Anna Wintour Steps Down as American Vogue Editor in Chief

It's the end of an era — kind of. During a Thursday staff meeting, Anna Wintour announced that she's stepping down from her role as American Vogue's editor-in-chief, which she's held since 1988. She will, however, continue on as chief content officer for Condé Nast and as Vogue's global editorial director. Regarding a successor for the U.S., Wintour announced the opening of a new role: head of editorial content. The idea is that this restructuring will free her up from day-to-day editing duties so that she can devote more time to each of Vogue's global markets.

As Condé Nast's chief content officer, Wintour also oversees every brand globally, including Wired, Vanity Fair, GQ, AD, Condé Nast Traveler, Glamour, Bon Appetit, Tatler, World of Interiors, Allure and more, with the exception of The New Yorker.

Wintour assumed these broader roles about four years ago, when Condé Nast reconfigured its global editorial structure by bringing together the editorial teams around the world for the first time. Since then, the publisher has replaced a number of international Vogue EICs with heads of editorial content, including in Japan, China, India, Taiwan, U.K., France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the Middle East.

Wintour is often regarded as one of the most — if not the most — influential figures in fashion, gaining a celebrity status thanks in no small part to her prevalence in pop culture, from Meryl Streep's fictional portrayal in "The Devil Wears Prada" to R.J. Cutler's documentary "The September Issue." Not to mention, her short, impeccable bob haircut and oversized sunglasses have become widely-recognized representations of her persona well beyond the fashion and publishing industries.

Wintour grew up with journalism in her blood: Her father served as the editor of the London Evening Standard from 1959 to 1976, leading Wintour to begin a career in fashion journalism at two British magazines, after which she moved to the U.S. to work at both New York and House & Garden. In 1985, Wintour returned to the U.K. to become the editor-in-chief of British Vogue, only to move back to New York in 1988 to replace Grace Mirabella as Vogue's editor-in-chief. In 2013, she took on the additional role of Condé Nast's artistic director.

Wintour is also known for her work with the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, which was named after Wintour in 2014. She has chaired its annual Met Gala since 1995 and, according to Business Insider, her leadership has helped to raise about $186 million for the Costume Institute. This year alone, the Met Gala for the "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" exhibit raised a record-breaking $31 million for the Costume Institute.

Wintour is a longtime supporter of the Democratic Party, having hosted top-tier fundraisers for candidates like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the latter of whom received Vogue's first-ever presidential endorsement in October 2016.

Condé Nast and Wintour, specifically, have previously been the subject of criticism over the company's lack of diversity and its treatment of Black and POC employees. Reports of a "toxic culture" at Bon Appétit resulted in Adam Rapoport's resignation. And in a 2020 email to staff, obtained by Page Six, Wintour admitted that "Vogue has not found enough ways to elevate and give space to Black editors, writers, photographers, designers and other creators."

While Wintour's successor has not yet been named, previous speculation includes Chioma Nnadi, who currently serves as British Vogue's head of editorial content. Whomever Condé Nast (and Wintour herself) chooses, they can rest assured that she'll be leaving some very large shoes — and sunglasses — behind to fill.

Jonathan Anderson Has Been Appointed Sole Creative Director Of Dior

“We have some very exciting news,” says Delphine Arnault, chair and CEO of Christian Dior Couture, as she sits down with Vogue Business. “Jonathan Anderson is going to be the head of creation for Dior, across men’s and women’s, couture and accessories.”

On Thursday, the house announced that Maria Grazia Chiuri would be stepping down from her position as creative director of women’s haute couture, ready-to-wear and accessories. Kim Jones left the brand in January, and Anderson was confirmed as artistic director of the men’s collections in April. “Over the last 11 years that he has been at LVMH, we have had many discussions about what he wanted to do next. And there was always one brand he was very attracted to,” says Arnault. “We think this is the right moment to make this appointment. He is the most talented designer of his generation. He has great experience within the LVMH Group and in managing large teams through his work at Loewe, even though he is only 40. More importantly, he has a very clear vision for the brand.”

Now, with a single artistic director for both womenswear and men’s, the house returns to the organisation it had in the days of Christian Dior, Arnault notes. “I think this is going to be great for the maison. There will be consistency and coherence in the products, but also in terms of communication, I think our message will be much clearer,” she says. “Of course, it’s a big responsibility, there’s a lot of connections that need to be made. For any house, having new artistic direction can be a challenge. It takes a few seasons to see exactly what the vision is. But I think he’s totally energised by the idea.”

Arnault continues: “He can rely on our great team – we have amazing studios with amazing creatives, the best in the world of haute couture, ready-to-wear, across men’s and women’s. And he’s also bringing a team of people he trusts that have been working with him for a while.”

Anderson was appointed creative director of LVMH-owned Loewe in September 2013. He was then a 29-year-old designer with a fledgling business. He created his namesake brand JW Anderson in 2008, in which LVMH took a minority stake in 2013. “I remember meeting him for the first time in a showroom in Paris, where he was showing JW Anderson. He must have been 23 or 24 years old,” Arnault reminisces. “He had rented a small apartment by Gare du Nord, on the fourth floor. I rang the door and he opened. He was younger, but the same as today: very talkative, with a great vision and very mature for his age, very impressive. That’s when we decided to invest in his brand and later to appoint him at Loewe.”

During his tenure, Loewe became one of luxury’s hottest fashion brands. His spring/summer 2025 show received a standing ovation from many of his peers (Sarah Burton, Pieter Mulier, Adrian Appiolaza, Nicolas Di Felice, Kris Van Assche, Pharrell Williams and Michael Rider, each in attendance) as well as Arnault. Loewe’s sales went from approximately €230 million in 2014, according to Morgan Stanley estimates, to between €1.5 billion and €2 billion in 2024, per estimates of Bernstein analyst Luca Solca. Loewe still ranked first in the Lyst Index of the hottest brands in the first quarter of 2025. Anderson’s exit from Loewe was announced in March, and a week later, he was replaced by Proenza Schouler founders Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez.​​

“Jonathan did a very impressive job putting Loewe back on the map,” Arnault notes. “He was able to find the right mix of tradition and modernity for that brand, working on craftsmanship, elevating the quality and creating beautiful products. He worked also on the Craft Prize and has done wonders in developing the brand not only in terms of product but in terms of communication.”

Can Anderson recreate the same magic at Dior? After years of tremendous growth – revenue went from €2.2 billion in 2017 to €9.5 billion in 2023, according to HSBC estimates – Dior has been hit by the luxury downturn and global turmoil. Sales decreased to €8.7 billion in 2024, per HSBC. In the first quarter, sales of LVMH’s fashion and leather goods division were down 5 per cent, positioning the group’s fashion business in the middle of a polarised market. “Dior has to be revived,” Solca told Vogue Business back in April.

The house now appears to have everything in place for a revival. It recently hired Pierre-Emmanuel Angeloglou as deputy CEO in April, after poaching Miu Miu CEO Benedetta Petruzzo in October to be its managing director. Both executives report to Arnault.

Anderson, who has a reputation as a hard-working and brilliant designer, surely has the ability to blend in with the Dior DNA, juggling its strong heritage and codes. “Ever since he started working on menswear back in February, he’s been spending a lot of time in the archives looking at all the different elements of the brand that the different designers at its helm over the years have developed – like Christian Dior or Yves Saint Laurent, John Galliano, Raf Simons,” Arnault says.

Besides facing the challenge of working across men’s and women’s lines, Anderson will also earn his couture stripes as Dior is among the handful of houses to have turned couture into a thriving business. And while he hasn’t been at a couture house before, Anderson is known for his conceptual shows and couture spirit, especially visible in his spring/summer 2025 show, which featured “reimagined French golden age couture dresses, all hoops and semi-sheer flower prints”, as Vogue Runway’s Sarah Mower described them. The fashion world will have to wait until January 2026 to see Anderson’s first couture designs for Dior, as the house is going to skip the couture season in July. “Maria Grazia had 20 couture dresses in her cruise show, which have kept the atelier busy,” Arnault says.

Arnault also confirmed that Anderson’s first women’s show for Dior will be during the all-important September season. “In the 25 years I’ve been working in fashion, there have never been so many creative changes,” she muses. “We will see the visions of so many different artistic directors for the industry. I think it’s going to bring up a lot of emotion and excitement. And that’s what fashion is about.” Anderson will find himself head-on with Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, alongside a number of other high-stake debuts.

Anderson’s first menswear show for Dior will be in June, as previously reported. Would Dior ever stage co-ed? “I think for the time being we’re going to keep it separate. You never know what can happen, but we don’t have any plans to reduce the number of shows,” Arnault replies. What about JW Anderson – will he be staying at the helm? “It’s his namesake brand, so obviously it is a project that is really important to him. Yes, he’s going to stay involved in JW Anderson, but maybe in a different way. I think this would be more of a question for him.”