Behind the scenes at British Vogue

Is any Vogue editor worth the title these days if she doesn't have a behind-the-scenes documentary revealing her smarts and substance? Following The September Issue, R J Cutler's 2009 documentary about Anna Wintour and life at Vogue, and Franca: Chaos and Creation, Francesco Carrozzini's new film about Franca Sozzani, the editor of Italian Vogue, increasingly it seems the answer is no.

Especially given that this week a third such film hit small-screens in Britain. Absolutely Fashion: Inside British Vogue, a two-part BBC documentary about the magazine, had its debut Thursday, with the second episode to be broadcast on the eve of London Fashion Week, September 15.

Three makes a trend. But what the first two documentaries suggest, and the newest one confirms, is that these fly-on-the-wall dramas also serve a strategic purpose for glossy magazines in an increasingly digital landscape.

To maintain their authoritative positions as gatekeepers in the social media age, old-guard editors and employees must engage more (and reveal more) than they ever have before.

The fashion industry's 21st-century audience, raised in an era of oversharing and immediate gratification, cares less about a finished collection or campaign or cover than about what went on behind the scenes. And a documentary, it would appear, is an increasingly popular way of lifting the curtain.

The series was filmed and narrated by Richard Macer. He embedded himself for nine months with British Vogue in the run-up to the publications 100th anniversary celebrations earlier this year.

The BBC documentary offers the usual peek into a world of runway front rows, egos and high glamour, in an office environment dominated by women and fuelled by adrenaline and coffee. But it is also a place where, as Macer wryly observes at the outset in the slick and slyly faux naïf tone he maintains throughout, "things are not always as they seem at Vogue, and appearances can be deceptive."

Case in point: British Vogue's long-term editor, Alexandra Shulman, who has been at the helm for 25 years - or a quarter of the magazine's existence.

She is known for her understated personal style, and her dual career as a novelist whose latest book, The Parrots, was published last year. Shulman, 58, clearly rules her roost as many at the top tier of the fashion world do: with an unpredictable temperament and unshakable adherence to her own editorial instincts. "Alex says she likes to hire clever women who like to challenge her," Macer says in a voice-over several months into the project. "But in all the meetings I've filmed, I haven't seen any of them do that."

That is not entirely true. One of the most memorable moments in the series features a choice between two shots of Kate Moss for the April cover. Shulman favours a conventional photograph of Moss looking to the camera in a Rolling Stones vest top, but her staff prefers a more dramatic shot of the model in her underwear and draped in a billowing Union Jack.

Macer takes brazen advantage of the moment by asking the meeting to engage in a vote. He then allows the ensuing seconds of silence to run their course, acute nerves etched on the staff members' faces as they collectively engage in a rare act of dissent.

Not that it matters: Shulman, irritated but unswayed, goes on to garner the support of the C-suite executives for her choice and wins the day.

Then there's the moment, 24 hours before that issue goes to press, that Shulman rejects the Moss cover in favour of another featuring Rihanna (originally planned as the next month's cover star) after she learns a rival magazine is putting the pop star on its April cover.

Shulman icily refuses to be drawn into talking about the details on film, largely because the rival in question is her Conde Nast stablemate Anna Wintour, editor of American Vogue.

Weeks later, as she readies herself to unveil one of the biggest scoops of her professional career (the Duchess of Cambridge as her centenary-issue cover star), Shulman reveals no qualms about lying repeatedly on camera to the BBC crew to hide her plans, deliberately misleading them into thinking she is choosing a graphic cover rather than an individual face. It is a move Macer challenges.

"I didn't feel awkward about lying to you, no," Shulman says, with the tone of casual dismissal she uses often with him throughout the series.

Lucinda Chambers, the fashion director of British Vogue and a 36-year veteran of the magazine, said of Shulman: "I think she's genuinely really well behaved. So I'm pleased when she gets to behave badly, or that side of her comes out."

© 2016 The New York Times