Description
Collector's Note – Why This Issue Matters
The September issue of Vogue is not simply another monthly edition — it is the fashion calendar's most anticipated event, the issue that sets the tone for the entire fall season and routinely runs to several hundred pages of editorial and advertising content. The September 2004 issue is a particularly strong example of that tradition, arriving at a moment when American Vogue under editor Anna Wintour was at the height of its cultural authority. The cover features two models who were, in 2004, ascending to the very top of the industry: Daria Werbowy, the Ukrainian-Canadian model whose cool, androgynous elegance made her one of the defining faces of the mid-2000s, and Natalia Vodianova, the Russian-born model whose meteoric rise from a childhood in poverty to the front rows of Paris couture had already become one of fashion's most-told stories. A dual-model cover was itself a deliberate editorial statement — a nod toward a new generation of faces stepping into the space the supermodel era had vacated. For collectors of early 2000s fashion history in print, the original magazines from 2004 document a fashion landscape in genuine transition.
The editorial depth of this issue extends well beyond the cover. André Leon Talley, then Vogue's editor-at-large and one of American fashion journalism's most distinctive voices, contributes his recurring column. Hamish Bowles reports on Paris runway trends through the lens of royal fashion history. Sarah Mower profiles Kate Moss at a moment when the British model's cultural staying power was already something critics had been underestimating for over a decade. Karl Lagerfeld, Oscar de la Renta, and Giorgio Armani each receive substantive feature treatment — not as trend pieces but as examinations of enduring creative vision. The issue also documents the Baz Luhrmann–directed Chanel No. 5 campaign starring Nicole Kidman, a two-minute cinematic advertisement that became a cultural talking point far beyond the fashion world. Collectors building a serious archive of Vogue's editorial history will find the full run of original Vogue magazine issues an invaluable reference across the publication's many eras.
About the Publication
American Vogue, founded in 1892 and acquired by Condé Nast in 1909, is the flagship publication of the global fashion press. By the early 2000s, under Anna Wintour's editorial direction — which began in 1988 — the magazine had consolidated its position as the definitive arbiter of luxury fashion, functioning simultaneously as a trade bible for the industry and an aspirational cultural object for its broader readership. Its September issue in particular had long been treated as an annual landmark, typically the largest single issue of any magazine published in the United States, and a reliable index of which designers, models, photographers, and cultural figures were defining the moment. Its audience was affluent, style-conscious, and engaged with fashion as a serious cultural subject rather than mere consumer guidance.
Key Highlights Inside
- Cover: Daria Werbowy and Natalia Vodianova, two of the defining model faces of the mid-2000s, photographed for the fall season cover — a dual-model image that signaled a deliberate generational shift in the industry's visual language.
- "Life with André" by André Leon Talley: The longtime Vogue editor-at-large contributes his column, one of the magazine's most characterful recurring features throughout this era.
- "Take Five" — The Chanel No. 5 Campaign: An inside account of Baz Luhrmann and Nicole Kidman's cinematic two-minute Chanel No. 5 advertisement, excerpted from the director's diary — a campaign that blurred the line between fashion advertising and short film.
- "Imperial Splendors" — Karl Lagerfeld: A feature by Kennedy Fraser examining Lagerfeld's creative process and his transformation of a fashion legacy into what the piece calls an ultra-modern vision.
- "Where Worlds Collide" — Oscar de la Renta: Julia Reed profiles de la Renta's world, from his relationships with First Ladies to his broader social universe, capturing the designer at the height of his cultural reach.
- "Staying Alive" — Kate Moss: Sarah Mower profiles Moss as the defining cool of the era, with the piece framing her durability in an industry famous for discarding its icons as something worth examining seriously.
- "A Family Affair": Sisters Alexandra and Vanessa Kerry, daughters of then-presidential candidate John Kerry, speak to Julia Reed in New York — a rare intersection of fashion editorial and live political news cycle.
Condition & Rarity
September issues of Vogue from the early 2000s present a specific set of collector considerations. Their extraordinary page counts — often exceeding 700 pages for the September edition — mean that spine stress, corner blunting, and edge wear are the most common condition issues found in surviving copies. A copy grading Very Good, with minor edge wear and no label, represents a genuinely clean survivor for an issue of this physical scale. The absence of a mailing label is a meaningful attribute: label-free copies originate from newsstand rather than subscription distribution, and they present significantly better for display purposes without the adhesive residue or paper damage a removed label typically leaves behind. A plastic protective sleeve indicates the copy has been stored deliberately, which is consistent with its reported condition grade. For a twenty-year-old oversized periodical of this weight and complexity, Very Good with no label is a desirable combination.
Looking for More Issues Like This?
September Vogue issues in clean, label-free condition are among the more sought-after periodicals in fashion collecting, and this particular cover pairing of Werbowy and Vodianova gives it added appeal for model and early-2000s fashion historians. If this issue is no longer available, the full archive of original Vogue magazine issues spans decades of covers, editorials, and season-defining content worth exploring. The 2004 magazine collection also offers a wider view of that fashion moment across multiple titles for collectors building a broader picture of the era.