Anna Wintour to step down as Vogue Editor-in-Chief after 37 years

Anna Wintour, the legendary editor-in-chief of Vogue, is stepping down from her role at the helm of the iconic fashion magazine after nearly four decades, according to multiple reports.

As first reported by The Daily Front Row and Women’s Wear Daily, while she will relinquish her editor-in-chief title at Vogue, Wintour will continue in her broader roles as Condé Nast’s global chief content officer and Vogue’s global editorial director.

Wintour, now 74, first took over the editor-in-chief role in 1988, succeeding Grace Mirabella. Her debut cover in November that year — featuring model Michaela Bercu in a Christian Lacroix top and faded jeans — broke fashion magazine norms by showcasing denim on the cover of Vogue for the first time.

Anna Wintour will continue to serve as Condé Nast’s global chief content officer, overseeing all of the company’s brands worldwide — including American Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Wired, AD, Glamour, Condé Nast Traveler, Bon Appétit, Tatler, Allure, and The World of Interiors — with the exception of The New Yorker. She will also maintain her leadership of the Met Gala, fashion’s premier annual event and a major fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

As part of a broader editorial restructuring that began four years ago, Condé Nast unified its global editorial teams. Each market now has a head of editorial content, reporting to a global editorial director. This system, already implemented at other Vogue editions worldwide, will now apply to American Vogue as well. The company will not name a new editor-in-chief for American Vogue, instead installing a head of editorial content to allow Wintour to focus more on the broader portfolio.

Wintour, who was first named Vogue’s creative director in 1983 and later led British Vogue from 1985 to 1987, returned to helm the American edition in 1988. During her tenure, she revolutionized the publication by blending high fashion with accessible streetwear, spotlighting celebrities on covers, and nurturing talents like Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, and John Galliano. Her vision also helped expand the Vogue brand globally.