Anna Wintour steps down as editor of US Vogue after nearly 40 years

Published June 26, 2025
US Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour attends New York Fashion Week in February 2013. — Reuters/File
US Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour attends New York Fashion Week in February 2013. — Reuters/File

Magazine legend Anna Wintour is stepping down as editor of fashion bible US Vogue after 37 years in the post, US media reported on Thursday.

British-born Wintour, 75, has been one of the most influential and formidable figures in fashion and magazine journalism for decades, famous for her ever-present sunglasses and unchanging bob haircut.

She was widely seen as the inspiration behind The Devil Wears Prada, a hit 2003 novel and 2006 movie, in which the role of a tyrannical magazine editor was played by Meryl Streep.

Wintour, who took the helm at US Vogue in 1988, announced her departure at a staff meeting, but she will stay on as group owner Conde Nast’s global chief content officer and as editorial director at Vogue, People magazine reported.

Several other publications also reported this news.

Wintour, who held the title of Vogue’s editor-in-chief, was made a British dame in 2017 and in February this year was made a companion of honour, joining a select group never numbering more than 65 recognised for major contributions in their field.

At the ceremony in London in February, she removed her trademark sunglasses to receive the award and said she had told King Charles III that she had no plans to stop working.

Wintour, who was raised in the UK by a British father and an American mother, is described by many as the single most powerful person in the global fashion industry.

Her choice of covers for the monthly magazine was seen as authoritative in the publication’s heyday, and she was renowned for her strict control over content, sometimes axing work without discussion.

A 2015 documentary about her life pointed to her ice queen image and steely ambition, but also revealed her warmer side.

Opinion

Editorial

UAE’s Opec exit
Updated 30 Apr, 2026

UAE’s Opec exit

THE UAE’s exit from Opec is another sign of the major geopolitical shifts that are reshaping the global order. One...
Uncertain recovery
30 Apr, 2026

Uncertain recovery

PAKISTAN’S growth projections for the current fiscal present a cautiously hopeful picture, though geopolitical...
Police ‘encounters’
30 Apr, 2026

Police ‘encounters’

THE killing of nine suspects by Punjab’s Crime Control Department across Lahore, Sahiwal and Toba Tek Singh ...
Growth to stability
Updated 29 Apr, 2026

Growth to stability

THE State Bank’s decision to raise its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 11.5pc signals a shift in priorities...
Constitutional order
29 Apr, 2026

Constitutional order

FOLLOWING the passage of the 26th and 27th Amendments, in 2024 and 2025 respectively, jurists and members of the...
Protecting childhood
29 Apr, 2026

Protecting childhood

AN important victory for child protection was secured on Monday with the Punjab Assembly’s passage of the Child...