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Date with the Devil
The Vogue editrix on the Vogue editrix
Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour’s persona has always overshadowed her work. At the helm of multi-million dollar earner Vogue magazine for over 20 years now, Wintour turned a stale brand into an advertising goldmine. Yet the public’s focus on the woman has always been her treatment of her staffers, her affairs with older men, and her penchant for wearing Chanel sunglasses indoors. In truth, Wintour may be a rough boss, but she is a brilliant worker, strategist, and cultural captain. She is a businesswoman with a capital “B.”
Because of her family’s position, Wintour grew up in tune with London’s political, cultural and media worlds. Her father was an editor at the London Evening Standard. There, his demeanor earned him the nickname Chilly Charlie, and his daughter has acquired a similar moniker, Nuclear Wintour, for both her iciness and her explosive anger. Her mother involved herself in human rights issues. One of her brothers is a politician, another is a political editor, and her sister is also in human rights.
The momentum of Wintour’s career began in her teens. She plowed out of school, quitting early, and went into fashion. She worked her way into the competitive publishing world, always on the swinging London scene. Moving on to New York and Condé Nast, she drove straight for her current position with no noticeable hesitation, stopping off at New York Magazine and Home and Garden. She became editor in chief of American Vogue at age 38. Now, she is also the editorial director of Men’s Vogue and Teen Vogue.
Wintour’s ruling position at Vogue and acumen for business allow her considerable influence in the fashion world, which she exercises with the deftness of a politician. Wintour has a say in the talent appointed by some of the top design houses. With a keen sense of the public’s cravings, she can tout her favored designers. Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs sound familiar? Wintour picked the pair from the multitude of up and coming fashion personalities. In return for her favors, she is known for demanding loyalty to her publishing empire.
Some would have Wintour use her clout to tout their cause, and she is demonized by PETA for her continual support of the fur industry. But Wintour believes in the industry she set out to conquer when she was just a teen, and she puts most of her charitable support into her favorite cause: supporting new designers.
Anna Wintour discusses her cultural impact and philanthropy with Jonathan Tisch; May 12th at the 92nd Street YMCA.