Anna Wintour, Vogue’s longtime editor known for revitalizing the fashion magazine and chairing the annual Met Gala, will reportedly step down as editor of the American edition of the magazine after nearly four decades at the helm, though she will continue on as Condé Nast’s global chief content officer.
Key Takeaways
- Wintour announced her decision to step back from leading U.S. Vogue’s editorial operations in a staff meeting Wednesday, Women’s Wear Daily and Fashion Week Daily first reported and Condé Nast confirmed to the Wall Street Journal.
- Wintour will continue in her roles as Condé Nast’s global chief content officer and as Vogue’s global editorial director.
- Condé Nast Chief Executive Roger Lynch told the Journal Wintour has been working three jobs at the company since 2020, adding it makes sense for her to step back from American Vogue so she can “make time for everyone who needs her.”
- Condé Nast will seek a new Head of Editorial Content for American Vogue, though a timeline for finding a potential successor is unclear.
- As Condé Nast’s global chief content officer, Wintour continues to oversee all of the company’s brands, including titles like Wired, Vanity Fair, GQ, Glamour, Bon Appétit, Allure and more, with the exception of The New Yorker.
How Long Has Anna Wintour Led Vogue?
Wintour, 75, took the reins of U.S. Vogue in 1988 from editor Grace Mirabella, where her magazine covers were a notable break from what Wintour said were previously “studied and elegant close-ups” with “tons of makeup and major jewelry.”
Wintour’s first cover, the November 1988 issue, featured a model wearing a $10,000 Christian Lacroix T-shirt paired with $50 jeans, the first time a Vogue model had worn jeans on the cover. Wintour later called the cover a “leap of faith” and a “big change for Vogue,” stating the printers called her to ask whether the cover was a mistake.
Her covers became known for using natural light and for being set outside of studios, unlike many prior Vogue covers. Wintour has been credited with reviving the magazine’s appeal amid concerns it would lose readers to Elle, which launched its U.S. edition in 1985.
Wintour has co-chaired the Met Gala, an annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute that is better known as an extravagant fashion event, since 1995, which she organizes and reportedly controls the guest list for.
Key Background
Wintour began her career in fashion journalism in 1970 at her native United Kingdom’s Harper’s & Queen magazine, established after Harper’s Bazaar U.K. merged with Queen magazine. She then moved to the United States in 1975, where she became a fashion editor at Harper’s Bazaar’s American edition. She later worked as a fashion editor at New York magazine in the early 1980s, before becoming creative director at Vogue. Before becoming the magazine’s top editor, she led Vogue’s U.K. edition as editor-in-chief and led Condé Nast’s House & Garden magazine.
Tangent
Wintour, known for her signature bob haircut and dark sunglasses, became a recognizable figure in pop culture. She is believed to be the inspiration for a novel and its 2006 film adaptation, “The Devil Wears Prada,” in which Meryl Streep plays a fashion magazine editor-in-chief known for her icy demeanor. The novel was written by Lauren Weisberger, who previously worked as an assistant to Wintour.
