Wintour: "To me, fashion is ceaselessly fascinating because it is an expression of self."

Wintour: "To be famous these days with no grounding and no substance is not especially difficult. I urge you instead to seek to be relevant, to be agile and educated."

Wintour: "Create your own style. Let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others."

Wintour: "Just be true to yourself and listen as much as one is able to other people whose opinion you respect and look up to, but in the end it has to come from you. 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."

Wintour: "If my style is too direct for some, maybe they should toughen up a bit."

Wintour: "Don't go to fast. People have to go to school. Learn their craft and build a brand. That's the right healthy way to do things. If you are an overnight sensation, you can be yesterdays news in no time. Whereas building something slowly and carefully that has value and quality, that's what's going to have legs."

Wintour: "If one comes across sometimes as being cold or brusque, it's simply because I'm striving for the best."

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."

Wintour: "I love coming in and changing magazines."

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."

Wintour: "It is so important for designers not to run scared, and not to be too worried about what's safe and what's commercial."

Wintour: "It would be a mistake to think something is wonderful just because it looks great."

Wintour: "The Fashion Fund celebrates the real passion that underlies the fashion business, not the frothy world of glamour and celebrity that so often surrounds it."

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."

Wintour: "The notion, that Anna would want something done 'now' and not 'shortly' is accurate."

Wintour: "It's very important to take risks. I think that research is very important, but in the end you have to work from your instinct and feeling and take those risks and be fearless. 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."

Wintour: "To be in vogue has to mean something. It's an endorsement. It's a validation."

Wintour: "It's important for young women and men coming out of the fashion schools to think seriously before starting their own collections."

Wintour: "I think it's very important for children to understand that women work and that it's fulfilling, and it doesn't mean that they love you any less or care about you any less."

Wintour: "The elitist way of looking on the runway, frankly, seems old fashioned."

Wintour: "Fashion today is available to everybody in a way that it's never been before: you've got every designer you've ever heard of working for H&M or Target. That's fantastic."

Wintour: "Imperfection is fine."

Wintour: "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."

Wintour: "Fashion is a reflection of the time."

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. Perfection doesn't exist."

Wintour: "I'm always looking for a cover subject that reflects the magazine, an interest in fashion, in culture, in society. We're trying to bring the world into the pages of 'Vogue.' We do that by tapping into the zeitgeists with our cover subjects."

Wintour: "Even if you aren't sure of yourself, pretend that you are... most people prevaricate."

Wintour: "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."

Wintour: "I think it would be incredible for this country if we could have our first woman president."

Wintour: "I'm always looking for a cover subject, that reflects the magazine, an interest in fashion, in culture, in society. We're trying to bring the world into the pages of Vogue."

Wintour: "Even if I'm completely unsure, I'll pretend I know exactly, what I'm talking about and make a decision."

Wintour: "Because of reality television and all these celebrities thinking they can be designers, everyone imagines that they can just become a designer, photographer, or model, but that's not the way things work. People have to go to school, learn their craft, and build a brand - that's the right, healthy way to do things."

Wintour: "I surround myself with a talented group of people, that are opinionated and interesting."

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.'"