Confirmed
for BBC Two on 8 September at 9pm to 10pm
For the first time
in British Vogue’s 100 year history it has allowed TV cameras to
film behind closed doors, granting documentary maker Richard Macer
unprecedented access to the UK’s style bible, its cover stars,
designers, and those who run it, as the magazine prepares to
celebrate its centenary.
This candid two-part
documentary series uncovers the world of high fashion like never
before, giving viewers a fascinating insight into an ever-changing
industry. Over nine months, Macer gives us his personal observations
as he witnesses how the magazine is put together - from the catwalk
shows to front cover shoots.
Fresh from the
September 2015 shows, we meet Alexandra Shulman, Editor-In-Chief for
the past 24 years. Macer follows Shulman and several of the
magazine’s creative heads, including Fashion Director Lucinda
Chambers, who has worked there for 36 years, Creative Director Jamie
Perlman, and Editor-at-large Fiona Golfar.
Gaining access to
shoots with some of fashion’s most iconic figures - Edie Campbell,
Mario Testino and Kate Moss, the face of more British Vogue covers
than anyone else - Macer soon discovers that neither photographers
nor models are particularly comfortable with his camera.
In a significant
year for the magazine, with a raft of special events and a bumper
centenary issue, the films observe a world not just intent of
celebrating the glories of the past, but also facing up to the
challenges of an uncertain future. With Instagram and other social
media starting to challenge the magazine’s exalted position, can
Shulman keep it on top?
New
BBC2 Vogue documentary is absolutely fabulous
Absolutely
Fashion: Inside British Vogue offers a Gucci-clad glimpse into daily
life at the magazine
Morwenna Ferrier
Friday 2 September 2016 17.00
BST
What do the women at
Vogue wear? That’s all anyone really wants to know – or, at
least, that’s why you’ll be watching, hawk-eyed, throughout a new
BBC series about the magazine, Absolutely Fashion: Inside British
Vogue. It’s been shot by seasoned director Richard Macer, who
observes the magazine’s daily life over nine months with a keen eye
and a dry sense of humour, hence the title. It will show what Vogue
wears, and what Vogue eats.
Naturally, the
office landscape features many clothes and little in the way of food.
Rails of Victoria Beckham and padded jackets and Gucci sit alongside
all the takeaway coffees (so many!) which appear at desks (white
Formica, cluttered with binders, pens and Macs) or on the frow at the
fashion shows. Much of the action takes place outside of the office
because the fashion industry is a proactive one and as for the
coffee, well you need to do something with your hands when a show is
delayed by traffic – a phenomenon well documented by Macer – and
what with the smoking ban and all ...
Regrettably, there
is no sign of Vogue’s fabled “snack table”. Possibly because
it’s empty, or doesn’t actually exist. An early cameo from a
nectarine (or peach, we’re down to the stone by the time filming
starts) blindsides us. Fiona Golfar, editor-at-large, friend to the
stars, and the woman who procures the big names, nibbles it very
slowly, with the caution of an animal emerging from hibernation. Then
we’re back to the coffee.
For the most part,
the Vogue style is unfettered. Of course it is – they’re being
filmed – and the glamour moves in hierarchical fashion. The
editor-in-chief, Alexandra Shulman, moves between brights and darks,
a multicoloured striped Gucci jumper (Alexa Chung owns the same) one
day, oatmeal cashmere and Gola trainers another. Fashion director
Lucinda Chambers is flightier with her style: a lot of Marni, Jil
Sander and massive earrings. If you’ve seen the notorious/acclaimed
film about US Vogue, The September Issue, where the fashion director,
Grace Coddington, stole the show from US editor Anna Wintour, it’s
hard not to escape the feeling that Chambers has been cast in the
Coddington role here.
Meanwhile, Sarah
Harris, fashion features director and rising star of Vogue who let
her hair go grey, is more open, giving us a tour of her wardrobe in
the second episode. Millions of pairs of jeans. Céline and Manolo
Blahnik shoes. Ditto Julia Hobbs, fashion news editor. Her most
expensive item? She leans in: “My Prada. Red. Shearling. Coat.”
It cost as much as a secondhand Mini. Jaime Perlman, the creative
director and breakout star, is far more cool. She talks back to
Shulman, wears an exaggerated eyeliner flick, and dresses for herself
rather than the cameras. Note the Chloé tracksuit top in the second
episode: one of the most discussed pieces of last season. Otherwise
the looks are familiar ones: Bardot tops, Breton tops, printed
blouses, smart shirts (mainly worn by Shulman’s “gatekeeper”
PAs). Take note: there are few Stan Smiths, a staple of other fashion
offices.
Shulman dresses like
a woman in charge without the bizarre mythology of her US
counterpart. Wintour herself appears briefly, and is filmed putting
her sunglasses on before being interviewed. Inside. As Macer notes,
“appearances can be deceiving” at Vogue. And while it is possible
that the Devil might wear Prada, she only does if she can get from A
to B in it.
• Absolutely
Fashion: Inside British Vogue starts on BBC2 on 8 September at 9pm
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