For anyone obsessed with the 90s there’s a new documentary just for you (Picture: Disney/PA)
In the opening moments of Vogue: In The 90s, a trembling production assistant politely asks Anna Wintour if she would remove her sunglasses.
‘No, I’m going to wear them,’ she responds, waving her hand dismissively as though it was a completely preposterous request.
I’m sure Wintour wouldn’t care less if you warm to her after watching the new six-part documentary about her legacy, but you will respect her.
Vogue has always been the defining magazine publication about fashion, that’s indisputable.
But it wasn’t until Wintour became Vogue’s editor-in-chief the magazine began to really change the world far beyond the realms of fashion.
I was born in 1987. Too young to appreciate how transformative a time that was for pop culture when I was living in it but old enough to know that comparatively the 2010s onwards has been like living in a wake.
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For the first time, in the 90s the key trail-blazers of fashion, music and film were collaborating. Film and music were completely transformed – Gautier’s definitive looks made the Fifth Element the timeless classic it is today, Missy Elliot made hip-hop Avant guard and Hollywood glamour was inspiring the catwalks – there was a revolution happening across the entertainment industry and Vogue was right at the centre of it.
Many of the most significant pioneers across music, film and fashion are giddy with excitement to remember the 90s, talking candidly about their hey day.
Victoria Beckham, Sarah Jessica Parker, Claire Danes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Campbell, and even Kate Moss breaks a rare silence to reflect on their breakthrough years in the spotlight with refreshing honesty.
Naomi Campbell is among the A-listers celebrating Vogue in Disney’s new documentary (Picture: Disney/PA)
Kate Moss and Naomi both remember transforming the fashion industry during In Vogue: The 90s (Credits: Richard Young/REX FEATURES)
Moss reveals the true extent of abuse she received by concerned mothers, blaming the model for their daughter’s eating disorders. However, she fails to mention her toxic quote: ‘Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.’
As Karen Millan says, ‘you don’t say no to Anna Wintour’ and subsequently Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, John Galliano, and most significant designers of the time reflect on the moments that changed their careers and gush over Vogue for putting them on the map.
Essentially this is six episodes of A-listers fawning over a magazine and its editor with sometimes an uncomfortable level of adoration but who else has more authority to capture the magic of pop culture in the 90s like Vogue?
The series blends light-hearted anecdotes (Kim Kardashian reveals she was once Madonna’s dog walker before she became the internet-breaking reality TV star she is today), with designers who defined the era fondly remembering the runway shows that gave birth to the most important trends – including the one Wintour hated bur reluctantly featured in the magazine…. Grunge.
Fashion is too often dismissed as a shallow fascination with the clothes on our back.
She may be the devil in Prada, but Wintour was also among the first to raise awareness for the HIV/Aids crisis.
Anna Wintour is classically Anna Wintour in In Vogue: The 90s (Picture: Disney)
When few people dared to speak up for the LGBTQ+ community in its darkest hour, Wintour brought together the world’s leading designers for one of the largest charity events in the world to raise awareness around HIV and Aids which money couldn’t buy.
Wintour has built a reputation as being ruthless, cold, and, well, a bitch. Perhaps that’s sexism, maybe it’s Chinese whispers that have spread from Vogue offices. But rarely has she been praised for her generosity and empathy.
‘It’s the initiative I’m most proud of,’ she says of the fundraiser, which brought thousands of shoppers to New York, queuing around the block to meet designers and buy their garments right out of their hands.
It’s just one of many reminders that Vogue and the fashion industry in its entirety is so much more than the clothes in our stores and it’s a responsibility Wintour, the designers, photographers, and editors around her don’t take lightly.
Fashion is intrinsically political; it’s powerful and it’s hungry to make drastic change. It’s the empowerment of women, the LGBTQ+ community, people of colour, and any misfit who has been outcast or told they’re not enough.
Everyone has been touched or transformed by fashion, whether they know it or not, and In Vogue is a glorious celebration of an industry that isn’t afraid to rip up the rule book and inspire rebels with a cause.
Nostalgia for the 90s has never been higher. David Beckham and Robbie Williams’ respective Netflix documentaries were both two of the most popular TV moments of 2023, if 2024 was all about Taylor Swift then Oasis look set to be the music moment of 2025 and step into any high street clothing shop and it’s like stepping into a time warp.
In Vogue is one of the television moments of the year and a must-watch for anyone with even the slightest affection for the last great decade – whether you were born in the 90s, partied through the 90s or the 90s will only ever be a point of history for you, just devour every episode at the soonest opportunity. It’s the most fun I’ve had watching anything all year.
In Vogue: The 90s episodes 1-3 are available to stream on Disney Plus from September 13. Episodes 4-6 follow on September 20.
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