As the days begin to get colder, your ballet flats are suddenly swapped for knee-high boots and a pair of thermal tights, and the staple white sundress is no longer a go-to outfit. It’s officially September!
September is a month for new beginnings, Taylor Swift’s All Too Well 10-minute version, and of course, a brand new wardrobe.
Each Autumn, the Vogue September issue lands with a particular cultural thud on society. The issue dictates the upcoming fashion trends for the new season, erasing flip-flops and end-of-summer sales from our minds and instead enchanting us with something new and refreshing. The issue prompts their familiar readers to expect the unexpected.
The summer months typically have fewer collections, and there is a decrease in activity in the fashion world. Therefore, when September rolls around, it is a month that defines a new beginning, with innovative ideas, creating a stark contrast with the previous months. For example, clothing designed for the spring/summer season is often made of linen and casual cotton fabrics. Conversely, the A/W collections are layered, featuring wool, tweed, cashmere, and a darker color palette to appropriately mark the season.
The September issue contains the highest amount of advertisements, making it the most profitable of the year for magazine companies. To ensure a feature, many brands will purposefully create elaborate ad campaigns and spend a large percentage of their budget on so-called “art installations”. In 2012, Vogue’s September issue was 916 pages long and weighed around five pounds, with pop icon Lady Gaga as the cover star.
Fashion magazines are all fighting and debating on which star to put on the cover that appropriately conveys the iconic essence of the ‘Super September’ issue. One of the most redefining September issues was Anna Wintour’s first September issue in 1989 with Naomi Campbell on the cover wearing a bright orange jumpsuit for fall.
This all dates back to Vogue’s first-ever September issue back in 1893, a cover that was illustrated by Harry McVicker showcasing a black and white drawing of a woman. The uniqueness and simplicity of this cover may have established the influence of the magazine on the fashion world.
However, the September issue is not merely history, designers, and transformative art. It reflects a cultural moment, perhaps shining light on the pathways that the fashion world would like to take them down. The September issue essentially starts a conversation between couture and high street consumers – perhaps the most inclusive and influential crossover.
In 1989, the American Economist and Sociologist Thorstein Veblen, devised the trickle-down theory, suggesting that styles adopted by the elite would eventually travel down the social hierarchy and influence the rest of the population. The Vogue September issue amplifies this theory. High street brands like Zara, H&M, and Primark will be paying close attention to the issues of styling, colour palettes, and emerging motifs to eventually incorporate them into their products for the high street consumer. Fashion editors will often forecast the trends that may dominate not only designer collections but also fast fashion racks. The September issue is a key tool in this prediction game.
This year’s September issue cover star is Emma Stone, rocking a pixie cut, low-waist jeans, and what looks like a patent leather jacket. What makes this particular September issue special is that it is Anna Wintour’s last September issue as Vogue editor-in-chief. After an almost 4-decade-long career of innovation, style, and dictating fashion trends, Wintour will be passing the torch to Chloe Malle, who will have to live up to Wintour’s genius and figure in the fashion world.
I will sign off this article with wise words from everyone’s favourite fictional Vogue Editor, Miranda Priestly: “You… go to your closet, and you select… that lumpy blue sweater. But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean. You’re also blithely unaware of the fact that, in 2002, Oscar de la Renta created a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves Saint Laurent, wasn’t it, who showed cerulean military jackets?”
Perhaps we will see more pixie cuts and a lot of denim gracing the three wonderful streets of St Andrews this autumn/winter season…so be on the lookout!