Interview: Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour and Barbara Walters
Interviewee: Anna Wintour
Interviewer: Barbara Walters
Date: 12 December 2006
Anna Wintour is the editor-in-chief of American Vogue. At this woman’s behest, trends rise and fall; fashion shows do not even commence until her arrival. She may as well be the queen of the fashion industry at large.
Of all the fashion-oriented publications, Vogue is the most popular and successful. Since helming it in 1988, Wintour has relatively pushed every other magazine to the periphery of circulation.
Two strong ladies hold their own as Barbara Walters interviews Anna Wintour right in the editor-in-chief’s Manhattan office. She went there partly to confirm if Anna Wintour is really Miranda Priestly, the superlatively stern character in the film The Devil Wears Prada. It was also an opportunity for the two to talk about politics and fashion in one sitting.
Anyone could easily and falsely be vindicated about Wintour’s prissiness. Since 15, Anna Wintour has sported a severely sharp trademark bob, complemented only by her specs and slimness. As some would testify, Anna Wintour has an arctic, even disdainful air to her, hence the moniker “Nuclear Wintour.”
Over the years, she has mellowed down and expanded the magazine’s audience, in that it has carried pieces on stealing runway looks for less. If anything, she is committed to sponsoring fledgling designers. Designers can be made at her anointment.
Unknown to many, she is also active in philanthropy. In 2003, she was instrumental in the establishment of beauty salons in war-torn Kabul, Afghanistan. Since 1990, she has also contributed $10 million to nonprofits for AIDS by holding the 7th on Sale fundraisers in New York City.
Born and raised in London, Anna Wintour used to edit British Vogue. Moving to America, she was eventually hired by Harper’s Bazaar in 1976 as fashion editor. In 1983, she landed a job at American Vogue, before returning to London for British Vogue.
Anna Wintour is the daughter of the Evening Standard’s former editor, Charles Wintour. She has two children and lives in Manhattan.