Anna Wintour has stepped down as Vogue’s editor-in-chief after leading the fashion publication for 37 years.
According to The Daily Front Row and WWD, Wintour, 75, told Vogue staff members on Wednesday morning. The Met Gala co-chair will still be Condé Nast’s global chief content officer and global editorial director at Vogue, as she leaves her current role as the head of editorial content.
Wintour’s big break at Vogue came in 1983 when she landed the role as creative director of the American magazine. In 1985, Wintour replaced Beatrix Miller as editor-in-chief of British Vogue, but leapt back to New York City in 1988 to take over as Vogue editor-in-chief. In 2013, Wintour became the artistic director of Condé Nast, and in 2019, earned her third job title when she was named global content advisor.
Since taking the editor-in-chief position and running her first cover in November 1988 — which was the first time denim was featured on the cover — she’s made large changes with both the Vogue brand and the magazine.
“It was so unlike the studied and elegant close-ups that were typical of Vogue’s covers back then, with tons of makeup and major jewelry. This one broke all the rules,” Wintour told Vogue about the cover back in 2012. “Afterwards, in the way that these things can happen, people applied all sorts of interpretations: It was about mixing high and low, Michaela was pregnant, it was a religious statement. But none of these things was true. I had just looked at that picture and sensed the winds of change. And you can’t ask for more from a cover image than that.”
Wintour’s rein as editor-in-chief also marked the start of putting celebrities on the cover of magazines, which other publications were quick to follow.
Since 1995, Wintour has also carefully presided over the Met Gala and its exclusive guest list. With her signature black sunglasses and perfectly coiffed bob, the British editor has been a mainstay at the Met Gala and in the fashion world for decades.
The news of Wintour’s departure comes a few months after the journalist talked about her retirement rumors during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, where she was made a companion of honor.
“This morning, His Majesty asked me if this meant I was going to stop working, and I said firmly, no. It makes me even more convinced that I have so much more to achieve,” she said at the time.
Wintour’s replacement has not yet been revealed.
