As the influential "Vogue" editor steps down after a 37-year reign, here's a look at how she turned the magazine into the world's fashion bible — and why she has many critics.
A woman with a bob cut wearing oversized sunglasses sits in the front row of nearly every major fashion show.
She is, of course, the iconic Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief ofVoguemagazine.
For nearly four decades, Wintour has been at the helm of USVogue. On Thursday, she announced that she would no longer run the day-to-day editing of the fashion bible.
But this does not mean retirement for the 75-year-old British style mogul.
Conde Nast, the magazine group owner, confirmed she would continue to hold senior roles at the group and remainVogue's global editorial director.
Wintour has not only influenced how people dress in the US, she has also had a hand in shapingfashionglobally, including in Africa and India.
Of course, her ongoing legacy is not without criticism.
Speculation abounds as to whether the heartless antagonist in the 2006 film, "The Devil Wears Prada" — and the book of the same name written by Wintour assistant, Lauren Weisberger — was directly inspired by theVogueeditor-in-chief.
In the movie, a ruthless fashion boss, played by Meryl Streep, terrorizes her employees.
While Wintour herself has labeled the book and the movie "fiction," a 2022 biography by Amy Odell confirms that the fashionista had an assistant responsible for making sure her daily breakfast of extra-hot grande Starbucks latte and blueberry muffin was waiting on her desk.
Whatever the veracity of the claim that Wintour was more than just a loose inspiration for the hit film, the character did reflect theVoguechief's ability to reign over the fashion world.
Wintour was born into a well-off family in London in 1949. Her father, an editor of theLondon Evening Standarddaily newspaper, helped her land her first job atHarpers & Queenmagazine as a fashion assistant at the age of 20.
She eventually moved toNew Yorkand continued to climb the editorial ladder at a number of publications.
In 1988, she was offered the position at USVogue. When Wintour took the helm of the famous fashion magazine, its advertising revenue was threatened by a new women's lifestyle magazine,Elle.
Yet thanks to Wintour,Voguecarved its own niche and came out on top.
The publication moved away from only featuring models on the cover. Prominent women in politics and Hollywood such asAngelina Jolieand Hillary Clinton soon had star billing.
Voguecovers have since featured men like Timothee Chalamet and even prominent activists such as transgenderLGTBQ+ rightsactivist Ariel Nicholson.
And who can forget aboutKamala Harris'Voguecover controversy?In January 2021, the portrait of the then-US vice president elect was criticized for featuring her casually dressed, claiming it diminished her achievements. Wintour was forced to defend the image, and a second, more formal, cover shot was also produced for the digital version of the magazine.
Wintour helped the magazine's parent company, Conde Nast, launch a number of spinoff magazines, includingTeen Voguewhich hit shelves in 1993.
She also made a name for the magazine by associating it with a number of high-end philanthropic events in Manhattan, most notably theMet Gala, which she helped transform into a star-studded celebrity event known as the East Coast's answer to theOscars.
Wintour is lauded for her ability to mix the fashion world with Hollywood, helping fashion designers and brands reach the public.
The original US edition ofVoguewas first published in 1892, with the British edition coming next in 1916.
Currently, there are over 28 international editions ofVoguemagazine. The expansion of the brand has shaped the global fashion scene.
Wintour's editorial decisions have played a role in how the magazines operate in their respective countries.
The launch ofVogue Africain 2021 helped bringAfrican designersinto the international spotlight. Meanwhile,Vogue Indialaunched in 2007 under Wintour's personal guidance.
The Indian edition has since helped position the country as a major player in the fashion industry, promoting the merging of traditional Indian attire with contemporary styles.
Yet Wintour's reign has not been without controversy.
USVoguehas been accused of underrepresenting people of color and of not doing enough to celebrate diversity in the notoriously privileged and snobby world of fashion.
The industry, like others, has been called upon to be more inclusive, particularly since the murder ofGeorge Floydin 2020.
Voguehas made more of an effort to put Black women like the pop singer Rihanna and former US first lady Michelle Obama on the cover in recent years, and Wintour herself put out a statement supporting theBlack Lives Matter movement.
But critics also said Wintour had the power to do a lot more.
A study by digital media outlet "The Pudding"found that between 2000 and 2005, only three out of 81 models on the covers ofVoguewere Black.
A 2020New York Timesarticleabout Conde Nast detailed the experiences of Black former employees.
Among other grievances, they said they "faced ignorance and lazy stereotyping from white bosses when the subject of covering Black culture came up."
Criticism of Wintour extended to the various international editions she was also responsible for.
A 2022 cover of BritishVoguefeaturing nine models from Africa came under fire for upholding Western beauty ideals and fetishizing Blackness — all models were wearing Western-style hairdos, and their skin was said to be edited to be darker.
Another recent headline-grabbing incident concerns the fashion mogul's role as longtime co-chair of the prestigious Met Gala, the annual haute couture fundraising festival held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in Manhattan.
Ahead of the2025 event, a video started circulating on social media, seemingly showing Wintour explaining why she had "permanently removed" Donald Trump from the Met Gala invitation list. It stated that he "never truly belonged," and she didn't "want this most sacred night in the fashion world to be reduced to someone's political show."
But the video was found to be a deepfake, combining altered footage from an authenticVogueinterview with an AI-generated voice.
As a guest at "The Late Late Show with James Corden" in 2017, Wintour did however name the US president as a person she would "never invite back" to the prestigious event.
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Update, June 27, 2025: A previous version of this article was published on November 4, 2024 to mark Anna Wintour's 75th birthday. It has been updated following the news of Wintour's decision to step down as editor of Vogue.