Dame Anna Wintour is a British-American journalist, who has served as Editor-in-Chief of Vogue since 1988 and Global Chief Content Officer for Condé Nast since 2020; she is also the Artistic Director of Condé Nast and the Global Editorial Director of Vogue. With her trademark pageboy bob haircut and dark sunglasses, Wintour has become an important figure in much of the fashion world, praised for her eye for emerging fashion trends.
Wintour is often regarded as the most powerful woman in media and fashion. Her reportedly aloof and demanding personality has earned her the nickname “Nuclear Wintour”. Her father, Charles Wintour, Editor of the London Evening Standard (1959-1976), consulted her on how to make the newspaper relevant to the youth of the era. She became interested in fashion as a teenager. Her career in fashion journalism began at two British magazines.
Later, she moved to the US, with stints at New York and House & Garden. She returned to London and was the editor of British Vogue between 1985 and 1987. A year later, she assumed control of the franchise’s magazine in New York, reviving what many saw as a stagnating publication. Her use of the magazine to shape the fashion industry has been the subject of debate within it. Animal rights activists have attacked her for promoting fur, while other critics have charged her with using the magazine to promote elitist views of femininity and beauty.
A former personal assistant, Lauren Weisberger, wrote the 2003 bestselling roman à clef The Devil Wears Prada, later made into a successful 2006 film starring Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly, a fashion editor, believed to be based on Wintour. In 2009, Wintour was the focus of another film, R. J. Cutler’s documentary, The September Issue.
Some of the best quotes from Anna Wintour are listed below.
- “Create your own individual style. I’m not interested in the girl who walks into my office in a head-to-toe label look that’s straight off the runway. I’m interested in a girl who puts herself together in an original independent way.” – Anna Wintour
- “Don’t run before you can crawl. It’s a very hard business, full of many, many extremely creative, talented people who work hard and still fail. If you have the basic building blocks behind you, you’re much more likely to do well.” – Anna Wintour
- “Even if I’m completely unsure, I’ll pretend I know exactly what I’m talking about and make a decision.” – Anna Wintour
- “Even if you aren’t sure of yourself, pretend that you are – most people prevaricate.” – Anna Wintour
- “Everyone should be sacked at least once in their career because perfection doesn’t exist. It’s important to have setbacks, because that is the reality of life.” – Anna Wintour
- “Everyone should get sacked at least once. It forces you to look at yourself. It is important to have setbacks because that is the reality of life.” – Anna Wintour
- “Fashion can tell you everything that’s going on in the world with a strong fashion image.” – Anna Wintour
- “Fashion goes in only one direction – forward – and I am a firm believer in thinking that way too.” – Anna Wintour
- “Fashion is a reflection of our times. Fashion can tell you everything that’s going on in the world with a strong fashion image.” – Anna Wintour
- “Fashion is a reflection of the time.” – Anna Wintour
- “Fashion is not beautiful, neither is it ugly. Why should it be either? Fashion is fashion.” – Anna Wintour
- “Fashion’s not about looking back. It’s always about looking forward.” – Anna Wintour
- “Go get a job. Whether it’s working as a designer or working in a restaurant and then doing your own thing in your own time, it’s a reality of life. In the end, it’s going to be helpful to you and so many others.” – Anna Wintour
- “I don’t like people who are late.” – Anna Wintour
- “I don’t really follow market research. In the end, I respond to my own instincts.” – Anna Wintour
- “I don’t think in today’s world you can go too far. However, you may feel about social media or the Internet or selfies, it’s part of how we all live today. Vogue needs to understand and reflect that.” – Anna Wintour
- “I learned how important it is to lead and be decisive and to, in a way, empower other people to do their best.” – Anna Wintour
- “I like having young assistants in my office; they have energy, and I spend time with them to make sure they understand what we’re doing. By investing in them, I’m investing in the magazine.” – Anna Wintour
- “I look for strong people. I don’t like people who’ll say yes to everything I might bring up. I want people who can argue and disagree and have a point of view that’s reflected in the magazine.” – Anna Wintour
- “I look for strong people. I don’t like people who’ll say yes to everything I might bring up. I want people who can argue and disagree and have a point of view that’s reflected in the magazine. My dad believed in the cult of personality. He brought great writers and columnists to The Standard.” – Anna Wintour
- “I surround myself with a talented group of people that are opinionated and interesting. I try to remain very open to what others have to say.” – Anna Wintour
- “I think possibly what people working for one hate the most is indecision. Even if I’m completely unsure, I’ll pretend I know exactly what I’m talking about and make a decision.” – Anna Wintour
- “I think possibly what people working for one hate the most is indecision. Even if I’m completely unsure, I’ll pretend I know exactly what I’m talking about and make a decision. The most important thing I can do is try and make myself very clearly understood.” – Anna Wintour
- “I think we’re living, in terms of media, in a very democratic age, but I think that we still look at everything through the lens of Vogue and through our own point of view.” – Anna Wintour
- “I want Vogue to be pacy, sharp, and sexy – I’m not interested in the super-rich or infinitely leisured. I want our readers to be energetic executive women, with money of their own and a wide range of interests. There is a new kind of woman out there. She’s interested in business and money.” – Anna Wintour
- “I wasn’t academically successful. And maybe I’ve spent a lot of my career trying to make up for that.” – Anna Wintour
- “I went to Wimbledon before I could walk. It’s just been a lifelong passion.” – Anna Wintour
- “I worked for Harper’s Bazaar. They fired me. I recommend that you all get fired; it’s a great learning experience.” – Anna Wintour
- “I’m interested in seeing just the girl on the street because she is unlike any other. I’m inspired by whatever it is she might be wearing.” – Anna Wintour
- “I’m struck these days by how often people come up to me and ask to take a photograph instead of shaking hands, meeting one’s eyes, and having an actual conversation.” – Anna Wintour
- “I’m very driven by what I do. I am certainly very competitive. I like people who represent the best at what they do, and if that turns you into a perfectionist, then maybe I am.” – Anna Wintour
- “I’m very good at delegating – people work much better when they have a real sense of responsibility.” – Anna Wintour
- “I’ve been very lucky to put women that I sincerely admire on the cover of Vogue: the then First Lady and now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and, more recently, First Lady Michelle Obama. Those were benchmarks for the magazine, and certainly covers that I’ve been very, very proud of.” – Anna Wintour
- “I’d just been on a trip to Minnesota, where I can only kindly describe most of the people I saw as little houses.” – Anna Wintour
- “I’m an ice queen, I’m the Sun King, I’m an alien fleeing from District 9 and I’m a dominatrix. So, I reckon that makes me a lukewarm royalty with a whip from outer space.” – Anna Wintour
- “I’m interested in seeing just the girl on the street because she is unlike any other. I’m inspired by whatever it is she might be wearing.” – Anna Wintour
- “I’m very driven by what I do. I am certainly very competitive. I like people who represent the best at what they do. If that turns you into a perfectionist then maybe I am.” – Anna Wintour
- “I’m very good at delegating – people work much better when they have a real sense of responsibility. But at the same time, I don’t like surprises. I don’t pore over every shoot, but I do like to be aware at all times of what’s going on.” – Anna Wintour
- “If one comes across sometimes as being cold or brusque, it’s simply because I’m striving for the best.” – Anna Wintour
- “If you can’t be better than your competition, just dress better.” – Anna Wintour
- “If you look at any great fashion photograph out of context, it will tell you just as much about what’s going on in the world as a headline in the New York Times.” – Anna Wintour
- “If you’re an overnight sensation, you can be yesterday’s news in no time. Whereas building something slowly and carefully that has value and quality, that’s what’s going to have legs.” – Anna Wintour
- “In the end I do respond to my own instincts. Sometimes they’re successful, and obviously sometimes they’re not. But you have to, I think, remain true to what you believe in.” – Anna Wintour
- “In today’s world you have to interact. You can’t be some difficult, shy person who is not able to look somebody in the face; you have to present yourself. You have to know how to talk about your vision, your focus and what you believe in.” – Anna Wintour
- “It is a family; it’s a slightly dysfunctional family, but it’s also very close and warm and loving family.” – Anna Wintour
- “It’s the mishaps that make it fun, and brings you the surprise.” – Anna Wintour
- “It’s always about timing. If it’s too soon, no one understands. If it’s too late, everyone’s forgotten.” – Anna Wintour
- “It’s not so much about powerful women. In some cases, there are stereotypes about women. I often don’t hear men talked about in the same way. It’s more a sexist stereotype than a powerful stereotype.” – Anna Wintour
- “It’s possible in today’s world to be instantly famous, whether it’s through Instagram or whatever platform it may be, but it’s a very different matter to be successful financially and in the long-term.” – Anna Wintour
- “It’s the mishaps that make it fun, and brings you the surprise.” – Anna Wintour
- “Just be true to yourself, and listen as much as one is able to, to other people whose opinions you respect and look up to but in the end, it has to come from you.” – Anna Wintour
- “Just dress better. Create your own style, let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others.” – Anna Wintour
- “One should look forward rather than backwards.” – Anna Wintour
- “One wants to be surprised.” – Anna Wintour
- “Part of the pleasure of editing Vogue, one that lies in a long tradition of this magazine, is being able to feature those who define the culture at any given moment, who stir things up, whose presence in the world shapes the way it looks and influences the way we see it.” – Anna Wintour
- “People constantly make the mistake of comparing London with New York, Milan and Paris and that’s not what it’s about. London has its own fashion identity. You come here to find the next Alexander McQueen or John Galliano.” – Anna Wintour
- “People respond well to those that are sure of what they want.” – Anna Wintour
- “She had no time for anything humdrum, banal, or mundane – to the extent that the task of cleaning her desk at every night had to be done with a bottle of Perrier water and Chanel No. 5.” – Anna Wintour
- “Some people have the Bible. I have Vogue.” – Anna Wintour
- “Tears? Are you going for a Barbara Walters moment?” – Anna Wintour
- “The best way to make a dream come true is to wake up.” – Anna Wintour
- “The gossip might make better reading, but the simple fact of the matter is that it isn’t true.” – Anna Wintour
- “The notion that a contemporary woman must look mannish in order to be taken seriously as a seeker of power is frankly dismaying. This is America, not Saudi Arabia.” – Anna Wintour
- “The notion that Anna would want something done “now” and not “shortly” is accurate.” – Anna Wintour
- “The Trump Card is appealing, grounded, smart, and has a sense of humor. Ivanka Trump proves that believing in yourself and working hard never go out of style.” – Anna Wintour
- “There is no typical day. Every day is different, and that’s why it’s fun. Many things are routine – deadlines, certain meetings – but you never really know what’s going to happen.” – Anna Wintour
- “There is something about fashion that can make people really nervous.” – Anna Wintour
- “To be in Vogue has to mean something. It’s an endorsement. It’s a validation.” – Anna Wintour
- “Vogue has a history of picking up on various TV shows that reflect a moment in popular culture, whether it’s putting Lena Dunham on the cover or Sarah Jessica Parker.” – Anna Wintour
- “Vogue is a fashion magazine, and a fashion magazine is about change.” – Anna Wintour
- “Vogue is the best of everything that fashion can offer.” – Anna Wintour
- “We have to reflect the world that we live in. It is so important for designers not to run scared, and not to be too worried about what’s safe and what’s commercial.” – Anna Wintour
- “Well, it just looks so ugly. Is it a boy or is it a girl?” – Anna Wintour
- “When I hear a company is being run by a team, my heart sinks, because you need to have that leader with a vision and heart that can move things forward.” – Anna Wintour
- “With all the new media outlets out there, with all the noise, a voice of authority and calm like Vogue becomes more important than ever.” – Anna Wintour
- “You can’t really worry too much by looking to the left and the right about what the competition is doing or what other people in your field are doing. It has to be a true vision.” – Anna Wintour
- “You either know fashion or you don’t.” – Anna Wintour
- “You just need to have a love for what you’re doing. It’s not about thinking that it’s the cool thing; it’s about really believing in it.” – Anna Wintour
