With the recent news that Wintour would remain as Editor-in-Chief of Vogue US, Saffron Clark takes a look at her 30 years at the magazine’s helm.
British-born fashion titan Anna Wintour is celebrating 30 years at Vogue US this year and it’s safe to say she has created a whole new Vogue in her time. Just look at what she has achieved for the magazine over her 30 years and it’s clear why she is still in charge. She has become well known for her bob, which she has had since she was 14, oversized blocky sunglasses and nickname “Nuclear Wintour”, due to her frosty demeanour.
In 1988 she was tasked with reviving US Vogue as Editor-in-Chief after Grace Mirabella was fired for turning the magazine into cheaper, more affordable fashion and lifestyle for the American women during the recession. Wintour was hired as the younger, fresher, new face for Vogue and refocused the magazine to designer brands and couture mixed with less expensive brands and lesser known models.
Wintour’s first cover for Vogue included an Israeli model wearing a bejewelled Christian Lacroix Jacket and Guess jeans, as the model couldn’t fit into the matching skirt after gaining a little weight on holiday. Thus, jeans made their debut on the cover of Vogue and a new piece of fashion history was made. This was so far from the norm for Vogue that the printers had to check there hadn’t been a mistake made, proving from the start she would bring great change to the publication.
In 1989 she chose Madonna as the cover girl for the February issue, making it the first cover in the publication’s history to have a non-model on the front cover. This has led to us seeing amazing and influential people such as Rihanna, Kate Middleton, Lupita Nyong’o and Serena Williams. However, the lack of new and lesser known models in the last few years has created a rumour that Anna secretly hates the trend she created of putting celebrities on the cover.
The September issue will always be the largest issue of the year; a record-breaking issue came about in 2012 with 916 pages and fell to a low of 774 last year. The September 2018 issue was co-created with Beyoncé; she was given creative control, hiring Tyler Mitchell as the first black photographer to shoot a cover for the magazine in its 126 years of publication. Mitchell has also become one of the youngest photographers to shoot the cover, choosing to photograph Beyoncé outside of London in a dilapidated English country house.
Condé Nast confirmed in August that Wintour would be remaining at Vogue ‘indefinitely’ and there was no foreseeable future without her at the helm. Let’s hope to see more diverse, creative content in the future issues of Vogue.
By Saffron Clark
Image: Page Six