Anna Wintour, a British fashion journalist best known for her position as editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine, has become widely regarded as the leader of the fashion industry due to her keen eye for emerging fashion trends and encouragement of fashion houses to feature younger designers. Since taking the position of editor-in-chief since 1988, Wintour has completely transformed both the operations and aesthetics of the magazine.
Prior to Wintour’s leadership, the magazine was more focused on lifestyles rather than on fashion; under her editorship, Vogue returned to being dominated by fashion articles and photo spreads. She altered the physical appeal of the magazine by featuring lesser-known models on its covers and allowing these models to dress less conservatively in the cover shots. Most notable of all, Wintour takes care to mix high fashion pieces, such as multi-thousand dollar bejeweled t-shirts, with inexpensive items such as thrifted faded jeans.
Several films on Wintour’s life have also premiered in the past few years, such as The Devil Wears Prada (originally a book authored by her former personal assistant Lauren Weisberger), and the documentary, The September Issue (named for Vogue's largest and most anticipated annual issue in September). She has also recently been inducted to The American Society of Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame.
A particularly admirable trait of Wintour is that she is an active philanthropist—in addition to being a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, she is an avid fundraiser for the Museum’s Costume Institute, the founder of the CFDA/Vogue Fund to support and mentor unknown fashion designers, and an advocate for AIDS prevention awareness.
Wintour is publically regarded as a highly autocratic leader who is emotionally distant from all who surround her, including her close friends. Nicknamed “Nuclear Wintour,” the aloof editor-in-chief is also extremely intimidating when it comes to directing her magazine. Vogue photographers cannot start their spreads until Wintour approves the setup and clothing involved; after the shoot, all the frames must be submitted, not just the ones the photographer wishes to use. In addition, she personally reads every piece of writing before it is set for publication. Wintour has been described as a perfectionist and inconsiderate towards her employees’ feelings; at one point, she even had to pay damages of over $100K to a former employee to settle a lawsuit.
Despite her success, Wintour also has her flaws. She is also known for being opinionated, particularly on the issue of obesity; Wintour has made clear her preference for thin body types on multiple occasions. Her terse personality has been the source of many conflicts, and her elitist attitude forces marked discomfort on many who encounter her.
Without Wintour’s efforts, the state of Vogue and the fashion industry would be shockingly different. It is only through her strong leadership that both have been able to thrive and inspire even the average fashionista, like myself.
Photos courtesy of: AccionUSA and i-SpyStyle.
This is a great post! I absolutely love Vogue and Anna Wintour. Although she is known as "Nuclear Wintour" and she seems extremely intimidating, she is the best editor around. She might not be the friendliest woman, but I agree that her characteristics make her a great leader.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed this post. Though I'd heard of Wintour, I didn't really know much about her. Your post was very informative and your analysis of her as a leader was on point. Great job!
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