How trendsetting Brit Anna Wintour became fashion's ultimate force at Vogue – with NO ONE safe from her sharp tongue

The Irish Sun

7 hours ago

SHE came, she saw the fashion world from behind her Chanel sunglasses, she conquered.
After 37 years as the formidable force on US
Vogue
, Anna Wintour is stepping aside as Editor-in-Chief.
6
Anna Wintour has announced she's quitting her iconic role at American Vogue in a shock career move
Credit: GC Images
6
Anna, pictured in 1996, has had her signature razor-sharp bob since the age of 14
Credit: Getty
The move marks the end of an era, in which the UK-born
power
player ruled the fashion industry with a perfectly manicured fist.
One flick of her
hair
or glance and your fate was sealed.
Dame Anna, honoured by Queen Elizabeth II in 2017 in full Chanel couture, turned unknown models into stars, transformed 'trashy' celebs into tastemakers, and set
trends
the high street copied.
Her signature razor-sharp bob — which she has had since the age of 14 — needs two daily blow-dries (morning and evening) and near-constant trims.
READ MORE ON ANNA WINTOUR
Her attitude is equally polished — and feared. Nicknamed Nuclear Wintour for her icy reputation, she remains fashion's most enigmatic personality.
The documentary The September Issue offered a rare peek inside Vogue's Manolo Blahnik-strewn corridors, capturing the chaos of assembling an 840-page edition of the magazine in 2007.
Debuting in 2009 at Sundance and grossing around £7million, the
film
cemented Anna's status as the ultimate force in fashion.
Surrounded by 'thin, rich and young' people
Her frosty persona inspired The Devil Wears Prada's Miranda Priestly — Meryl Streep's pursed lips and cutting glares were taken straight from the Wintour playbook — and even The Incredibles' eccentric designer Edna Mode was modelled on her.
Most read in Fabulous
But inside Vogue, Anna's power wasn't a scowl or stare. It was a yellow Post-it note stuck to the bottom of a printout, bearing the a seal of approval 'AWOK' — Anna Wintour OK — which could make or break careers.
One star Anna truly legitimised was Kim Kardashian. When she boldly put Kim and then-fiance Kanye West on Vogue's cover in 2014, the fashion elite gasped.
Anna Wintour finally sets record straight on Met Gala outfit rule rumor after years of speculation
Her response? 'If we only put tasteful people on the cover, no one would talk about us.'
Anna also championed other stars — giving Kendall Jenner strong Vogue backing and helping her break into high fashion.
She championed Gisele Bundchen in the late 1990s and early 2000s, featuring her on many Vogue covers, and Kate Upton's debut on the front of the magazine in 2013 signalled a shift toward embracing curvier models in the industry.
Infamously private, Anna Wintour's influence is impossible to ignore. The Devil Wears Prada even became a musical — proof of her cultural reach.
At 75, she kept Vogue not just relevant, but reigning as fashion and culture's ultimate authority.
From supermodel golden eras to today's social media trends, Anna transformed the title from a magazine into a global style empire.
Every May, she breaks the internet with the Met Gala — her annual, star-studded spectacle where celebrities stun in jaw-dropping looks.
What was once a low-key fundraiser transformed under her reign into fashion's most exclusive, over-the-top, meme-worthy night.
6
Anna Wintour cracks a rare smile while at work in 1989
Credit: Getty
6
Anna's frosty persona inspired The Devil Wears Prada's Miranda Priestly
Credit: Alamy
Starting in 2004, Anna harnessed showbiz glamour to skyrocket the event into global fame.
Today, from TikTokers to A-listers, the guest list is fiercely selective — just 30 seconds of fame on a bright red carpet holds massive cultural weight.
While Anna wields immense power over designer brands and celebrities, she has also had a huge impact on the high street.
From her very first Vogue cover mixing budget jeans with couture, she has championed accessible fashion for all.
Anna has been key in shaping runway trends that trickle down to high street retailers. In 2009, she launched Fashion's Night Out, turning shopping into a celebrity- studded, cocktail-fuelled event in
New York
and
London
, raising funds for causes such as the NYC AIDS Fund and September 11 Memorial until the event ended in 2013.
But Anna did not just dip into
retail
— she transformed the high-street experience.
By blending
celebrity
appeal,
charity
and immersive
theatre
, she redefined how brands engage with shoppers.
She was a fixture at Topshop's London Fashion Week shows and has long championed luxury-meets-store collaborations — think Balmain x H&M — bringing runway glamour to the masses and giving the UK high street a major boost.
FASHION QUEEN
In an interview with The Times last year, Anna tipped her hat to Gap for snapping up designer Zac Posen and gave props to Uniqlo for working with Givenchy's former artistic director Clare Waight Keller, who had designed
The fashion queen said: 'These big mass companies have finally clocked the power of creativity. You wouldn't have seen that ten, 15, even 20 years ago.'
Anna has two children — Charles, a psychiatrist born in 1985, and TV producer Katherine, known as Bee, who she had in 1987.
Their father is child psychiatrist David Shaffer, who Anna was married to from 1984 to 2020.
She is reportedly romantically linked to actor Bill Nighy, though they describe themselves as close friends.
Still, in Wintour's world, loyalty can be as fleeting as fashion trends.
6
When Anna boldly put Kim and then-fiance Kanye West on Vogue's cover in 2014, the fashion elite gasped
Credit: AP:Associated Press
6
Anna with fellow Brit fashion icon Naomi Campbell
Credit: Getty
Her decades-long friendship with the late Andre Leon Talley — once her trusted right-hand at Vogue — ended bitterly after he was pushed aside.
In his 2020 memoir The Chiffon Trenches, Talley claimed she preferred to surround herself with 'thin, rich, and young' people. Ouch.
Top designers haven't escaped her icy glare either. After various scandals, names such as John Galliano and Dolce & Gabbana were swiftly
frozen
out of Vogue's world — proving that even fashion royalty are not safe from her.
Yet despite the many ups and downs, one thing is certainly true.
Anna Wintour is a force, a legend and one hell of a woman whose influence stretches far beyond the pages of Vogue.
She will now focus on her roles as Global Editorial Director and Chief Content Officer at the magazine's publisher Condé Nast.
Whoever is picked to take over her old job better be able to fill her Manolo Blahnik pumps.