What MetGala, Vogue magazine, and Condé Nast, the beacons of fashion in today’s times, have in common? All of them are headed by, the boss of the fashion world, Anna Wintour.
Anna Wintour can be easily spotted in the front rows of fashion shows with a pageboy bob haircut and dark sunglasses. Wintour has served as editor-in-chief of Vogue since 1988 and as Global Chief Content Officer for Conde Nast since 2020. More than any institution, Vogue has influenced fashion for generations of women.
British born, Wintour moved to the States after a short stint with Evening Standard. In New York City, she became a junior editor for Harper’s Bazaar and slowly moved the ranks by working with Viva, a women’s adult magazine, Savvy, a new women’s magazine, and New York, a bi-weekly magazine on lifestyle and culture. Working at Savvy, her primary audience was career-conscious professional women who spent their own money. This is the reader base she would later target at Vogue.
Her breakthrough came when she joined Vogue in 1983 as Creative Director. She had earlier interviewed that ended when she told the then editor in chief of Vogue Grace Mirabella, that she wanted her job. In 1985 Wintour started her editorial journey by taking charge of the UK edition of Vogue
In an interview, Wintour said, "There's a new kind of woman out there. She's interested in business and money. She doesn't have time to shop anymore. She wants to know what and why and where and how."
Vogue, November 1988 Anna Wintour's first cover
She is credited with shifting the cover shoot from studios to the street. At Vogue, she has implemented wide-ranging changes. Her first cover, featuring an Israeli model in jeans and a Lacroix couture sweater declared a new chapter in the magazine’s history. Wintour has used lesser-known models on its covers and featured their full-body shots than only headshots as was the trend then. Wintour is also a trustee of the New York Metropolitan Museum; her involvement turned the museum’s annual gala (Met Gala) into one of the most high-profile events of the year. She has dressed several political and TV figures. And her advice to celebrities on what to wear, which is featured not only in Vogue but also in general magazines has led to her dominance on sales floors. She includes several figures outside the industry like basketball player LeBron James and rapper Puff Daddy.
Wintour has a reputation for being a demanding boss and is often nicknamed “Nuclear Wintour”. She has also been criticized for promoting animal furs and racial stereotypes. She is also targeted in the industry for promoting elitist fashion. She killed the grunge fashion by giving an ultimatum to designers that if they didn't put in glamour their looks would not be photographed for Vogue. She also excludes ordinary working women's stories from the pages and caters only high flying certain class of readers. Within the industry, she often sets herself apart from her peers and is accused of rescheduling events at major fashion shows (like Milan Fashion Week) denying lesser-known designers to get the important audiences. She is also accused of putting exceptionally thin girls on Vogue covers and her remarks on obesity regularly cause controversy.
In her defense, Wintour has always dressed as if she herself was on the pages of her magazine which makes the lifestyle peddled by her magazine at least physically possible. Her changes in Vogue have reinforced and acknowledged the advances made by modern women. Unlike other women's magazines, her print doesn't play into its readers' inadequacy rather it presents a lifestyle and taste for fineries (clothes, shoes, accessories, furniture, travel) that a successful woman admires and might buy. It exploits ambition, not insecurity.
Anna Wintour at the 2022 Met Gala and Meryl Streep starring in "The Devil Wears Prada"
She has been a staple of fashion industry news since the 80s. Several books written about her include The Devil Wears Prada, Oppenheimer's Front Row: The Cool Life, and Hot Times of Vogue's Editor in Chief, with The Devil Wears Prada made into a major motion picture featuring Meryl Streep.
