The endless reign of ‘Vogue’ editor Anna Wintour – DW – 11/01/2024

A woman with a bob cut wearing oversized sunglasses sits in the front row of nearly every major fashion show.

She is of course the iconic Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of “Vogue” magazine.

For over three decades, Wintour has been at the helm of American “Vogue” — she also oversees content for all magazines in the Conde Naste company that owns the fashion bible.

On November 3, the style mogul turns 75. She shows no sign of slowing down.

Wintour has not only influenced how people dress in the US, she has also had a hand in shaping fashion globally, including in Africa and India.

Of course, her ongoing legacy is not without criticism.

Is Wintour really ‘the devil wearing Prada’

Speculation abounds as to whether the heartless antagonist in the 2006 film, “The Devil Wears Prada” — and the book of the same name written by Wintour assistant, Lauren Weisberger — was directly inspired by the “Vogue” editor-in-chief.

In the movie, a ruthless fashion boss played by Meryl Streep terrorizes her employees.

While Wintour herself labeled the book and the movie “fiction,” a 2022 biography by Amy Odell confirms that the fashionista had an assistant responsible for making sure her daily breakfast of extra-hot grande Starbucks latte and blueberry muffin were waiting on her desk.

Whatever the veracity of the claim that Wintour was more than just a loose inspiration for the hit film, the character did reflect the “Vogue” chief’s ability to reign over the  fashion world.

Near 40 years as ‘Vogue’ boss

Wintour was born into a well-off family in London in 1949. Her father, an editor of the “London Evening Standard” daily newspaper, helped her land her first job at “Harpers & Queen” magazine as a fashion assistant at the age of 20.

She eventually moved to New York City with her then-partner and continued to climb the editorial ladder at a number of publications.

In 1988 she was offered the position at US Vogue, which she now holds “indefinitely” — as Condé Naste stated several years ago amidst a flurry of retirement rumors.

When Wintour took the helm of the famous fashion magazine, its advertising revenue was threatened by a new women’s lifestyle magazine, “Elle.”

Yet thanks to Wintour, “Vogue” carved its own niche and came out on top.

The publication moved away from only featuring models on the cover. Prominent women in politics and Hollywood such as Angelina Jolie and Hillary Clinton soon had star billing.

“Vogue” covers have since featured men like Timothee Chalamet and even prominant activists such as transgender LGTBQ+ rights activist Ariel Nicholson. 

102-year-old Holocaust survivor and advocate Margot Friedländer was featured in German “Vogue” earlier this year.

And who can forget about Kamala Harris’s “Vogue” cover controvery? 

Wintour helped the magazine’s parent company, Condé Naste, launch a number of spinoff magazines, including “Teen Vogue” which hit shelves in 1993.

She also made a name for the magazine by associating it with a number of high-end philanthropic events in Manhattan, most notably the Met Gala, which she helped transform into a star-studded celebrity event known as the East Coast’s answer to the Oscars.

Wintour is lauded for her ability to mix the fashion world with Hollywood, helping fashion designers and brands reach the public.

Wintour makes ‘Vogue’ a global brand

The original US edition of “Vogue” was first published in 1892, with the British edition coming next in 1916.

Currently, there are over 28 international editions of “Vogue” magazine. The expansion of the brand has shaped the global fashion scene. 

Wintour’s editorial decisions have played a role in how the magazines operate in their respective countries.

The launch of “Vogue Africa” in 2021 helped bring African designers into the international spotlight. 

Meanwhile, “Vogue” India launched in 2007 under Wintour’s personal guidance.

The Indian edition has since helped position the country as a major player in the fashion industry, promoting the merging of traditional Indian attire with contemporary styles.

Not doing enough for diversity

Yet Wintour’s reign is not without controversy.

US “Vogue” has been accused of underrepresenting people of color and of not doing enough to celebrate diversity in the notoriously privileged and snobby world of fashion.

The industry, like others, has been called upon to be more inclusive, particularly since the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

“Vogue” has made more of an effort to put Black women like the pop singer Rhianna and former First Lady Michelle Obama on the cover in recent years, and Wintour herself put out a statement supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

But critics say that Wintour has the power to do a lot more.

A study by digital media outlet “The Pudding” found that between 2000 and 2005 only 3 out of 81 models on the covers of “Vogue” were Black.

Such numbers suggest that the 36 years with Wintour at the helm has not significantly changed the status quo as white people still dominate fashion covers.

A 2020 “New York Times” article about Conde Nast detailed the experiences of Black former employees.

Among other grievances, they said they “faced ignorance and lazy stereotyping from white bosses when the subject of covering black culture came up.”

Critiques of “Vogue” aren’t left simply to the US magazine that Wintour runs. After all, she is responsible for overseeing all international content.

A 2022 cover of British “Vogue” featuring nine models from Africa came under fire for upholding western beauty ideals and fetishising blackness — all models were wearing western-style hairdos, and their skin was said to be edited to be darker.

For now, Wintour continues to hold onto her post “indefinitely.”

While her accomplishments as a strong editorial director and business savvy leader are laudable, the next generation could soon be called to take the lead and bring a fresh perspective to fashion world’s most influential publication.