In October 1988, shortly after Dame Anna Wintour dispatched her inaugural issue of US Vogue, the magazine’s printers contacted them with a question about the cover: “Has there been a mistake?”
The cover, which marked Dame Anna’s debut as editor-in-chief, showcased Michaela Bercu, a relatively unknown model, smiling in a Christian Lacroix couture jacket.
Two elements deviated significantly from Vogue’s established norms: the model was photographed outdoors, on a street, and she was wearing jeans. The printers suspected a possible error.
“I couldn’t blame them,” Dame Anna later recalled. “It was such a departure from the studied and elegant close-ups typical of Vogue covers back then, complete with heavy makeup and elaborate jewelry. This cover defied all conventions.”
The jeans were, in fact, a last-minute substitution after the intended skirt proved to be an ill fit. However, the underlying message was clear: the cover star represented the everyday woman, signaling a new era for Vogue.
Dame Anna’s arrival and her embrace of unconventional approaches “signalled a revolution” at the magazine, according to CNN Style’s Oscar Holland, who lauded her debut issue for its “warm and easygoing” tone.
Having spent two years at the helm of British Vogue, Dame Anna was specifically recruited to the US edition to instigate change and ensure the magazine maintained its relevance as it approached the 1990s.
In the decades that followed, Dame Anna “steered the title from glossy print editions featuring first supermodels then grunge, via Noughties celebrity culture and reality TV stars, into an online era of social media and digital publishing,” noted Harriet Walker, fashion editor at The Times.
This week, Dame Anna announced her departure as Vogue’s editor-in-chief after 37 years of leadership.
She will remain as chief content officer at publisher Condé Nast, a position she assumed in 2020, where she will continue to oversee content for Vogue and other company titles, including GQ, Wired, and Tatler.
While she will remain with the company, her exit as editor-in-chief signifies the end of a remarkable era for the magazine, one that significantly shaped pop culture.
Dame Anna will be remembered for “the greater sense of informality that she brought to her early Vogue covers” and the tone they established, according to Dr. Kate Strasdin, senior lecturer at Falmouth University’s Fashion and Textile Institute.
“She also pioneered the celebrity cover image, placing popular culture under the renowned Vogue banner.”
In her first year as editor-in-chief, Dame Anna featured Madonna on the cover, marking the first time a celebrity had appeared, as part of her broader strategy to integrate fashion and entertainment.
“She was the first to make fashion a global, cultural industry,” Marian Kwei, stylist and Vogue contributor, told BBC Radio 4’s Today. She added that Dame Anna “also demonstrated that fashion could be more approachable.”
“She eliminated the elitism associated with fashion, democratizing it and transforming it into a party to which everyone was invited.”
The journey hasn’t been without its challenges. In 1993, the animal rights group PETA occupied her office in protest of Dame Anna’s decision to wear fur, a practice she has since abandoned.
There have also been occasional cultural missteps. The LeBron James and Gisele Bündchen cover in April 2008 sparked debate about whether it reinforced outdated racial and power stereotypes, Dr. Strasdin recalls.
More recently, Dame Anna faced the significant challenge of transitioning Vogue into the digital age amid heightened competition.
In 2018, designer Philip Plein compared Vogue’s readership with Kim Kardashian’s Instagram following.
“What is more important for a brand today?” he questioned. “This is an intriguing question.”
Given the rapidly evolving media landscape, some industry observers have wondered whether Condé Nast quietly asked Dame Anna to step down to make room for new leadership.
However, Alexandra Shulman, former editor of British Vogue, expressed doubt, telling BBC News: “I don’t believe there is any sentiment that a new vision is required.
“Anna has made it abundantly clear that she will remain in control at American Vogue… so I think she will continue to have the final say.”
Shulman added that Dame Anna would likely select her own successor at Vogue.
Dame Anna is as renowned for her personal image as she is for the aesthetic she cultivated in her magazines. Her signature sunglasses and bob haircut have contributed to her status as an instantly recognizable figure.
She cryptically told the BBC’s Katie Razzall last year that her sunglasses “help me see and help me not see… they help me be seen and not be seen.”
The editor has always been somewhat enigmatic, and is likely aware that the conversation and speculation surrounding her only serve to amplify interest.
She downplayed the emphasis on her image, stating: “I don’t really think about it. What I’m truly interested in is the creative aspect of my job.”
Her reputation as an editor has, of course, been widely discussed, Dr. Strasdin notes.
“The fashion industry has traditionally been a space where egos and creativity can clash spectacularly,” she says, adding that documentaries such as The September Issue and First Monday in May “offer insights into the complexities of that world.”
Over time, Dame Anna became a significant figure not only in fashion but also in Western culture. She is frequently referenced in hip-hop lyrics by artists such as Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, and Ye (formerly Kanye West).
“I believe what she has accomplished,” reflected Kwei, “is carving out a space in fashion, culture, time, and history that we will never be able to surpass.”
Dame Anna served as a loose inspiration for Miranda Priestly, the formidable magazine editor portrayed by Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada.
The editor has occasionally appeared to embrace the comparison, attending the gala night for the stage adaptation last year.
When asked if she thought people were afraid of her in real life, Dame Anna responded: “I hope not.”
Dame Anna’s impact can be seen in various ways, including, for example, at Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s wedding to Lauren Sánchez in Venice this weekend.
“She created that moment, and almost created that brand,” former Sun editor David Yelland told the BBC. “It was when she put Lauren Sanchez on the front of Vogue in 2023 that the Bezos/Sanchez brand started.
“She did the same with Kim Kardashian and she did the same with the Trumps. When she put Ivana on the front in 1990 it was incredibly controversial, people called it tacky, but that was the beginning of the Trump brand in the higher end of global society. So she’s not just an editor, she’s the high priestess of our time.”
The question of Dame Anna’s successor is complex. “This is a challenging era for print media,” explains Dr. Strasdin. “Vogue’s social media platforms are frequently under fire for the seemingly relentless celebrity content, which critics decry as diluting the mission of Vogue.
“However, a strong digital presence is crucial. Eva Chen, as director of fashion partnerships for Instagram, brings that expertise. She has long been a Met Gala regular and has to be on the longlist, I should think.”
“Chioma Nnadi must also be in the running,” she continues. “She hails from London and has spent the last two years heading up editorial content at British Vogue. She is Wintour’s protege, and it does feel as if she has been waiting in the wings.”
Other possible candidates, according to the Daily Mail’s fashion editor, Margaret Abrams, include former head of Teen Vogue Amy Astley, who still works for Condé Nast editing another magazine.
Vogue’s senior editor Chloe Schama, her namesake Chloe Malle, editor of Vogue’s website, or even Dame Anna’s own daughter, film producer Bee Shaffer Carrozzini, could also be considered.
“As ever fashion is regarded as both superficial and economically valuable,” says Dr. Strasdin.
“Anna Wintour has had to tread the tightrope of maintaining relevance as far as style is concerned at the very same time that fashion has had to undergo re-evaluation in relation to sustainability, plagiarism, and labor conditions.
“I think these are the very real concerns that her successor will have to navigate.”
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