GALLERY >> 10 Highlights Of 'In Vogue: The Editor's Eye'

While The September Issue brought us Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington, a new hour-long HBO documentary called In Vogue: The Editors Eye (produced and directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato), aired last night in the US and introduced even more unseen faces who work their magic behind the curtain at Vogue across the pond.

To celebrate the 120^th anniversary of US Vogue, the HBO documentary showed the current and former magazine editors or “fashion’s secret weapon” as Anna calls them, talking about what really goes on. Everything from insane budgets to the '90s supermodels moment and the secrets of A-list fashion shoots, was revealed.

Featuring interviews from stars like Sarah Jessica Parker and Nicole Kidman, as well as designers Marc Jacobs, Alber Elbaz and Nicolas Ghesquière, the documentary was must-see TV.

In the gallery above, you'll find the 10 things we discovered…

by Carlene Thomas-Bailey

1. Vera Wang used to work at Vogue

The designer is best known for her couture wedding gowns worn by celebrities from Mariah Carey to J.Lo, model Lily Aldridge and Alicia Keys, but did you know that she got her start as an assistant to fashion editor Polly Allen Mellen back in the '70s? Vera used one word to describe working under Polly: “brutal”.

2. You come when Vogue calls, even if you are injured

Remember that iconic photo shoot of Alice in Wonderland in 2003, shot by Annie Leibovitz, with Marc Jacobs as a caterpillar? Well, it nearly never was. It turns out Marc had torn a tendon in his finger and had an operation just before the shoot. He originally turned the shoot down but then Grace and Anna called, and you don’t say no to those two!

3. It’s possible to re-do a couture dress in 45 minutes

That same Alice in Wonderland shoot was all about mirrors and magic- Grace even sent model Natalia Vodianova books on Alice in Wonderland (multiple editions) months in advance as preparation. Then on the day of the shoot, one frame was supposed to look like a reflection, but the ruffles in the dress faced the wrong way. So Grace said to now-ex-Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquière “Can you do something?’. 45 minutes later the dress had been taken apart and re-sown the new way.

4. Never works with animals…

Best shot of the documentary goes to the Doberman eating model Christie Brinkley’s foot, shot by Chris von Wangenheim and published in 1977. According to Vera Wang, the dog was supposed to just tug at the dress but by the end of the shoot, the dog had ripped the dress to pieces.

5. The photo that annoyed Liz Taylor

As Lindsay Lohan showed in the recent biopic Elizabeth & Dick, Liz Taylor was all about glamour and according to a Vogue editor she turned up to the shoot with limousines full of designer clothes. Yet the best shot of the day was when the editor jumped in and pulled the towel off Liz’s head. She was furious!

6. Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele coined the cheap/chic statement

Meet Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele- the star of the documentary. This legendary fashion editor styled Anna’s Wintour first US Vogue cover, which ruffled some serious feathers. The cover model had on a high-end couture Christian Lacroix T-shirt teamed with a pair of jeans. When the issue went to the printers, they called the office and asked if a mistake had been made. Genius.

7. Linda Evangelista on the heyday of models.

When asked why the models were so successful and on the covers every week she responded “No supermodel questions please…”

8. SJP and that iconic New York shoot

In 2005 Sarah Jessica Parker was shot by Annie Leibovitz in the Plaza Hotel; an iconic New York hotel that was the perfect backdrop for Carrie Bradshaw. It turns out the photo shoot took place just before the hotel was stripped for renovation, so those empty rooms and stacked chairs were not props but real furniture moved for the remodelling.

10. Marilyn Monroe

Vogue legend Babs Simpson, who turns 100 this year, talked about the iconic photo shoot Marilyn Monroe did, which went to press just as she died. According to Babs, Marilyn failed to show up on the day of the shoot so all the editors went to Disneyland. The next day she was on set and the shoot went perfectly, except someone kept giving her ice water that was really vodka.

ALSO: +1 Brits run the magazine

It might be the most-renowned magazine in the US, but as Tonne Goodman, Fashion Director at the magazine, said in the documentary: “Don’t forget a lot of the editors at Vogue are British”