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Surprise! Anna Wintour is stepping down from her role at American Vogue. Wintour—who’s led American Vogue as editor-in-chief for 37 years—announced the news in a staff meeting on Wednesday morning. The pub will be seeking a new head of editorial content. However, she will continue to hold her dual positions as Vogue‘s global chief content offer and Condé Nast’s chief content officer, where she oversees all of Condé’s international titles aside from The New Yorker.
Anna Wintour
Wintour’s career at Vogue truly transformed the magazine, making the U.S. edition a leading force in fashion media today. Before becoming EIC at the publication, she served as its creative director in 1983, later leading British Vogue as EIC from 1985 to 1987 before rejoining American Vogue. In 1988, her first issue on newsstands—November 1988, featuring Michaela Bercu wearing a Christian Lacroix sweater and $50 Guess jeans—caused a stir in media regarding what “high fashion” meant. Throughout the ’90s, her covers led the conversation around celebrity and fashion’s overlap—and occasionally caused controversy when going against corporate or public opinion—with star power from Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, Ivana Trump, Renée Zellweger, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, and more.
Vogue November 1988 (Courtesy of Vogue)
During the 2000’s and 2010’s, Wintour continued to push the envelope of fashion media and align Vogue‘s issues with both current events and topical pop culture moments. Notable cover highlights include Kirsten Dunst’s turn in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (September 2006), Sarah Jessica Parker’s return as Carrie Bradshaw for the Sex and the City movie (June 2008), Michelle Obama’s tenure as First Lady (March 2009), Kate Moss’ wedding to Jamie Hince (August 2011), Vogue‘s biggest-ever issue at 916 pages, featuring Lady Gaga (September 2012), Rihanna’s pregnancy reveal (May 2022), and Zendaya’s Met Gala co-chair debut (May 2024). One of her greatest feats, however, was Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s April 2014 cover, timed to their lavish wedding that spring. The viral moment marked both stars’ first cover for the title, as well as its first interracial couple, first reality TV star, and first rapper to be featured on the cover; Kardashian would later go on to cover Vogue‘s May 2019 and March 2022 covers solo.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West for Vogue April 2014 (Annie Leibovitz/Courtesy of Vogue)
During her tenure at Vogue, Wintour also extended her cultural influence beyond creating hotly anticipated covers. Her team over the years included editors that became ones to watch in the media world, including Andre Leon Talley, Edward Enninful, Chioma Nnadi, Leah Faye Cooper, Plum Sykes, Naomi Elizee, José Criales-Unzueta, Hamish Bowles, and Edward Barsamian. Where fashion was concerned, she frequently launched designers’ careers and advised various brands on their business and creative directions, including Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Joseph Altuzarra, Zac Posen, Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez, Jonathan Anderson, and more. Her broader influence also extended to the Met Gala, which she began co-chairing in 1995 and turned into the thematic and star-studded fundraiser we know it as today. Wintour additionally spearheaded the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund’s launch to support emerging designers, a project she’s led since the competition began in 2004.
Thom Browne, Andrew Bolton, Anna Wintour (BFA.com)
In addition to these projects, however, Wintour became a fixture in pop culture as well. Widely seen as the face of fashion media, her signature bob, sunglasses, and colorful gemstone necklaces became a fixture on the streets of New York City and Fashion Week front rows—and were even parodied on multiple occasions on Saturday Night Live. Entire articles were written on Wintour’s lifestyle as well, from why she wears her sunglasses indoors to her go-to lunch and coffee orders. Her presence in fashion and media is so immense that it’s even been covered in books, most recently Amy Odell’s 2022 in-depth biography Anna, which charts Wintour’s life and career from her childhood to the present day.
Anna Wintour (Neil Rasmus/ BFA for The Mark Hotel)
Wintour’s exit follows a flurry of recent changes at Condé Nast. Most recently, Susan Cappa resigned as the company’s head of sales for fashion and luxury this week. Earlier this month, Wintour named Mark Guiducci as the creative director for Vanity Fair, following editor-in-chief Radhika Jones‘ surprise exit from the magazine in April. It also begs the question: Who will follow in her footsteps for media’s most coveted job? Stay tuned!
We’ve reached out to Vogue for comment on the announcement.
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