Anna Wintour to Step Down as Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue
Anna Wintour is stepping down from her longtime role as editor-in-chief of American Vogue, according to reports by CNN and Variety. Wintour informed staff of the decision on Thursday and confirmed that a search is underway for her successor. While she is leaving the top editorial post at the U.S. edition, she will remain at Condé Nast as global chief content officer and global editorial director of Vogue.
A timeline for her official departure and the appointment of her successor has not been announced. The change is part of a global restructuring at Condé Nast. The new role, head of editorial content, will align with similar positions at Condé Nast, including Vogue editions in other countries.
Wintour took the reins at Vogue in 1988, replacing Grace Mirabella. Her first cover, a November issue, featured Israeli model Michaela Bercu in a beaded Christian Lacroix jacket and stonewashed jeans, marking a sharp break from the magazine’s traditional aesthetic. “It broke all the rules,” Wintour later said in a 2012 article, calling it a reflection of the “winds of change.”
That instinct for reinvention defined her decades-long tenure. Wintour steered the magazine away from formal, studio-based covers in favor of more natural, modern imagery. She embraced a broader cultural lens, spotlighting not only supermodels but also emerging designers, political figures, and entertainers. In 1992, she made history by placing a man, Richard Gere, on the cover alongside his then-wife, Cindy Crawford, a first for the magazine.
In 2020, Wintour’s influence expanded further when she was named global chief content officer at Condé Nast. The role put her in charge of editorial direction across nearly all of the company’s brands, including Vanity Fair, GQ, Wired, Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, and Condé Nast Traveler. The New Yorker remains under separate editorial leadership.
The announcement echoes recent moves within the company, such as the 2023 appointment of Chioma Nnadi as head of British Vogue, making her the first Black woman to lead the publication.
