch rounds out the look; all are style cues indicative of Chris’ inherent maturity, and capability, well beyond her years. By film’s end, the character of Chris becomes the anti-Ferris, an underrated heroine of the ‘80s teen-comedy genre. Shue is lovable, relatable, and completely convincing in the role as the “every girl” in extraordinary circumstances.
The adventure begins.
And we can’t forget Thor-obsessed Sarah (Maia Brewton), the coolest tyke on roller skates.
“You want some orange?”
Mama Drama
Chris Columbus’ films showing the family structure in disarray still managed to have a comedic tone; Mrs. Doubtfire the prime example of this, as it tackled divorce, and what happens when a parent is replaced by someone who not only fills the void, but seemingly fills the position better. In 1998’s Stepmom, Columbus continued with the theme of divorce and parental replacement, but added more turmoil and tears.
Susan Sarandon’s Jackie Harrison is co-parenting two children with ex-husband, Luke (Ed Harris) and his new girlfriend, Isabel (Julia Roberts). Jackie and Isabel are at odds, with one of their wars of words taking place on a fall-leaf-covered battlefield, a fitting environment for Jackie to reveal her cancer diagnosis to Isabel.
“You guessed the wrong secret.”
Behind Isabel, the trees are alive and green, but cut to Jackie, and she almost blends into a background of fallen orange and yellow leaves, and somber earth tones. It’s after this exchange that their relationship softens, temporarily, and for the moment the tears dry, with death at one point even seen as comic relief. A Thanksgiving-themed school play features Jackie’s son, Ben (Liam Aiken) as a flying turkey (on wires) that is shot by prop bows and arrows, and muskets. A horrified Isabel asks Jackie: “Is he dead?” to which an unfazed Jackie replies: “Yeah, they killed him, but he does it so great!”
“Are you dying?”
The story continues through the fall, and into winter, culminating in the emotional “And you can have their future” scene, the beautiful midnight horse ride, and finally, a warmhearted Christmas morning, with Ben, a budding magician, receiving a gold cage with a white dove as a surprise gift; the dove also serving as a symbol of peace, the newest member of the Harrison family.
“Not today!”
So when that autumn chill begins to fill the air, get comfy on the couch with one, or all four, of these fall-inspired flicks. Which one will you bundle up with first?
Pop Playlist: Kylie Minogue: In Your Eyes (Live in New York)
As some of you may already know, Kylie Minogue brings a smile to my face, and if my ears could smile, they'd beam too. One of the best songs from the iconic Fever album is “In Your Eyes.” She’s performed this signature track on many tours, but the one recorded in 2009 at the Hammerstein Ballroom during her For You, For Me tour, and for the subsequent audio release, Kylie: Live in New York, is a fave. Let’s take a look (and listen) back to this live track:
Pop royalty in most other parts of the globe, the legendary Australian performer never before launched a tour specifically through North America. After her Kylie X 2008 tour, she felt it was (finally) time to alleviate the longing that filled millions of fans (including her devoted gay following) who, up until that point, were only able to see the dynamic dynamo on DVD.
In a thoughtful gesture, Kylie and her team, led by her creative director William Baker, launched For You, For Me with the “mashup” in mind—part X tour (complete with X-tour musicians, backing vocalists and most of the dancers), part Showgirl 2005 and 2006 tours. This provided the chance to see a version, albeit a smaller-scale version, of the large concert spectacle, for which she is known. I had the pleasure of seeing Kylie for the first time on this tour, during a stop at the Fox Theater in Oakland, CA in Sept. 2009.*
This X-tour arrangement of “In Your Eyes” is heavy on bass-synth and bass guitar, and it sounds amazing. The New-York recording captures the crowd’s command of the lyrics (which was also displayed opening night in Oakland and probably every stop thereafter), proving her visit to the U.S. was not a waste, and that for the previous 8 years, copies of Fever were definitely being played in America. Kylie finishes big by confidently holding a high note at the end of the lyric, “I don’t feel like coming down.” As you can hear in the clip below, everyone in the audience seems to concur.
*Both photos courtesy of Rob Miller.
Blunt Answers
The latest to reveal responses to Vogue’s insightful “73 Questions,” the delightfully charming, and seriously funny, Emily Blunt returns to the halls of a fashion publication. The actress, whose breakout performance as the snotty, and stressed-out, fashion-magazine assistant, Emily in The Devil Wears Prada, makes a series of references to the film as she walks through the magazine’s New York office:
Emily stating her Starbucks is “a bit cold.” Editor-in-Chief, Miranda (the aforementioned Devil) had a preference for “Starbucks…hot Starbucks.”
“… They’re both so different.” In the film, another assistant holds up two seemingly identical belts for Miranda, and states that they’re both so different, to which Andrea, the fish-out-of water protagonist, scoffs in disbelief.
Seated young woman in the background: Takes on the Andrea role from the belt scene.
Stanley Tucci played Miranda’s right-hand man in the film.
Cerulean: The blue hue that Miranda references in the belt scene.
“That’s all.” Miranda’s frequent, infamously dismissive conclusion to her list of demands, is stated here by Anna Wintour, on whom Miranda is allegedly based.
“Bore someone else with your questions.” Another of Miranda’s dismissive statements in response to one of Andrea’s reasonable inquiries.
By segment’s end, wishing for number 74 from the Mary Poppins actress whose refined voice is as smooth as satin.
Pop Playlist: Kylie Minogue: “I Should Be So Lucky” (Live in New York)
In 2009, Kylie Minogue launched her For You, For Me tour, exclusively visiting parts of North America as a labor of love and appreciation for loyal fans. An audio recording of the Hammerstein Ballroom stop in New York was released, and featured the torch-inspired version of 1987’s “I Should Be So Lucky.” This ballad incarnation first appeared during her Intimate and Live tour in 1998, and allows the Stock, Aitken and Waterman-penned hit to showcase the heartbreak of unrequited love, and the versatility of Minogue as pop star and jazz chanteuse.
Cozy Cinema: “You’ve Got Mail” Still Delivers
Open Your Heart
The 1998 Nora Ephron film is the epitome of cozy cinema. There’s the magic of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, whose characters are involved in an online romance amid an offline rivalry.
Warner Bros.
There’s also scene-stealing Parker “I’m having my eyes lasered” Posey, the sunny romantic-comedy genre, witty script, and a crisp New York in the Fall. Although it could be seen as somewhat dated, for one of its supporting characters is AOL’s “You’ve Got Mail” announcement, the film still holds true today, as contemporary social-media outlets can also serve as an option for (love) connection, yet now more Wi-Fi than dial-up. Timeless themes of opposites attract, internal beauty as crucial component, and a faith (and fate) in love (“the dream of someone else”) make this film a feel-good essential.
Joe (Tom Hanks) has an epiphany he’s stuck in more places than just an elevator:
Pop Playlist: Madonna: “Vogue”
Arguably, Madonna’s 1990 hit, “Vogue” is her signature song, one that will always come up in conversation when discussing the icon’s contribution to pop (music) culture. With its theme of dance floor as place to escape life’s “heartache,” Madonna and co-writer Shep Pettibone paint a scene where fantasy, through imaginative (fashion-pose) voguing, serves as inspirational recharge for one’s own reality, a space that gives “new life.”
The documentarian, Jennie Livingston had already been exploring similar themes in the New York gay underground of competitive fashion-fantasy balls and voguing “battles” years earlier, with her groundbreaking film, Paris Is Burning. Yet Madonna was the one to bring elements from this world into mainstream visibility (“Life’s a ball”). While the powerful documentary delves into far grittier territory, “Vogue” focuses on the glitzier aspects of old-Hollywood glamour. It becomes more than just a catchy dance song or stylish video, it’s indicative of how a savvy Madonna took something subculture and crafted it into one of her most mainstream successes, in turn, also influencing the pop-culture lexicon, the word not just a noun anymore or the name of a magazine, but now a familiar action verb.
David Fincher’s masterpiece:
A clip from Paris Is Burning, with the legendary Willi Ninja. Take note at 1:15 - 1:25, which features a young Jose Gutierez, who a few years later would appear in the video for “Vogue” and be a part of Madonna’s “Blond Ambition World Tour.”
Still Life: Bill Cunningham 1929 - 2016
This weekend the photographer Bill Cunningham passed away from complications due to a stroke. The New York Times fashion photographer edited two columns—On the Street and Evening Hours. Cunningham was on the other side of the lens at one point in his life as the subject of an incredibly moving documentary entitled Bill Cunningham New York.
Bill was often on the corner of 57th and 5th, taking photographs of the many eclectic styles worn by New Yorkers. Donning his signature blue smock, plain pants and sensible shoes, Bill was a hawk of an observer, supremely focused on his strutting prey. He quickly snapped pictures of unique individuals sauntering through the concrete jungle. At the end of an expedition, he’d unlock his bicycle and ride back to The Times to edit the On the Street layout, which showcased style trends. Bill also worked nights as an event photographer covering all-things high society, which was compiled into the Evening Hours spread.
Charming and ironic, the film allowed the viewer to see a man living an incredibly simple life amid all the flash of New York. Here’s a man who sometimes wore a black poncho and instead of throwing it away when there was a rip in it, he’d repair it and say, “…a little tape and we’re back in business.”
Bill Cunningham New York is a touching reminder that a simple, honest life can be a content, rich life, filled with passion for career, some good friends, and respect from others. Bill’s smile was full from ear to ear and was seen a lot throughout the film, especially at his 80th birthday party. He also poignantly reminded us on his trip to Paris of the old adage: “He who seeks beauty will find it.” And he made that search his life, however with that, seemingly came certain sacrifices, as captured in a emotionally raw scene between the film’s director, off camera, and Cunningham, sitting in front of his many filing cabinets. The subjects of romance, religion, and regret briefly revealed a crack in the armor, and like that rip in the pancho, it’s Cunningham’s smile that metaphorically served as the tape that got him back in business, always moving—or in his case—biking forward.
Cunningham was 87.
Central Park Best: Sheryl Crow: “If It Makes You Happy” (Live)
Rockers have lots of stories to tell. Sheryl Crow is no exception. Her song, “If It Makes You Happy” starts with the line: “I belong/A long way from here.” If the Southern-inspired whiskey-soaked opening guitar riff and soulfully smooth bass chords—that roll in at just the right time—don’t pull you in… that line will.
This version, from Crow’s 1999 Live in Central Park, features The Pretenders’ lead singer, Chrissie Hynde—a woman presumably with lots of stories to tell as well: life on the road; death of a close colleague; love with a fellow musician, themes to which Crow can also relate. The singers—who seemingly have seen it all, heard it all, played it all—trade verses, with Hynde’s signature style fitting in wonderfully.
Crow’s lyrics can often leave you scratching your head (“Bring you comics in bed/Scrape the mold off the bread/And serve you French Toast again”), yet it’s how the tale is told, the drowsy buildup offset by explosive high points at the chorus—and the simplicity of that infectious chorus—that bring about universal understanding.
We don’t know how this story concludes, yet the return of that whiskey-soaked guitar riff signifies a satisfying, albeit melancholic, close to the chapter.