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If you thought sex and drugs and rock’ n’ roll – or even TV – had won the race to replace God, think again.“ Fashion is the new religion,” says film director RJ Cutler.“ And this is the Bible.”
The Good Book he’ s referring to is Vogue, which this year celebrates 100 years of continuous publication as the indispensable chronicler of the times. In its first issue which hit the news-stands in September 1916( price 1 shilling, 5p) it promised readers“ amazing things, you would never believe unless you saw them in Vogue.’
Big calling card! But glance at the magazine’ s most iconic feature over the years – its covers, and you’ d have to agree it was no idle boast. Vogue had become the Bible of Style, and a cultural phenomenon that reflects trends in taste and the clothes we wear to look our best.
And Vogue’ s unabashed pursuit of the glamorous and the surreal has proved inspirational in our dangerously image-obsessed age. Hollywood has been unable to resist the elevator pitch of chic clothes, sexy models and even sexier lifestyles, churning out more than a dozen films featuring fashion frolickery.
That includes RJ Cutler’ s 2009 eye candy documentary The September Issue, shot fly-on-the-wall style, chronicling the glacially frosty Anna Wintour putting an American Vogue’ s autumn issue to bed, all 840 pages( 727 of them ads).
The most recent feature, Zoolander 2, premiered at London earlier this year – and even that was a sequel. And among the red-carpet guest celebs was Alexandra Shulman, British Vogue’ s longest serving editor.
Of course, the film’ s stars were all there in their sartorial finery – Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig and Penelope Cruz. The men, of course, wore Dolce & Gabbana, and the women Yves St Laurent( vintage) and Versace. Even
Hollywood couldn’ t make this stuff up!
And as if that wasn’ t enough publicity overkill, Stiller and Wilson graced the February cover of American Vogue pouting the“ blue steel” look that showcased their characters’ debut in the 2001 Zoolander.
That satire on male modelling had the tagline:“ 3 % body fat, 1 % brain activity”. Its culminating set-piece saw David Bowie refereeing a“ walk-off” between our two“ blue steel” heroes. The 2016 sequel lets fashion in on the joke, and even features a cameo by American Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour!
“ Vogue has been synonymous with fashion and photography for 100 years. It’ s the style bible, I mean, that old cliché does come into play,” says former Vogue picture editor Robin Muir.
The magazine has never been shy of putting itself about in its relentless pursuit to define lifestyle, art, beauty, youth and
Image: Norman Parkinson