(en) That’s all - is Vogue over without Anna Wintour?

Almost two months have passed since Anna Wintour left her position as editor-in-chief of Vogue, but with the upcoming sequel, the debate surrounding Anna's departure is echoing in the media. What's the reason?

Anna Wintour is like Madonna in the fashion world, an undeniable icon and a figure who forever changed her industry. The queen of the fashion world whose smile was only seen in public once. For 13 years, she gained experience as a journalist at Viva, Harper's Bazaar, and New York, eventually joining Vogue. In 1985, after just two years, she took over as Chief Editor of British Vogue. She is responsible for revolutionizing Vogue covers. Before 1988, Grace Mirabella was the editor, following the standard for magazine cover photoshoots. During her tenure, the focus was on formulaic styling, with models' faces heavily zoomed in, almost resembling makeup artist's face charts. Each issue was similar, and any artistry was imperfect. It was Wintour who pioneered modeling sessions outside the studio. The models left the ateliers and the magazine's goal was to interest readers first with the cover and then with the content. For comparison:

1975 covers from the Vogue Archives, edited by Grace Mirabella

the first covers under Anna Wintour's tenure

Wintour's fame is hard-won and assured, thanks to her years of experience as both a journalist and a fashion enthusiast. Her character is so iconic that the film The Devil Wears Prada is based on the workings of the Vogue editorial office. In an interview with Anna, Meryl Streep confirms the editor's inspiration for the film. The film itself is a critique of contemporary standards of beauty and condemns the constantly evolving canons that slowly tend to wear down young women.

Wintour's prestige is palpable. For years, she hosted the most popular fashion gala in the world, and walking on its carpet was the greatest honor - the Met Gala. Anna was responsible for choosing the theme each year and constantly consulted on the changing lineup of attendees. In numerous interviews and backstage footage, Wintour can be heard openly discussing her dislikes of certain individuals or her strong relationships. Even being seated at a table near Wintour was considered the ultimate celebrity honor. Wintour received a lot of flak for the 2021 Met Gala, due to the invitation of then-popular influencers and tik tokers like the D'Amelio sisters, Addison Rae, and Emma Chamberlain. The biggest controversy came at Vogue headquarters only after Wintour left.

Guess campaign featuring AI model in Vogue

Just a month after Anna left, a controversial campaign by the fashion brand Guess appeared on one of the magazine's front pages. This is the first campaign in Vogue to use an image of a model generated by artificial intelligence. The entire "shoot" is labeled as generated by AI under the supervision of one of the designers. However, a lot of hate against Vogue has poured out in the media, and speculation has arisen that the campaign featuring the AI model ultimately led to Wintour's departure as editor-in-chief. Wintour, however, remains silent on the matter, citing the need to focus on her foundation and global issues related to the magazine as the official reason for her decision. However, as a longtime Vogue fan and reader, I can believe that Anna Wintour, upon being given the ultimatum to include this ad in her magazine, said, "Fuck it." The media has been buzzing about the campaign for two weeks, sparing no words about AI models. CNN and the BBC have issued their passive-aggressive comments.

To be honest, as an opponent of artificial intelligence, I understand the readers' outrage. I was so angry myself that I chose Vanity Fair over Vogue this month. Vogue has always been a bastion of art and fashion, attention to detail, and beauty. Setting or subverting beauty standards and pursuing progressive thinking, all of this crumbles at the sight of an artificially generated, beautiful model—a blonde with flawless skin, full lips, and an hourglass figure. This is an absolute violation of years of work on diversity in the beauty and fashion industry. I wonder if the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada, due out in 2026, will mention the turbulent campaign, and whether Miranda Priestly, upon seeing an AI model, will also say, "That's all."

Natalia