Anna Wintour Embraces a New Era at Vogue

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Sep 5, 2025

Anna Wintour, the iconic editor of Vogue since 1988, discusses her decision to step back and pass the baton to Chloe Malle. Wintour reflects on her influential career, revealing how her publishing background shaped her vision. The conversation touches on the evolving fashion industry, emphasizing the importance of new voices and perspectives. Wintour also highlights the blend of creativity and activism in modern fashion, including impactful moments like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's statement at the Met Ball, proving that fashion continues to be a powerful form of self-expression.

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INSIGHT

Right Time For A Generational Shift

Wintour stepped aside because fashion is changing with many new creative directors and a new generation.
She felt it was the right moment to bring in someone with a different perspective and generation.

INSIGHT

Vogue As A Global Influencer

Wintour calls Vogue the world's biggest fashion influencer with massive social reach across platforms.
She argues Chloe Mal will have a broader platform than she did because of digital and social channels.

ADVICE

Make Print Issues Rare And Important

Make print editions collectible and deliver news-making, substantial issues rather than frequent routine issues.
Use print as a curated runway show that conveys clear editorial vision and rarity.

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Speculation, analysis, and commentary circulated all summer, after the announcement, in June, that Anna Wintour would step back from her role as the editor-in-chief of American Vogue. This changing of the guard is uniquely fraught, because Wintour’s name has become nearly inextricable from the magazine, to a degree almost unknown today. And, as New York Fashion Week was set to begin, Wintour spoke with David Remnick about choosing her successor, the Vogue.com editor Chloe Malle. “It felt like this was the right time,” she says. With an unusual number of new creative directors in positions at major fashion houses, “It seemed like a good moment to bring in someone with a different perspective and a different generation who could look at things in a new way.” Wintour was appointed editor-in-chief in 1988, and generations of designers have come up under her famously acute and decisive judgments. She comes from a publishing family; her brother is a well-known journalist, and her father was the editor of the London Evening Standard. She credits him with steering her into a career in fashion, even suggesting that the teen-age Anna write down “editor of Vogue” as her career aspiration on a school form. “Working my first jobs in London, there [was] no money, there’s no staff, there’s no teams, so that you have to learn how to do everything,” Wintour says. “So, when I came to the States and there was a shoe editor and an underwear editor and a fabric editor, it was all so siloed. I felt very confident because I sort of knew how to do everything.” Wintour is also known for bringing politics to Vogue; she’s a noted Democratic supporter and donor. “I’ve been impressed by Governor Newsom, I think he’s certainly making a stand, and obviously I’m sure there’ll be many other candidates that will emerge, hopefully soon.” But, in this political environment, Remnick asks, “How do you make a case that fashion is important?” Fashion, she replies, “is always important. It’s a question of self-expression and a statement about yourself. . . . And, forgive me, David, but how boring would it be if everybody was just wearing a dark suit and a white shirt all the time?”