All language subtitles for In Vogue Edito

[ music playing ]

[ camera clicking ]

Anna Wintour:
We were thinking
very long and hard

about what to do about
our anniversary issue.

And I have made a very big
thing over the years

of not celebrating
anniversaries,

always making the point
that one should look forward

rather than backwards.

The whole way that we look
at fashion today

has shifted
so dramatically.

There was a sense certainly
when I first came to "Vogue"

that people were a little bit
embarrassed by it.

Fashion
is so universal now.

It has sort of been
embraced by everybody.

But, to me, that's what's
so interesting about fashion,

is that fashion
is a reflection
of our times.

Fashion can tell you
everything that's going on
in the world

with a strong
fashion image.

And the people
responsible

for the fashion
images in "Vogue"
are the fashion editors.

They have always been
our secret weapon.

So it seemed to me that
we could celebrate "Vogue,"

celebrate the history
of women,

and also
at the same time

celebrate
these great editors.

They're really the producers,
the directors,

the psychiatrists,
the writers.

They are really
the people that produce
these great, famous images

that "Vogue" has
such a rich history of.

Beautiful.

[ music playing ]

Narrator:
When you're enjoying
your favorite magazine,

you ever wonder
what went into its making?

Come behind the scenes.

This is a meeting
of the editorial staff
to plan the new issue.

What does
a fashion editor do?

Well, a fashion editor, uh...

is really...

Alors,
a fashion editor

do a lot of work,
meaning...

Not a lot.
[ laughs ]

A fashion editor
doesn't do very much.

Ahem.

Let me just think
about this.

If you don't know now,
I guess you never will.

Haven't you spoken
to everybody?

I didn't even know
that they existed.

I can't answer
that question.

It would take
too long.

Uh, it's about
making an image.

But how we get there

is almost impossible
to explain.

Essentially, what you're
doing is collaborating

with a photographer
to create an image

that reflects the fashion
you're trying to capture

and also hold a mirror
up to the zeitgeist
of the moment.

Your memory
of fashion really is

an editor's vision
of fashion through
a captured image.

It's iconic fashion images
that you remember.

Your memory of fashion

really is fashion photography
rather than fashion itself.

They give us access
to another world.

They give us access
to dreams.

Sarah Jessica Parker:
You know, it's like
reading a book

about a life that
you'll never occupy.

But that's the beauty
of being transported.

Well, it makes you dream.

I think when you
read "Vogue,"

it's a big fantasy
every month.

Kidman:
It's our way of living
in a different realm

for a short period
of time.

And how beautiful
is that?

Narrator:
In the studio,
the fashion editor

sees that those ideas
are worked out

in terms of pictures.

Bowles:
It was a more intimate process
half a century ago,

but the fashion editor's role
has remained exactly the same.

Narrator:
The fashion editor

seeing that everything's
just right--

model strikes a pose,

the photographer says,
"Hold it,"

and the camera clicks.

Bowles:
The extraordinary
thing is that

each of the fashion editors
at "Vogue"

has a completely different
take on fashion,

a different
personal aesthetic,

a very different sense
of what they want

a fashion photograph
to say and to express.

Oh, so you haven't
written it?

Okay, okay.
Right, right.

Bowles:
Grace Coddington obviously

is the unassailable
fashion editor

par excellence.

You know, I like
kind of lighting it up

with a pink-colored pant
or something.

Bowles:
She has an extremely
romantic,

sort of poetic vision
in a way.

She likes her stories to have
a narrative thread.

And then there's always
going to be

something sort of magical
about the way it's presented.

Wintour:
She comes from
a very small town in Wales.

Growing up, she used
to adore "Vogue."

I mean, I don't think
that anyone but Grace
can create

the kind of
photography essays
that we do.

Bowles:
She's unrelenting
in the pursuit

of the image
that she wants.

Not a redhead
for nothing.

Coddington:
It was my idea to do
"Alice in Wonderland."

You know, all those
fairy stories

are quite dark,
actually.

They're all full
of drugs and darkness
and things like this.

So they're interesting
to illustrate

because it's not
just Walt Disney sweet.

It was Anna's idea
to cast all the designers

as the characters.

Wintour:
It was really
the beginning of a time

when the designers
were starting to become

such superstars
themselves.

Now it's kind of
matter-of-fact

that Marc Jacobs will get
mobbed in the street.

It wasn't like that
back then.

She wanted me to play

the caterpillar
smoking hookah, right?

And I had torn a tendon
in my finger,

so I was like,
"Grace, I just went
through this operation.

Do I really have--"

And she was like,
"Well, there's no other dates

and you've got to do it."

Originally, I said no.

And then I got a call
from Grace.

Then I got a call
from Anna.

You know, you can never
say no to Grace.

Coddington:
We shot it with Natalia,

who's really a favorite
model of mine.

Did my eyes just lit up?
Did you see that?

I'm a big, big fan
of Grace.

Just even watching her work
is fascinating.

Wintour:
It's really like
storyboarding a film.

Grace looked
at every possible book

of different drawings
of "Alice in Wonderland,"

different editions
of "Alice in Wonderland."

Vodianova:
Grace sent me
the books to read

before I did the shoot.

Months of preparation,
of research,

of conversation,

and then I am
the lucky one

who ends up
in the picture.

Coddington:
She's stepping through
the mirror,

and somehow everything
was back to front.

She's stepping through
the mirror this way,

and all the ruffles
and detail was here
and the camera's here.

So she said, "Can we put
this dress on back to front?"

And I said, "No, we can't,
actually. No."

And, you know, I saw
Nicolas Ghesquière,

from Balenciaga,
going slightly pale.

Ghesquière:
I remember Grace
looking at me and said,

"Can you do something?"

And I was like, "Okay.
How long do you give me?"

And she said,
"Half an hour."

I said, "45 minutes?"

And it was
a very fancy dress.

It was very intricate

with all these crazy ruffles
in the back.

We went to the van.

He took it
completely apart

and put all the ruffles
on the other side.

And we shot it.
But-- [ laughs ]

But it was-- oh, my God,
it's back to front.

It was like-- ugh.

Well, it's the mishaps
that make it fun

and brings you
the surprise.

I mean, God forbid
that a shoot would be perfect.

Grace wouldn't have anything
to complain about.

Fashion is such a fairy tale
and it is such a fantasy.

And it is about metamorphosis
and sort of changing yourself

and playing a part
that you want people to see.

Interviewer:
Do you feel that there's
something of a metaphor

about that fairy tale
for the fashion world?

Not really, no.

No, sorry.
You can't lead me there.

No.
[ laughs ]

Wintour:
Back when the magazine
first began,

it was very much
a social magazine

focusing on the women
of society.

Shawn Waldron:
Then, it was all illustration.

It really wasn't until
Condé Nast bought it in 1909

that he changed the focus--
much more on women's fashion.

And he first
introduced photography,

shooting not only
society women,

but fashion as well.

Narrator:
Lee Miller, another
of the magazine's stars,

is busy on
one of her features,

which bring readers
glimpses of what's going on

in foreign lands.

Bowles:
Lee Miller had had
this extraordinary

relationship with "Vogue."

She was one
of the most beloved
models in the magazine.

And eventually, she'd take
photographs herself.

She wasn't
a fashion editor per se,

but her extraordinary career
shows how front and center

women have always been
in shaping the magazine.

Kidman: At one point,
I was going to make a film
about Lee Miller.

She came alive
during the war.

What's actually
tragic about it
is that in that chaos

was when her art form
came to life.

The most shocking image
that I've seen

is the Lee Miller reporting
that came back

when the second
World War ended.

This is the Buchenwald
concentration camp at Weimar.

Bowles:
I guess it was kind of
a brave decision of the editor

to publish
those pictures.

They're certainly not
the sort of images

one expected to see
in a fashion magazine

and was a turning point
in "Vogue's" history.

[ music playing,
crowd cheering ]

It really marked a dramatic
break with the past.

America was a very, very
different place after the war.

Susan Train:
It was just the photographer
and me, and that was all.

No hairdressers,
no makeup people,

no Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
epic production.

There was an outfit
from Balenciaga

that we wanted
to photograph,

and the girl is to run
up the steps

and the scarf is to fly
in the breeze.

Well, the scarf
didn't fly

and the girl was tripping
up and down.

I was desperate.
I didn't know what to do.

So I finally tied
a thread to the scarf

and I ran up the stairs
behind the girl,

waving the scarf
in the breeze.

Bowles:
It really took
Vreeland in the '60s

to shake things up
most dramatically.

Train:
Diana had a very vivid way
of expressing herself.

It was all vibes
and images and--

I mean, girls used to come
out of her office--

"What did she say?"

Vreeland:
I have that reputation
of not being easy.

But naturally,
I expect someone to do
as much work as I do.

Anyone who thinks otherwise
must be insane.

Bowles:
Vreeland expresses
the whole kind of giddy,

liberated, crazy,

"Youthquake" moment
of the '60s.

I wanted to get
where the action was.

Narrator:
What's it like
to fly in a jet?

Train:
Jet planes had just
come into our lives

and Diana decreed
that the December issue

was going to be
an issue of wonders.

Because in the old days,
if you wanted to go to Egypt,

you didn't go
for a weekend;

you went
for several months.

But with the jets,
you could go anyplace.

So the first trip we made
was to India.

And, of course,
India in September,

which was immediately after
the rains, was a sauna bath.

We get to this Hall
of Gods and Heroes,

and they didn't mind at all
that we were climbing
all over--

as long as we did--

the only thing was
you couldn't wear shoes.

Leather, of course.

[ jet engine roaring ]

This is in Istanbul.

I seemed to have spent
a great deal of time
looking for camels.

Or Henry would say,
"What we really need
is a camel."

And, thank God,
over the horizon

would come somebody
leading a camel.

It was brand-new
to show these places.

Nowadays, there's a road up
to the top of this mountain.

But then
it was an adventure.

And on the way down
this terrible mountain,

a little corporal said,
"Are you Peace Corps?"

I say grandly,
"Oh, no, not at all.

We're 'Vogue.'"

Polly Mellen:
We've got to have this jacket.

We've got
to have this jacket.

We've got to have
this sweater.

Mm.

I used to say
I was the spoiled brat

of the fashion world,
and I was.

[ laughs ]

But I worked very hard
and loved it.

Oh, my God!
[ laughs ]

Oh, God, Polly.
I have to say the truth.

Brutal.
It was brutal.

I mean
absolutely brutal.

Bowles:
The fashion department
was just a no-go zone.

I mean, assistants would be
in tears night after night.

Things would be hurled
around the offices.

You know,
Polly herself was

just an extraordinary
powerhouse of pizazz

and she just understood
perfectly

that balance
of fashion photograph--

telling you
about the clothes,

but telling you so much more
at the same time.

When you've been through
the "Polly Mellen school
of sittings,"

you are never
the same again.

Mellen:
It was my first shoot
at "Vogue"

and Mrs. Vreeland said to me
is my passport in order?

"Because we want you to go
to Japan with Dick Avedon."

And I was like, "Oh."

All the other editors
wanted this plum sitting,

and it was given to me,
this new person on the block.

It was called
"The Great Fur Caravan."

I traveled
with 15 trunks.

We were there
for five weeks.

I mean, how fast
are sittings done today?

Three days?

It was the most expensive trip
ever done at "Vogue"

and never
will happen again.

I love this picture.

Our lovely warrior
Veruschka,

I mean,
giving it her all.

I realized from
the other editors

there was some jealousy.

I spoke to Mrs. Vreeland
about it

and Mrs. Vreeland said,
"Polly, who needs friends?

Get on with it."

There's a certain loneliness
to being a fashion editor,

the most important thing
being to bring back
the pictures

that will make
the difference.

I was called into
Mrs. Vreeland's office

and Grace
was standing by.

They embraced me
and clapped.

And I cried.

I am quite
an emotional person.

It was wonderful
storytelling.

Beautiful Avedon pictures.

The clothes,
as wonderful as they were,

never were bought
by stores.

They were just not,
in any sense of the word,

about today.

The reader was changing.

The clothes were changing.

Everything was changing.

And suddenly,
fashion magazines--

nobody seemed to be
buying them.

There's no question I thought
everything we were doing
was excessive.

I was extremely upset
when Mrs. Vreeland left.

And so I talked about
the office "going beige."

I gave the impression,
I think,

now we're dealing
with mediocrity.

Mirabella:
When I became editor,

the whole staff was asked
to come down and meet me.

And I talked about
ease in dressing,

ease in motion.

I had a vision for--
something for a modern woman

in the middle
of the Women's Movement.

Polly Mellen put up
her hand and said,

"Grace, I'm the one person
who doesn't understand

what you're
talking about.

Could you
go through it again?"

Bowles:
Polly intuited immediately

that it was
a very different era

with Grace Mirabella,
who didn't want fantasy.

She wanted fashion stories
that were informational,

that were really useful
to the readers.

Mellen:
What started out
as a fragrance shoot--

and it turned into

a very sexual shoot.

When I would go to market
in the West Indies,

I was always conscious
that the women sat

in a dress pushed down
between their knees.

And when you talk to somebody
like Helmut Newton

about something like that,
he takes it farther.

I mean, is she going to
or has she done it?

Has it happened?
What is the story here?

This is something that "Vogue"
had never shown before.

The woman was always
the object of desire,
you know?

And suddenly, you had
a woman who was clearly
thinking about sex

and had powerful,
lustful thoughts.

And it was
kind of incredible

that that was sort of
captured in a picture.

I mean, this all sounds
so insane to be saying now,

but in the context
of what came before,

it was really radical.

Trouble.

Here comes the trouble.

The famous picture
in the baths.

Bowles:
It was certainly a very,
very unconventional way

of presenting clothes.

Bathhouses in the mid '70s
had so many connotations.

I don't know where to begin,
really, but...

Mellen:
As each girl
came onto the set,

it began to turn into
something very special.

I mean, Deborah took
each girl separately

and explained
what she wanted.

There's a disconnect

from one girl
to the other.

It's not happy.

It's very
thought-provoking.

It's a little surreal.

We got a lot of letters

of people who didn't
like them,

like my own family,

who thought they were
unnecessary and unpleasant

and taking advantage
of women

in a sad situation.

I never saw that.

And I think
that sometimes

you have to take a risk.

My first day at "Vogue,"
I had been living in Paris.

I had my nail polish
done in red

and I had
a little Hermès bag
at the time.

Everybody else was dressed
in pants and flats.

Polly Mellen said to me,
"Where do you think

you're going
dressed like that?

You're going
on a sitting with me

and you're going
to be unpacking what
we call "coffins,"

and you're not going
to be able to run around

with red shoes
and a white crêpe dress.

Go home and change."

When I started at "Vogue,"
it was the real era of
the working woman.

I know that sounds
so archaic now.

Wintour:
In the '70s,
the whole world

started to look
at the American working woman

and what she symbolized--

change in the way
everybody looked at
the role of women.

All eyes really, I think,
switched to the United States

and, because of that,
American "Vogue."

So that was
a huge, huge switch.

Women were coming
to the working place.

Unfortunately,
they were wearing sneakers
with their suits.

I remember French people
were laughing.

It was a caricature
of an American woman
for French people.

Wang:
So we tried
to encourage women

that you can
feminize the suit.

You can still
be stylish.

You don't have to look
like a man.

So I ended up doing
a lot of suits.

You know, you have
to think a lot

to restyle a suit
constantly.

There was a Doberman
brought in

in this series
to tug on the dress.

Well, he actually started
to want to bite Christie.

This was not Photoshopped.

In those days,
there was no such thing.

The trainer kept
feeding him steak,

huge amounts of steak
to the dog.

And then he grabbed the dress
and ripped it to shreds.

Ripped Geoffrey Beene's
heather grey jersey--

see, I still remember--
to shreds.

[ laughs ]
That's always been
the attitude

of "Vogue's"
sittings editors--

anything or everything
for the picture.

Jade Hobson:
Our working woman

didn't look like any man
in a grey flannel suit.

It was anything
but boring.

I used to wear
little binoculars

so I could
check details--

you know,
what the photographer
was seeing.

I have a pair
around my neck here.

And I think I had
a camera, too.

Before I went to "Vogue,"
I loved taking photographs.

And, you know, as soon
as I started working
with the greats,

that was the end
of that career.

This was a shoot
with Chris von Wangenheim

and Patti Hansen.

We kind of grew up together,
Patti and I.

Patti was our model of choice,
I would say.

Everybody loved Patti.

Bowles:
Patti Hansen
was the embodiment

of what the magazine
was all about--

the great gleaming
white teeth, blonde-haired,

all-American, sporty,
attainable beauty.

She was the golden girl
next door.

It so happened
that she had just

fallen in love
with Keith Richards

and she decided
to bring him along.

Patti Hansen:
I've never taken
a boyfriend on a trip.

You know, I tell my daughters,
"Don't do that.

You know,
do your job

and keep your
personal life separate."

Here's Patti.

And Keith was
right over here

with his guitar,
strumming,

serenading her

as the shots
were being taken.

Hansen:
And it was romantic
and it was crazy.

Um...

and I wish I had the photos
from that time.

You're going
to show me a shot?

You can just
scroll through.

Oh, my goodness.

[ laughing ]

Oh, my goodness.
I wish I looked like that now.

It could start the romance
all over again.

I mean, they were
so in love.

It was almost
embarrassing.

Mellen:
We were in Los Angeles

and we had already
started the shoot.

We were doing fashion,

just kind of
fashion pictures.

They were okay.

And I said, "Do you have
any special things

that you like?"

And she said,
"I like snakes."

I said,
"You like snakes?"

So we called
an animal place

and they brought
that incredible snake.

I held the snake,

which is quite
an experience.

And Dick said,

"Would you do it
in the nude?"

And she said,
"Yes, sure."

She laid down
and the snake wound
around her body

and up her body
and got to her ear

and kissed her.

And he took the picture

and I had tears
rolling down my cheeks.

I couldn't believe it.

It was magical,
completely magical.

When the snake
kissed her ear

and the tongue
went into her ear,

the shoot was over.

I mean,
we couldn't speak.

It was absolutely
extraordinary.

I wish I hadn't put
that bracelet on,

because I thought it became
kind of a fashion statement.

And I thought the picture
was something else.

I would have liked her
to be completely nude.

Bowles:
This, of course,
was the time of Ronald Reagan

and the Christian right,
so the Adam and Eve reference

couldn't have been
more timely.

But I don't think this is
a Biblical reference.

It's outrageously phallic

and throbbingly sexual,
don't you think?

Yeah, it's not
just about fashion.

It's about culture.

It's about Hollywood
and liaisons.

Bowles:
At the time, of course,

Elizabeth Taylor
was promoting her perfume,

and so she was very committed
to presenting

a very specific image
of herself

encased in
a sort of shellacked,

high Hollywood glamour.

When I spoke to her, I said,
"We really wanted to do you

as you haven't been seen.

Casual,
in sweaters.

And khakis or something
on the beach.

The wind in your hair."

Well, the next day,

several limousines' worth

of Diors, hats,
shoes, bags--

I mean, the total opposite
of what-- of our concept.

I mean, she had
a totally different idea.

Where passion rules,
how weak does reason prove?

You'll see.

And, I mean, a gale wind
could not move her hair.

It was kind of
a nightmare.

For the very last shot,
I said,

"Could we wrap a towel
around your hair

and take you down
to the beach?"

She said, "Okay."

Just before Wayne
was about to shoot,

I grabbed the towel
and pulled it off her hair,

and that's-- I mean,
you can see it in her eyes.

She was so angry.

I mean, I really thought
she was going to punch me.

And screamed,
"How dare you?"

I thought, "Oh, my," you know.
But she looked amazing.

So when she sent me
a signed print,

I was floored.

It ended up being
her favorite shot.

Thank God.
[ laughs ]

Well, my father told me
that's what I should do,

and I was very influenced
by my father, so...

I was very interested

in what I saw
going on in fashion,

which was a high/low
mix of fashion

that was happening
at the time,

that it was not trickling down
from a very particular,

rarified couture
sense of fashion,

that I saw young women
in the street

dressing in a way
that I thought was
influencing the designers.

Fashion was being
influenced by all sorts
of different people

and culture and also
of course, the street.

So I saw more
as a trickle-up

rather than
a trickle-down influence.

When I came to "Vogue,"

that's what I wanted it
to reflect.

Of course it became
a trend, you know?

I was mixing everything
with real things that
you wear every day.

I love the street.

No, no, take another pillow.
Take another pillow.

Man:
Looks good.

No, no.
It doesn't work.

♪ Un, deux, trois,
quatre... ♪

Now make-- no, no, no, no.
Behind on the chair.

Just throw-- bing, bang.

de Dudzeele:
I do the best for the picture.

I work...

[ laughs ]
because I love.

- Is this fine? The feet?
- Man: Feet-- lovely.

The frame looks good,
you look good.

This is what I want to hear.

[ laughter ]

Carlyne. Oh.

Carlyne...

She's--
[ laughs ]

Carlyne's quite something.

Carlyne is more is more.
Layer on the bangles.

You know, this kind of
flamboyant French aristocrat

with a mouth
like a trooper.

de Dudzeele:
I love to mix cheap
and expensive.

I adore this.

This is what you call
the "Cerf style."

I mixed everything.
This is my own salad.

I was doing a sitting, kind of
"Breakfast at Tiffany's."

And I put a big Chanel bag
under the--

in the street,
a lady came and said,

"Mais,she have
her evening dress.

Why you give her
a big bag?"

Well, I said,
"Because it's attitude."

Everything is about
attitude for me.

Wintour:
She was the editor
that had the brilliance

to produce the very first cover
that I ran on "Vogue,"

which was that amazing
Lacroix couture T-shirt

with the embellished
cross on it and a pair
of Guess blue jeans.

You know,
I remember when I've done
the first issue for Anna.

I worked in Paris.

And I said,
"If I put a jean

with this divine T-shirt,
it will be perfect.

It's the street.
You can wear couture
in the streets."

I don't say--
it was not like,

you know, you have
to have the hair done,

the makeup done
to wear couture.

So I put a jean
with this famous
Lacroix T-shirt.

Wintour:
When the cover actually
went off to the printers,

they called the office
and said, "Is it a mistake?"

They couldn't conceive
that this actually could be

a cover
of "Vogue" magazine.

Mais,why is scandale?

It's not a scandaleto put
the couture with the jeans.

I mean, perhaps it was
scandaleuxfor some people;
not for me.

That really took "Vogue"

out of the studio
and the strobe lights

and literally
into the streets

and mixed things up.

Me, I love the street.

I love street.

Adore.
Adore street.

I love the street.

Life is about
mixing the thing

and to be divine
in the street.

Voilà.

This was the idea
of Peter.

He wanted to do
the white shirts.

And you know
I love accessories.

Me, I was in heaven.

So we shot this in LA.
The girls looked divine, divine.

Easiness. Real!

Real.

This can be today.

It's no season.

Style don't have season.

Nothing is démodé
when it's great pieces.

Nothing, nothing,
nothing is démodé.

This picture came back
and went straight to a drawer.

And when Anna arrived,
I think six or eight
months after,

she tell-- "Oh!
I absolutely adore it!

It's divine!
This is what fashion is.

This is the most
modern thing."

I have some dim recollection
of finding it in a drawer.

And I can't remember
why it wouldn't run,

but what I loved
about that picture

is that it just had
so much joy in it.

And looking back,
you saw that picture
as a sort of key moment

when you looked at them
not because of what
they were wearing,

but because
of who they were.

This was the beginning
of a big deal.

Bowles:
Well, Carlyne might not have
invented the supermodels,

but she was shrewd enough
to recognize

the opportunity
that they represented.

The way fashion would become
the stuff of gossip columns,

entertainment news,
and celebrity.

It was an incredible
moment in time

where fashion photography
and fashion design

and the women all merged.

Bowles:
It was a very,
very high-octane,

va-va-voom, glitzy
supermodel world.

Oh, no supermodel
questions, please.

Oh, God.

So...
[ sighs ]

Wintour:
It was a sort of Rat Pack
moment for the models.

You know,
they were all friends

and they were
being photographed
everywhere they went

and enjoyed it.

I don't know why
it happened.

I just remember that
at the time,

a lot of actresses
took a stance

that they wanted to be
taken seriously for their art.

"Oh, I'm a movie star.

I don't want to demean myself
by embracing fashion.

I'm just going
to wear dirty sneakers
and a pair of jeans.

But I'm a serious
actress."

So because we didn't have
the actresses,

we needed
those superstars.

We needed the supermodels.
And they loved it.

Evangelista:
I mean, it was my life.

Besides on the pages
of "Vogue," I wore it
in real life.

I like glamour.
Not afraid of it.

de Dudzeele:
They were supermodels
because they were

absolutely divine girls
who loved fashion.

It was a dream.
Voilà.

I think this is
a turning point
in my career,

this moment.

The fashion world
discovered grunge.

I hate grunge.

This was the worst
period of my life

because I hate grunge.

God, I hope that never
comes back.

Coddington:
We had a lot of vintage
kind of clothes,

which is something
that never appeared
in American "Vogue."

This is pajamas.

Bolton: It was one
of the first times I recall

of having street fashion
in "Vogue."

I remember that,
thinking that was so amazing

to see a street style,

a subcultural style
represented in "Vogue."

I don't think I had any idea
what I was getting into
with that story.

You know, she may
have said "grunge" to me
at that time.

I probably blocked it out.
[ laughs ]

But Grace is quite subtle
with her--

it's not even so much
as she ever pitches me
an idea.

It's usually one word
written on a piece of paper

or "I'm going
to do this, Anna."

And she'd keep saying,
"Oh, that grunge moment--
that was such a bad moment."

I mean, I can't see how
walking around in a grunge--
you know...

[ laughs ]

My grunge days
are long gone.

But that was such
an important shoot.

And it was-- you know,
you have to do something

that's going to really
make people sit up and think

and be shocked
and confused and angry

and "What is 'Vogue'
doing?"

and canceling
their subscriptions.

It's so raw.

It is confrontational,
but at the same time romantic.

It's one of my favorite
photographs.

My first day at "Vogue"
was very funny.

I was called straight
into a fashion meeting.

The first thing
that I heard was,

"It's all about
the butterfly."

It's about
the butterfly necklace,

the butterfly shoe,
the butterfly bag,

butterfly earrings,
or butterfly prints.

It was all about
the butterfly.

Throw your head back.
Okay.

Come back, come back.
Yes, beautiful.

- Okay.
- Beautiful.

Nickerson:
Fashion to me
is a reflection of culture.

It's not just about whether
everyone's wearing
a trench coat.

It's there to report
on the world at large.

A fashion editor tries,
I suppose, to sense

what is going on
in the world.

This is one of my favorite
photo shoots.

It was-- the idea behind it
was surveillance.

There were more cameras
going up on the streets.

There were more
cameras in shops.

We rented an apartment
across from Condé Nast

so we could film
from one building
into another.

Bowles:
Camilla's genius
was to take

that perfect "Vogue" girl
just caught unawares,

under surveillance,
you know.

Nickerson:
We're all being watched
at some point.

But they could be chic
while they're being watched.

[ laughs ]
As they should be.

There was an anti-prettiness
and an anti-perfection.

It was just
capturing reality,

which was counter to a lot
of what "Vogue" represented.

I'm constantly in a state
of high anxiety.

This feels more...

less...
maybe more.

I'm sorry.
[ laughing ]

Bowles:
She anguishes
about every sitting.

Nothing is ever
taken lightly.

Man:
Literally, as soon
as they're coming on,

- I'll start shooting.
- Okay.

- Because I want
that energy.
- Okay.

Nickerson:
I'm always hoping
that on the day

something happens
and you just hope
that it will fly,

that it will become something
that transcends time,

that you will remember.

You hope that it poses
a question.

There is often a slightly
dangerous undercurrent

to what she does.

Nickerson:
That year, the collections--

there were a vast amount
of incredibly high heels

that were sort of
impossible to walk on.

And so,

we wanted
to sort of discuss

how you became
disabled by this.

They're meant
to indicate

power and stature,
and...

they leave you immobile.

[ laughs ]

But I love wearing them
myself, yeah.

It's so graphic.

I think-- you know,
she's so tall

and so beautiful up there,
so framed.

And the light
on the brace...

Some people who were disabled
found it offensive,

but I thought
that it actually was

sort of, kind of...

quite handsome in a way.

Parker:
This was the last shoot
at the Plaza

before it went
into renovation.

Nickerson:
It was about photographing
in non-spaces--

hallways, elevators,

the places in between.

We were left basically alone
in the Plaza in its shell,

in its empty corridors.

Nickerson:
You know, she personifies
New York, so does the Plaza.

It was so sort of
"Blade Runner" in a way.

It was a dream come true.

Camilla wanted to be
subversive,

maybe a little bit
sneaky,

hide a message
in the pages,

maybe mess with
the institution
a little bit.

There's one shoot
that I will never forget.

When I was in the middle
of working on it,

I stood in the studio
surrounded by wooden ladders

filled with feather boas

and tables laid out
with wigs.

It was just a coat story,
but there was something
quite magical about it.

It was just
exactly as I dreamt

a fashion studio
would look like.

That's the magic of walking
into the planning room

and looking at a shoot
for the very first time

is that you can be
so surprised.

And that's what one wants.
One wants to be surprised.

Posnick:
Of course I'm nervous
on every shoot.

Even if I'm doing a still life
of a mouse, I'm nervous.

If I don't have a picture
in my mind of the final image,

then I know the sitting
isn't going to work.

Bowles:
Nothing is left to chance.

Phyllis is very, very firm
and determined,

and she gets these
extraordinary results.

With Tebow,
I need all the shorts,

all the warm-up things.

Bowles:
Her role at the magazine
is very, very different

because other editors are doing
epic 20-plus-page stories

and you can tell
a narrative.

Phyllis,
with her photographers,

has to create
a single image

that's going to stop you
in your tracks.

The sittings I do--
we're illustrating an idea.

It's skin care,
it's health,

it's diet,
it's hair color,

so one has to think
of a way to surprise

and make the reader stop
and look and read the article.

Now this was the result
of some new moisturizers,

and they were all white.

And that's all I had
to work with.

We got gallons of cream
brought down from a dairy

in upstate New York.

She was sitting
in a big tub.

One of Penn's assistants
stood over her

and Penn would say,
"All right, go."

And then he'd pour
the cream on her head

from a pitcher.

We could do
two or three,

and then we'd have
to clean her off
and start over

and also give her
a rest.

You know, we couldn't
just torture her all day.

Bowles:
She's so fastidious
in her approach

and she's really
the consummate perfectionist.

I mean, if you're going to do
a bee lighting on a lip

to illustrate the concept
of bee-stung lips,

Phyllis is really going
to spend months

visiting every apiary
in the state,

casting
just the right bee

and just the right
pair of lips.

Posnick:
So we imported some bees,

which were live,

and had a very brave model

and put the bee
on her lip.

Oh, she was fearless.

At one point,
the bee was sitting
on her mouth like that

and she just stuck out
her tongue

and had the bee
on her tongue.

Casting is very important
in these pictures

because you have to have
somebody who is willing

to sacrifice themselves
for that picture.

It's not good to have
an unhappy model.

We want them to be happy
and feel beautiful.

Seriously.
I'm saying that
like it's a joke,

but it's really
important.

Like this.

That needed a model
who knew how she looked

with a football
on her face

because she had
to move her head
or tilt it.

And her shoulders moved
so that you felt that there
was a person there

and that it wasn't
just a dead body.

We were doing an article
on fear of aging,

and we wanted two models
that looked the same.

They had an expression,
but nothing moved.

And it looked
kind of okay.

So then Steven said,
"Why don't we try them
without the faces?"

And when we took
the faces off,

that was the picture.

They came from California
and they were very,
very expensive.

They come with
interchangeable heads.

Anna was either going
to like it or hate it.

Sometimes walking
into the planning room,
I'm shocked.

And I'll say, "We can never
run these pictures.

They're too out there."

Posnick:
We shot that with
a real dermatologist,

and Anna felt that
he was giving her

a lethal injection.

I didn't feel
that way, but...

if she did,
other people would.

Your first reaction
is really important.

Wintour:
I have to present every issue
to the corporate floor,

and I could see them
having no concept

that those were not
real models.

And that really
was the surprise

and the strength
of those photographs--

that you weren't
quite sure.

Bowles:
For decades, Phyllis
really proved herself

the perfect
Penn whisperer,

and she was able to coax him
to photograph people

that he might
have resisted.

Penn hated movie stars
because when he did a portrait,

he really wanted
to get past

the face that the person
presents to the public,

and that's very difficult
with actors.

He kept saying no
to photographing her.

So we talked about it
and talked about it,

and he finally agreed
to do a portrait of her

another year later.

I just remember climbing
up the stairs to his studio.

It was very, very quiet

and everyone's
sort of whispering.

Posnick:
There couldn't be anyone else
in the eyeline of the subject.

Kidman:
We talked a little bit,
but a lot of it

is in how you communicate
quietly without words.

Posnick:
I was behind a curtain,
listening.

I mean,
they fell in love.

It was so beautiful
to watch it.

And she just gave up
all of that "actor."

Alber Elbaz:
I hated it.

I looked at it and I said,
"Ugh, I really don't like
that picture."

I sent it to my mother.

My mother called me back
and she said,

"Alber, why do you look
so sad?"

And I understood
at this moment

that Irving Penn did not
take a picture of me,
but he X-rayed me.

Goodman:
We can scan these guys

and then I'll just
amend this one.

Wintour:
You have to understand that
with the great fashion editors

that we have working
at "Vogue," it's not
a job to them.

It's who they are,
and I think that's
really maybe clearest

in the case
of Tonne Goodman.

If I close my eyes
and think about

an American style,
I would say Tonne.

Bowles:
She's all about stripping
things away to their essence.

You know, I didn't start out
pursuing a career in fashion.

I went to art school
and I was--

I studied painting
and drawing.

Prior to that, I modeled
when I was in high school

with Mrs. Vreeland
at "Vogue."

Wintour:
If you look at
those pictures today,

you see this clean, minimal,
gorgeous young woman

who couldn't be anything
but a young American girl.

My style
is very recognizable

because it's founded on
simplicity,

a classic approach
to dressing.

A lot of it connects
with my life.

I wear a uniform,
essentially, all the time.

I wear white jeans,
a shirt, flat shoes.

The practicality
that I require from my life

shows up
in the photographs,
I think.

And I think that that's
probably one of the earmarks
of American fashion.

American fashion
is very practical.

This is a shoot
with Steven Klein.

She is on the sidewalk,
putting something

into a deposit slot
of a bank.

The car is on the sidewalk,
aggressively positioned.

Elbaz:
I mean, it's all very right.
It's very sharp.

It's very minimal
and yet very emotional.

It's an emotional picture
in its very cold way.

You wouldn't
think it's emotional,
but I find it very emo--

I think it's-- it's one
of my favorites, actually.

I really adore
this photograph.

Here's another
example of it.

There's nothing random
about his photograph.

It is not
a frivolous moment.

But it really is
a frozen moment, literally.

Time is such a precious
part of our life.

And to be able
to freeze a moment,

whether it is conjured
or whether it's spontaneous,

is a kind of a gift.

Tonne does represent

really the heart
of the American woman

and she understands that
particular American aesthetic.

Don't forget,
a lot of the editors
at "Vogue" are British.

So I'm the American editor

and I do a lot
of the very classic
things for "Vogue"

because it's the kind of niche
that they need me for,

but I can do other things,
actually.

When I came there
in '99,

most of the covers
were models.

And between
2000 and 2002,

it did a complete flip.

It's a completely
different ball game

photographing with a celebrity
than it is with a model.

Wintour:
Dealing with celebrities,

you know,
you just need to be...

uh, very calm.

[ camera shutter
clicking ]

Beautiful.

She can take the most
demanding celebrity

and turn them
into a "Vogue" cover
in a way that nobody else can.

Goodman:
Gaga has such a strong
sense of herself.

She was a perfect candidate
for a "Power" issue.

I think it's fair to say
there was a little bit of
a buzz about Lady Gaga,

so it was arranged
that she would come in

and meet some editors
and meet Anna.

There was a lot
of to-ing and fro-ing
about the appointment

and I thought,
"Oh, my goodness,
she's going to be late."

You know,
is one of those people
that are always late.

But she arrived
on the dot

and she was dressed like a nun
in a full white cotton robe.

And she just
had a little hat on
that said "Vogue" on it.

With the G kind of
framing her face

and the U and the E going off
in this direction.

The V and the O here.

Um, so,

I really thought,
"This girl means business."

A few months later,
she was on the cover
for the first time.

So she said,
"Somehow I would like to make
a kind of subtle reference

to 'Vogue' magazine
and Anna Wintour."

And if you notice,
you can't say it doesn't
look like Anna.

The hair is like Anna.
I adore this photograph.

I think it captures her
and it captures "Vogue."

Oh.

Well, it just--
it looks so ugly.

Is it a boy
or a girl?

Man:
It's a girl.

- It's Lady Gaga.
- Babs Simpson: Well,
I don't think it's sexy.

At all.

Do you?

Let me see it again.
It's interesting.

You know how old I am?

100 next year.

The look that
I had then was--

my hair
was very simple.

Her hair scraped
unforgivingly back

into a tight little
sort of ballerina chignon

and pearls.

Yeah, I've had them
for as long as I can remember.

And it's sort of an impeccable,
understated, elegant style.

I very often had
a bird on my head.

Live bird.

I used to sit in the corner
and do needlework.

Otherwise, you'd go crazy
with boredom.

You know, because
some photographers
took forever.

Bowles:
She's very self-effacing
and says she just sat back

in the corner quietly doing
her needlepoint,

but I think there's
a little bit more
to it than that

because the pictures
are really potent.

It's not just a beautiful girl
standing there,

perfectly dressed
in front of the camera.

Simpson:
The day we got this,
she didn't show up.

We waited and waited
and waited and waited

and waited and waited
and finally went
to Disneyland.

She did show up
the next day,

and she was perfect
from then on.

But there was
this terrible hairdresser

who kept giving her ice water,
which turned out to be vodka.

She was obviously
somebody doomed.

And, of course,
as you well know,

she was dead
within the month.

[ chatter ]

- Miss Simpson!
- Hello, my dear.

You are quite
the celebrity
around here.

How about that?

It's the same sort of viewing
as if Babs is in the chair.

I want you there.

Posnick:
I think none of us really love
having our picture taken.

- Leibovitz: Okay, Camilla,
you get to be bad girl again.
- All right.

You're my favorite
bad girl.

She-- she's the new
bad girl.

- You're the--
- I'm the old bad girl.

You're the original
bad girl.

Mellen:
Get down low.

Nickerson:
I'm so honored and shy.

Mellen:
I have been summoned.

Nickerson:
It will be an amazing
photograph.

Goodman:
Preserving a moment
is magic.

Leibovitz:
Polly, I'm going
to put you here.

- I know. Elbow--
just elbow her.
- Ah!

Bowles:
What kind of a family
are they?

Um, when I first came
to "Vogue,"

the fashion department
was possibly

one of the most alarming
places on the planet.

- Okay, hang in there.
Hang in there.
- Ah!

[ camera shutter
clicking ]

Bowles:
I mean, Polly Mellen

and Carlyne Cerf--

such formidable characters.

- Women: Wind!
- [ laughter ]

Bowles:
They were very, very,
very much larger-than-life,

flamboyant,
opinionated women.

I haven't even got
to Grace.

Wintour:
It is a family.
It is a family.

It's a slightly
dysfunctional family,

but it's also a very close
and warm and loving family.

Tears?
Oh, what, are you going
for a Barbara Walters moment?

[ man laughs ]

Wintour:
Genius is the word
I would use.

They all have
genius in them

and they all have
a deep, deep understanding

of what makes
a great photograph.

Leibovitz:
Thank you very much.
That was very, very nice.

- [ clapping ]
- Mellen: Thank you, Annie.

[ music playing ]

♪ Are you Peace Corps?

♪ Oh, no, not at all,
we're "Vogue" ♪

♪ "Vogue," "Vogue,"
"Vogue" ♪

♪ It's all about
the butterfly ♪

♪ The butterfly,
the butterfly ♪

♪ It's all about
the butterfly ♪

♪ The butterfly,
the butterfly ♪

♪ Several limousines'
worth ♪

♪ Of Diors,
hats, shoes ♪

♪ I mean, I really thought
she was going to punch me ♪

♪ And screamed,
"How dare you?" ♪

♪ "How dare you? How dare you?
How dare you?" ♪

♪ Punch me, punch me,
punch me, punch me ♪

♪ It's all about
the butterfly ♪

♪ The butterfly,
the butterfly ♪

♪ It's all about
the butterfly ♪

♪ The butterfly,
the butterfly ♪

♪ Everything's fashion

♪ I mean,
you're fashion ♪

- ♪ This is from street
- ♪ Street

- ♪ I mean, you're fashion
- ♪ Street

♪ That needed a model
who knew how she looked ♪

♪ With a football
on her face ♪

♪ Real!

♪ Real

♪ I very often had
a bird on my head ♪

♪ I can-- I can do
other things ♪

♪ No, sorry, you can't
lead me there ♪

♪ Is it a boy
or a girl? ♪

♪ It's all about
the butterfly ♪

♪ The butterfly,
the butterfly ♪

♪ It's all about
the butterfly ♪

♪ The butterfly,
the butterfly ♪

♪ Adore, adore

♪ Style don't have
season ♪

♪ Nothing is démodé
when it's great pieces ♪

♪ Pieces, pieces,
pieces ♪

♪ Nothing, nothing,
nothing is démodé ♪

♪ Voilà, voil, voilà ♪

♪ Easiness, real, real,
real, real! ♪

♪ It's all about
the butterfly ♪

♪ The butterfly,
the butterfly ♪

♪ It's all about
the butterfly ♪

♪ The butterfly,
the butterfly ♪

♪ It's all about
the butterfly ♪

♪ The butterfly,
the butterfly ♪

♪ It's all about
the butterfly ♪

♪ The butterfly,
the butterfly ♪

♪ It's all about
the butterfly ♪

♪ The butterfly,
the butterfly ♪

♪ It-it-it's all about
the butterfly ♪

♪ The butterfly,
the butterfly. ♪