Anna Wintour Steps Down as Vogue Editor-in-Chief After 37 Years

Anna Wintour, legendary editor-in-chief of American Vogue, is leaving her position after a radical 37-year run that left its mark, as the magazine announced in a staff meeting on Thursday.

The 75-year old fashion icon will shift to the post of head of editorial content, and continue to hold the titles of global chief content officer of Cond at Nast and global editorial director of Vogue. The move signified the end of an era in the fashion world in which Wintour has loomed, sometimes colossally, as the queen of fashion. 

Wintour had joined Vogue in 1988 after serving as editor of British Vogue; she transformed the magazine, incorporating both high culture and fashion. Her first cover, in November 1988, of model Michaela Bercu in a Christian Lacroix sweater and Guess jeans, was radical and a radical beginning to her reign as editress.

During her reign, Vogue became a cultural juggernaut, placing celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Madonna on the cover, expanding the power of fashion with such events as the Met Gala, which Conde has backed since 1995 and raised more than 300 million dollars to support the Metropolitan Museum of Art in its Costume Institute.

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As she withdraws her involvement in daily editing, Wintour will be in charge of managing the global group in Cond Nast which includes titles such as Vanity Fair, GQ and Wired amongst others with the exception of The New Yorker. American Vogue is going to hire a new head of editorial content and this position will be aligned with the organizational structure of other global Vogue editions. This change enables Wintour to concentrate on top-level strategy, with the new appointee reporting to the former.

Speculation about her successor is rife, with names like her daughter, Bee Shaffer, mentioned, though no confirmation has been made. Wintour’s influence, from shaping trends to mentoring designers, leaves a lasting legacy. As she quipped, she plans to remain Vogue’s "tennis and theatre editor in perpetuity." The fashion world awaits the next chapter, eager to see who will step into her formidable shoes.