The devil wears ... Chanel: the success story of Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour
'12.08.2020'
Source: Burning hut
Anna Wintour has always been known for her tough management style - even people far from the fashion industry knew about this, especially after the release of the film “The Devil Wears Prada”: after all, Anna became the prototype of the “devil”, writes Burning hut.
Wintour has been the permanent editor of the American Vogue magazine for 30 years. Her word can elevate a designer to a fashion Olympus or destroy his career forever.
"Vogue is the bible of fashion, the editorial office is the temple, and Anna Wintour is our Pope," said Grace Coddington, editor-in-chief of the world's most famous magazine.
Closed from prying eyes with Chanel glasses, with an impeccable hairstyle and an ambiguous character, Anna Wintour has become a legend in the fashion world. We are trying to understand what her secret is.
Declare what you want
Anne's father, Charles Wintour, worked as an editor for The Evening Standard in London. He often asked his daughter's opinion when planning new headings in the newspaper. Anna helped him make the publication more attractive to young people. It was Charles Wintour who influenced Anna's entire life, as she said in the documentary.
When she was ten years old, she asked her father what to write on the school questionnaire about who she would become in the future. Charles offered to write that she would become the editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine.
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After graduating from school, Anna decided not to go to college, but to do fashion journalism. Her parents persuaded her to take a course at the trendy Harrods department store, but Anna dropped out, saying, "You either understand fashion or you don't." At 21, Wintour got a job at Harpers & Queen as an assistant in the fashion department. And she often told colleagues that she wanted to become an editor of Vogue and change it.
Anna did not hesitate to speak to anyone about her goal. While she was working as a fashion editor for New York magazine, one of her colleagues arranged an interview with Vogue editor-in-chief Grace Mirabella. Which ended when Anna openly told Grace that she wanted her position.
Wintour got into the edition at the age of 34. The editorial director of Condé Nast Publications was impressed by her work in New York and offered Anna the position of creative director for Vogue. She agreed with the condition of double pay and complete freedom of action.
Make your style a calling card
“Some people say it's primitive to be interested in fashion. I always stress that this is a matter of self-respect. If you enjoy dressing well, it doesn't mean you're an idiot, ”says Anna Wintour.
A bob haircut and black sunglasses are synonymous with Anna Wintour's name. She is recognized before she fully enters the room.
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On the Internet, you will not find a single photo of Anna Wintour with any other hairstyle except a bob. She has been wearing this haircut since she was 15. That is, for 55 years now, Anna's hairstyle has remained unchanged and always impeccable.
The second hallmark of Wintour's style is, of course, the black Chanel sunglasses. It's hard for photographers to catch Vogue's editor-in-chief without this accessory. She wears sunglasses even indoors. A CNN editor once asked in an interview why Anna wears them all the time. Wintour replied: “Glasses are useful, they hide your thoughts from others. They also help when I get very tired or start to get bored. Over time they became the mainstay of my image. "
Finally, the third feature of her style is natural fur. While designers and influencers promoted eco-fashion and fought for animal rights, Anna continued to wear furs of all shapes, styles and colors. For which, of course, animal rights activists hated her. Wintour threw a dead raccoon at breakfast in a restaurant, threw a tofu pie at her. After the last incident, she was asked what she would do after the incident. Anna replied, "I will wear even more fur."
Wearing natural fur is really unethical and not environmentally friendly, especially when there are many fake analogues. But Anna's steadfastness and her loyalty to her vision, and not the opinion of others, cannot but admire.
Either you are nice to everyone, or you work
In 1985, Anna Wintour took over as editor-in-chief at British Vogue. She completely changed the structure of work in the publication, replaced many employees, demanded full reports and delved into all the subtleties of the magazine's production, personally controlling the entire process.
For her difficult character and excessive perfectionism, the employees came up with the nickname "nuclear winter" (according to the consonance of the Wintour surname with the English word "winter" - winter).
She was called an upstart, control freak snob.
In the world of fashion, the complex character of Anna Wintour has long been legendary. But the general public became aware of her character after the release of the film "The Devil Wears Prada", based on the novel of the same name by the former assistant to the editor-in-chief of Vogue. The author portrayed Wintour's prototype, Miranda Priestley, as a vain and domineering woman who happily entrusts her frightened employees with impossible tasks.
The book on which the film was filmed had the effect of an exploding bomb. The rights to the film adaptation were bought even before its publication, because everyone understood that Vogue and Anna Wintour were hiding behind the “Catwalk” and the name of Miranda Priestley, and there would be a lot of people wishing to look into the kitchen of the “fashion bible”.
Many designers, fearing the anger of Anna Wintour, refused to participate in the filming in the role of themselves, but still provided their clothes. Chanel outfits most often appear in the film, and it is even jokingly called a commercial for this fashion house.
Despite the controversy of the heroine, the film only brought Wintour more popularity. Anna Wintour herself even came to the premiere of the film. Dressed in Prada from head to toe
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The heavy nature of Wintour bore fruit for the publication. Under her editorship, American Vogue came out on top among other glossy publications. She increased her sales. The September 2007 issue, which is still considered the thickest issue in the entire history of the publication, contained 840 pages, and 727 of them were occupied by advertising. Wintour's flair has opened the world to new designers, such as John Galliano, Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs.
Her harsh management practices are ethically controversial. Although many of those who work side-by-side with Wintour admire her, despite Anna's complex nature, and admit that without her Vogue would not be "the one". Tom Florio, the magazine's publisher, said of Anna: “She is not unavailable. It just doesn't open to everyone. She is not cute and friendly. She works".
Look at familiar things from a different angle
Perhaps Anna Wintour would not have stayed in the chair of the editor-in-chief of Vogue for 32 years if she was afraid to make changes to the policy of the century-old magazine. Under Grace Mirabella, Wintour's predecessor, the magazine focused more on lifestyle in general than fashion. The publication began to lose ground to the then very young gloss Elle.
After radical changes in the editorial staff, Anna Wintour changed the style of the covers. She took the models out of the studio to the street and was one of the first to put celebrities on the cover. But the craziest, according to the fashion world, was the first cover of Wintour.
It was a photograph of 19-year-old Mikaela Burcu in faded $ 50 jeans and a jeweled jacket by Christian Lacroix. Its cost was estimated at $ 10. For that time, a shocking combination. The printers even called Wintour to make sure it was indeed a cover and not a mistake.
Anna later recalled that day: “Initially, the jacket was part of the suit, but the skirt did not fit Michaela, as she gained a little weight. So we decided to replace the skirt with Guess jeans. It only reinforced the idea of taking the haughty grandeur of couture and playfully throwing it headlong into real life. It was a leap of faith for Vogue and it worked. "
