When Fashion Meets Journalism: Anna Wintour's Influence

Skylar Thurston - October 16, 2022

Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash 

The fashion industry is constantly changing, and more designers are coming into this fabulous world of creativity every year. New models are often seen as the faces of these designers while they become the next best models. One of the people who can be thanked the most for their contribution to the fashion industry is Vogue's, Anna Wintour. Wintour oversees all of American Vogue's publication branch and is also the Global Chief Content Officer for Condé Nast, a mass media company. Her work was even recognized by Queen Elizabeth in 2008 when she received the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire award. With her signature bob haircut and sunglasses, she has had significant effects on the fashion industry and made it become what it is today, like boosting the careers of fashion icons, introducing celebrities to being on the cover of Vogue more frequently, helping the representation of women in fashion and being an inspiration for younger women.

Anna Wintour has been such an influential person throughout fashion history and has given multiple people the careers they have today. One of these individuals was Herb Ritts, a well-known fashion photographer who collaborated closely with Vogue. He mostly photographed celebrities in a unique black-and-white style to emphasize their shape and facial structure. Ritts only lived to be 50 and started his career as a fashion photographer later in life but he still continued to make his mark as a photographer. Another example of how Wintour boosts the careers of now-famous names in fashion is by financially funding them in hopes of a project. She did this with John Galliano, who started out having nothing but a passion for fashion and then became the creative director of brands such as Dior and Givenchy. This was later on when she had more of an influence on people that she could use to go along with her money, but it didn’t have any less of an impact on the industry. She also supported other designers such as Marc Jacobs and Alexander McQueen, who are both well-known luxury brands now. Wintour also helped the careers of unpopular models by putting them on the cover or in Vogue. She has played a huge role in Vogue around the world, especially in redesigning it and deciding who should be on the covers, which is the main thing she is known for.

Putting celebrities on the covers of Vogue had been done before, but Wintour had made this concept more common in American Vogue. The first celebrity she decided to put on the cover was Madonna in 1989. Wintour had just started being the Editor-In-Chief of American Vogue the year before, in 1988, so this was, at the time, a little controversial, and also because Madonna was just over the age of 13 when she appeared on the cover. Now, a majority of iconic covers of Vogue are celebrities, such as Nicole Kidman in 2004, Lady Gaga in 2011, Kim Kardashian, and Kanye West in 2014 which has been one of the most sold covers in history. All of these people are not ones that would have been seen before Anna Wintour or even before the 80s in general. Wintour has even had an impact on politics, such as holding fundraisers in support of political figures and helping the candidates. She was the first Editor in Chief to feature a first lady on the cover, which was Hilary Clinton. This was great because not only does it promote women in politics but it also gets a new genre of people into this movement as well. Michelle Obama even had a feature on the cover, as did Kamala Harris, which sparked much controversy. That seems to be a common theme of Wintour's. It even dates back to when she first started working with Vogue in 1985.

Representation of women in the 80s was finally happening, but in some cases, this connection was still lacking. In British Vogue, for example, women were represented as having big hats and being preppy, with horses and castles in the background of the photos. They were even shown wearing hats that looked like cakes. This was not accurate at all in terms of what women were accomplishing in the real world. The first women went to the moon in the 80s, they were running for vice president and their salaries were increasing compared to the times. The women didn’t feel like they could relate to this because it's not the clothes they were wearing or the activities they were doing. They are now a part of the working class and are making their way to the top, and they should be portrayed as just that. Just because it’s a fashion magazine doesn’t mean that it can’t show women getting things done. This is where Wintour came in. Wintour started with British Vogue before moving over to American Vogue a few years later. She totally redesigned the cover of British Vogue and the layout of the whole magazine into something that truly represented women in the real world. She showed them fetching cabs in the city, wearing clothes that were sensible. At first, people thought that this made it boring, but it definitely changed the game for how women were shown in the media in the future.

After all the effort Wintour has put into the fashion world and Vogue, she has become an inspiration for women all around the world. The fact that she has been in her position for so long and has maintained it in a way no one else has is remarkable. Since she is a woman, that just makes it so much better. She is especially an inspiration for young female journalists by showing that it is very possible to make your name known. Her opinion has been often taken into account by designers because of how much people admire her and respect her in the industry, especially for big runway projects. This is something that all fashion professionals can only dream of, and it's refreshing to see a woman in charge of one of the world's largest magazines in a world dominated by male CEOs. People look up to her as a woman in journalism who made it to the top and as a public figure that we can all appreciate.

Wintour has been in the industry for many years and has been Editor in Chief of Vogue for 34 of those years. She has hosted the infamous Met Gala for 27 years, where we have seen the most iconic yet beautiful fashion of this generation. Not only that, but just last year it raised 17.4 million for charity. She has affected the fashion industry in many more ways than the few that were listed throughout this essay. Even her personal style and also her perseverance to stay in this business are inspiring. There is no telling when she will retire, but even if she does, she will continue to be a powerful fashion icon for many more years.