Anna Wintour is one of the most powerful people in fashion today — and the most mysterious. No matter how many times we've flipped through an issue of Vogue, watched her in The September Issue, or even studied her answers to Vogue.com's "73 Questions" series, the iconic editrix has remained an enigma (a rare feat, especially in industry as social media-obsessed as fashion). So, when faced with an opportunity to discover more about the fear-inducing EIC, we'll take it. On the eve of this year's annual Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala, Wintour spoke with New York magazine's The Cut about the future of print, her chilly reputation, and the issues — both atVogue and beyond — she feels strongly about. Below are just a handful of the takeaways from this interview with one of fashion's most influential and most private figures.
She believes that the key to saving print fashion publications is to be luxe, very luxe.
"Print publications have to be as luxurious an experience as possible. You have to feel it coming off the page. You have to see photographs and pieces that you couldn’t possibly see anywhere else." The EIC has worked on so many covers, she couldn't remember the name of the model who graced her first issue of Vogue in 1988. (Hey, there have been a lot of issues. Also, it was Michaela Bercu.)
"I honestly don’t remember who the girl was, but the [Peter] Lindbergh shoot came in and it was just so vibrant and alive and it was just very joyous, but it wasn’t perfect. The covers previously had been super-perfect and, you know, I remember people asking me if she was pregnant. And, her eyes were a little bit closed." We loved the recently published throwback photos from Wintour's days as an editor at New York magazine, but...
"I see that [on the Cut] you were posting my old work [from New York magazine]. I was not thrilled with what you chose." She's involved in The Youth Anxiety Center, and wants to bring awareness to issues such as depression and mental health.
"I think because of this mass of information coming at young people, plus the way they talk to each other online and how vulnerable they are at that age. It just has to make people anxious. How could it not? It’s such a barrage of information coming at them every which way. I’m so grateful for Lena Dunham and Emma Stone, who are out there talking about these issues and making young people realize that they’re not alone and that it should be talked about." #ByeHaters
"I try to do the best job that I can, I try to be the best mother that I can, and if for some reason there are people that are offended by things that I’ve done or things that they’ve read that may or may not be true, I cannot spend time...You can’t be everything to everybody, and there are things that get into the public world that were never grounded in reality." We'll be channeling that last mantra in our own lives, as well. For Wintour's entire discussion, complete with insight on what we can expect from the Met Ball tonight, head to The Cut to read the interview in its entirety. (The Cut)
"Print publications have to be as luxurious an experience as possible. You have to feel it coming off the page. You have to see photographs and pieces that you couldn’t possibly see anywhere else." The EIC has worked on so many covers, she couldn't remember the name of the model who graced her first issue of Vogue in 1988. (Hey, there have been a lot of issues. Also, it was Michaela Bercu.)
"I honestly don’t remember who the girl was, but the [Peter] Lindbergh shoot came in and it was just so vibrant and alive and it was just very joyous, but it wasn’t perfect. The covers previously had been super-perfect and, you know, I remember people asking me if she was pregnant. And, her eyes were a little bit closed." We loved the recently published throwback photos from Wintour's days as an editor at New York magazine, but...
"I see that [on the Cut] you were posting my old work [from New York magazine]. I was not thrilled with what you chose." She's involved in The Youth Anxiety Center, and wants to bring awareness to issues such as depression and mental health.
"I think because of this mass of information coming at young people, plus the way they talk to each other online and how vulnerable they are at that age. It just has to make people anxious. How could it not? It’s such a barrage of information coming at them every which way. I’m so grateful for Lena Dunham and Emma Stone, who are out there talking about these issues and making young people realize that they’re not alone and that it should be talked about." #ByeHaters
"I try to do the best job that I can, I try to be the best mother that I can, and if for some reason there are people that are offended by things that I’ve done or things that they’ve read that may or may not be true, I cannot spend time...You can’t be everything to everybody, and there are things that get into the public world that were never grounded in reality." We'll be channeling that last mantra in our own lives, as well. For Wintour's entire discussion, complete with insight on what we can expect from the Met Ball tonight, head to The Cut to read the interview in its entirety. (The Cut)