For eight months, from January to August of 2007, I filmed with Anna Wintour and her team at 'Vogue' as they created the September 2007 issue of the magazine.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I first thought about doing a project about Anna Wintour and 'Vogue' when I read an article in 'New York Magazine' about the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute Ball, the annual fundraising gala that Anna oversees. It created such a fascinating portrait that I couldn't help but be compelled.
Who doesn't want to shoot for 'Vogue?' I remember updating my Facebook status to say 'Doing 'Vogue' today', it was so exciting. I thought it would be really intimidating, and I don't like photoshoots, but that was the most relaxed one I've done.
I started getting emails from Anna Wintour inviting me to her dinners. It was just surreal.
They said this is Vanity Fair, and I said, Oh, I already take the magazine. They said Annie Leibovitz wants to take your picture and I thought, How nice!
Sometimes I wish that Anna Wintour didn't know I existed.
Anna Wintour is the most powerful woman in the global fashion industry, the first lady of fashion. She's a politician; I'm a stylist. They are two very different jobs.
The whole process of being one of the 10 finalists for the 'Vogue' Fashion Fund award has to be my biggest achievement to date. Meeting Anna Wintour, Diane von Furstenberg, etc., has been an amazing experience that even now gives me goose bumps when I think about it.
'The September Issue' is really a film about Anna Wintour's relationship with long time 'Vogue' Creative Director Grace Coddington. The two of them have been working together for two decades, and the extraordinary symbiosis between them has left an indelible mark on the fashion industry.
Who will remember Anna Wintour in the history of fashion? No one.
Anna Wintour doesn't deal with pictures; she is just doing PR and business, and she scares everybody.