Anna Wintour examines the room from Vogue’s Manhattan office with a critical eye as she walks through the doorway.
There is a moment of deliberate pause. She snaps, “Why are there so few white people in this room?”
It could be easily parodied. After all, the legendary 71-year-old Vogue editor – with her signature sleek bob and sunglasses – has many times found herself the subject of ruthless satire, most notably in the film, The Devil Wears Prada.
Anna Wintour with Edward Enninful, the first black man to be British Vogue’s editor-in-chief and European editorial director of Condé Nast
But insiders at the world’s most glamorous magazine insist this ‘new Anna’ is all too real – the fashion queen once accused of promoting a ‘white-centric’ universe from a glass-fronted New York skyscraper, has turned woke.
According to a former colleague, Anna is now the champion for diversity.
She is the first to examine a magazine layout and ask if there are enough models, stars, and photographers of black and minority backgrounds.
Another insider complains that she does it all the while, and is well-known for it.
“She walks into a room and asks, “Why is this place so white?” It’s quite a feat for someone who has propagated white culture for many decades that she’s using this phrase.
Wintour, who turns 72 on Tuesday, has spent over five decades in fashion. She has dedicated her life to the whims, diktats, and runways of catwalks, and seems to have lived by the maxim “You can never be too rich or too skinny.”
However, this transformation is her most bold and fashion-forward to date. It is also possibly her least likely.
The legendary 71-year-old Vogue editor – with her signature sleek bob and sunglasses – has many times found herself the subject of ruthless satire
Wintour at the Broadway opening night of “THOUGHTS FROM A COLORED MAN” earlier this month
Her luxurious lifestyle is hardly impacted by social turmoil or struggle.
She has chauffeurs who transport her between her luxurious Manhattan and Long Island homes, celebrity dinner parties, and tennis matches with Roger Federer.
This same privilege has been passed on to the office for years. Former employees claimed that she prioritized staff who were ‘rich and white’ and tokenized women of colour, particularly black women, while she’sidelined’ and tokenized them.
They added that diversity was simply an issue of ‘optics.
The optics have been awful under Wintour’s watch over the past one year.
Alexi McCammond was resigned as Teen Vogue’s new editor after posting racist and homophobic remarks. Adam Rapoport, Bon Appetit’s food editor, also resigned after photos emerged showing him ‘blacking out’ as a Puerto Rican male in fancy dress.
Along with the accolades Wintour has gathered – including a damehood in 2017 – and current roles as artistic director of Vogue’s parent company Conde Nast, editor-in-chief at American Vogue and ‘global content adviser’ to the whole publishing group – there now nestles a coveted new title.
Few could have guessed it – least of all her disgruntled former employees – but Wintour is now head of a Diversity And Inclusion Council at Conde Nast.
Wintour, pictured with Jaden Mike, attended the premiere of Colin In Black And White on Netflix Tuesday. It is the story of Colin Kaepernick (a BLM activist) and American football player Colin Kaepernick.
Wintour, Enninful Rumours abound that British Vogue’s editor in chief could be poised to replace Wintour
In which case, she presumably has completed Conde Nast’s compulsory diversity awareness training.
It’s certainly paying off.
Last week, she was accused of going on an “awake tirade” and bowing to “American wokeness” by removing the word ‘Paris from the title of the French Vogue edition to make it sound less elitist. This sparked a huge row.
After attending a party to celebrate Vogue’s 100th anniversary last month, she declared herself ‘horrified’ because the majority of Vogue covers were white.
On Tuesday, she attended a premiere of Colin In Black And White on Netflix. It is the story about Colin Kaepernick, a BLM activist who was also an American football player, who ‘invented taking a knee before games to protest against police brutality towards blacks.
A few days before, she was seen at Thoughts Of A Colored Man on Broadway, which uses’slam poetry to tell the inner voices of black men in Brooklyn.
What is still unclear, however, is whether this is a genuine attempt to redress the balance, or – far more likely, some say – that Wintour simply accepts that woke is the new black.
And that the price of maintaining her remarkable power and influence is to do what she ‘has to do’ – a policy that has served her well for the past half-century.
Wintour’s survival skills in fashion’s here-today, gone tomorrow world are legendary and part of her extraordinary fascination.
There are many who feel this transformation is too extreme.
“She has oversaw the Bon Appetit crisis as well as the George Floyd crisis and Teen Vogue crisis. And that’s the title she gets?” One source claimed.
‘Everyone was thinking, ‘What the f***?’ Why does she get to be in charge of everything? Even this? Is this a person trying to tell us to be more varied?
Conde Nast, which also holds Tatler and Vanity Fair, is definitely changing the times.
Magazine sales and advertising revenues have dropped during the pandemic. However, the Black Lives Matter movement has gained momentum, challenging the role fashion magazines played in perpetuating what some claim to be white ideals.
Today, Edward Enninful is at the helm of British Vogue – the first black man to hold the position – with rumours swirling that he could be in line to take over from Wintour.
Some have questioned if her latest political maneuvering is simply a knee-jerk response to preserve her legacy.
Insiders said that Edward Enninful “lives and breathes this stuff, and has been doing so for the past four years.”
‘He wants different voices in the magazine, there’s a feeling that his view on diversity is authentic – on some level he has always felt different.
Wintour at a dinner hosted by British Vogue and Tiffany & Co with Naomi Campbell, Claire Foy and Idris Elba last month
Wintour was born on May 25, 1949 in London. Her father was a newspaper editor. Wintour’s family is connected to the aristocracy.
“Anna’s view seems to some to be somewhat reactionary and inauthentic by comparison, as if she’s protecting her heritage.
“Edward pursues an activist, awake agenda which has made it an online star, and Anna, being Anna quickly caught on.”
Or, to put it another way, an insider with a different perspective said that Edward’s appointment had helped Conde Nast tick many boxes.
It is no wonder that Enninful, at 49, and Wintour have a strong respect for each others. According to an insider: “They get along well. Anna has a lot to do with Edward, but she’s determined to hold on to power at any cost.
Even though riding the woke Tiger can bring dangers, it is a great choice for a woman who may be the epitome white privilege.
Born in London in 1949, her father was a newspaper editor and her family linked to aristocracy – she is related to the 18th Century novelist Lady Elizabeth Foster, who became the Duchess of Devonshire.
She moved to New York in her 20s – returning for a stint to edit British Vogue – and quickly rose through the ranks thanks to ‘Uncle Si’, media baron Si Newhouse, whose family has owned Conde Nast and Vogue since the 1950s.
Si loved you, it is said that he paid everything.
Wintour spends most of her time in Manhattan, a four-story townhouse in Greenwich Village. Wintour also owns a sprawling holiday home along Long Island’s waterfront.
She opens up the 40-acre estate to friends – including actors Damian Lewis and Benedict Cumberbatch – and family every summer.
But the same razor-sharp attention to detail which brought her success – and that impeccable bob – is now focused on diversity.
Wintour, who is known for being a workaholic and often calls her colleagues at 11pm after a dinner, is ‘full-on’ when it comes diversity.
A source said that “It’s become her obsession,”
“Everything is seen through the prism of political correctness. She is present at every Zoom call and every meeting.
This woman, a 71-year old woman, would be hard to believe that she might be considering slowing down. But she drives herself harder than ever.
Wintour was the main cheerleader in Radhika Jones’ appointment as editor of Vanity Fair magazine. Radhika is a Vogue stablemate and replaced Graydon Carter, the ‘old, white editor’.
She also appointed black editors to Teen Vogue magazine and Bon Appetit magazine.
Sources suggest that she is receiving regular advice from Bee, her 34-year old daughter.
One person said that they were very close. “Bee is giving her mother wise counsel, and Anna is listening.”
Dame Anna’s inner circle may also be playing a part. Wintour was photographed with Love Actually star Bill Nighy (71), enjoying romantic meals in Paris, Rome, and London. However, both remain tight-lipped about their friendship.
Nighy is not currently involved in woke debates. However, he has spoken of his pride at the fact that his films have covered important issues such as gender pay gaps and gay rights.
Some believe that Conde Nast’s recent decisions under Wintour’s watchful eye in its stable of magazines are too far.
The decision to ‘rebrand’ Vogue Paris – which will now come under the oversight of Enninful, recently promoted to ‘European editorial director’ – was condemned as an onslaught on French tradition and culture.
Le Figaro slammed the imposition of an AngloSaxon editorial line, which can be summarized primarily by the issues diversity and inclusion.
Emmanuelle Alt, 54, was fired as editor. Eugenie Trochu (30), was the new editor.
Wintour ordered the change to take effect immediately, beginning with the November cover. It will feature Aya Nakamura, a rising starlet in France, and it will continue through the December cover.
Wintour’s sudden and quite astonishing changes were questioned by a Wintour employee.
“Anna had many years to hire black writers, models, and photographers. All her efforts to promote diversity have been made since 2020, when the Black Lives Matter movement became public consciousness. Vogue was predominantly white-centric prior to that.
Many people believe she is just bowing under the pressure of online influencers, social activism movements like #MeToo, and that this is all about how she looks.
Several black writers who have worked under Wintour – none of whom wanted to be identified for fear of retribution – told the New York Times they viewed her embrace of diversity as a calculated play.
“It’s admirable that she is taking action now, but it all feels rushed, like she’s trying to preserve her legacy as one the all-time greatest fashion designers, which she undoubtedly does.
“Why didn’t she advocate inclusion earlier?”
Several black writers who have worked under Wintour – none of whom wanted to be identified for fear of retribution – told the New York Times they viewed her embrace of diversity as a calculated play.
One former black staffer told the newspaper that fashion is bitchy.
“Vogue used to evaluate shoots or looks and say “That’s Vogue” or something like that. But what it really meant was “thinny, rich, white.”
Moreover, the black staff members claim, they even assumed ‘white’ personas and spoke and dressed differently in their desire to fit into ‘Wintour’s world’ – a world that, professionally speaking, has now been blasted apart.
This month, Wintour displayed her new willingness to embrace change during French Fashion Week.
When one fashion house relegated Trochu to the third row – fashion Siberia – Wintour calmly stood up from her seat in the front row and changed places.
One Los Angeles-based fashion buyer stated that she would never do something like that in the past.
“She also demands that advertisers use a wider range of models. Every fashion shoot must have at least one model in a different colour.
Vogue titles now require diversity training. The Conde Nast website features a section dedicated to the company’s inclusion policies.
One man stated, “Ever since BLM has had to have regular training sessions about Zoom,”
“We have Zoom calls with experts on subject like unconscious bias. Rumours suggest Anna has been receiving one-on-1 counselling on how she can lead from the front.
Some argue that the company’s restructuring is ultimately about making money and building a global digital brand.
All three editors of Vogue China, Germany, and Italy have been replaced by ‘heads’ of content.
Source said that they have decided to create a digital brand and Anna has been given global responsibility for all editions.
“Several of the more traditional fashion houses have privately complained about Vogue’s direction, but they are like sheep and keep promoting.”
Wintour’s latest obsession is reportedly landing Emma Raducanu (18-year-old) as a tennis champion for American Vogue.
A source stated that Emma is perfect to Anna.
“She’s beautiful, bi-racial, a perfect role model.
“We are going through a period that is transitional, but Anna is still very firmly at helm. She will prevail. She always does. She will never cancel.