The ice queen from the world of high fashion. 5 Facts about Anna Wintour

Anna Wintour resigns as editor-in-chief of American Vogue. She has led the fashion gloss for almost four decades, and she has held the unofficial title of fashion queen for the same period. At the same time, Wintour does not leave the magazine itself — she will continue to curate it along with other well-known publications included in the Condé Nast publishing house. About the most influential woman in the fashion industry - in the Izvestia article.

Fact 1. Turned the world of high fashion upside down

• Wintour became the editor-in-chief of American Vogue in 1988, replacing Grace Mirabella, and immediately began to change the magazine. At the beginning of her career, Wintour said that she wanted to move away from the image of the "perfect" girl on the pages of Vogue — with a perfect hairstyle and big earrings. She wanted to make the magazine more casual, so that women who meet on the streets of the city would appear on its pages.

• On the first November cover of Vogue 1988, model Michaela Berku appeared in a $10,000 Christian Lacroix sweater and $50 jeans. It was the first time denim was featured on the cover of Vogue.

• Wintour broke several fashion magazine taboos at once. For example, it was under her leadership that a man appeared on the cover of Vogue for the first time in 1992 — he became an actor, the star of the movie "Pretty Woman" Richard Gere. In the photo, he appeared with model Cindy Crawford, but whom he was married to at the time. In general, Wintour was one of the first to put actors, pop stars and politicians on the cover.

• Her contribution to the fashion world was recognized even by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, who awarded her the title of lady.

Fact 2. Set a world record for magazines

In 2007, Wintour produced the largest issue in the history of Vogue. It had 840 pages, which was a record for monthly magazines. The publication, which weighed over 2 kg, was worked on for about eight months.

• In parallel with the work on the magazine, a documentary was being shot. The tape was released in 2009 under the title "September issue". The picture shows the backstage of the fashion industry. The film focuses on the difficult relationship between Wintour and Vogue's creative director Grace Coddington.

• The 2007 release record was broken in 2012. The September issue of Vogue then ran to 916 pages.

Fact 3. She became the prototype of the heroine in "The Devil Wears Prada"

• Wintour has created her own unique style, recognizable all over the world. At the same time, she has earned a reputation as a rather frightening person, for which she is called the Ice Queen. Both of these moments are reflected in the image and character of the heroine Miranda Priestly in the book "The Devil wears Prada". The novel was written by Wintour's former assistant Lauren Weisberger. In 2006, the novel was adapted into a film starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway.

Fact 4. Her personal hairdresser looks after her hair.

Bob haircut, regal bearing and sunglasses have become an integral image of Wintour. There were rumors that her hairstyle was always so perfect that it couldn't be real—it was assumed that Anna (often referred to without her last name) wore a wig.

Andreas Anastasis, a hairdresser, has been responsible for her hair for many years: every weekday at eight in the morning, he comes to Wintour's house to cut, dye and style her. Even during the pandemic, he didn't miss their morning rituals. Every time Anna appears in photos from public events, Andreas checks the pictures to make sure her hairstyle is "safe." And when Wintour goes to Europe, he sends her dyes along with detailed instructions so that local stylists can preserve her caramel blonde shade.

Fact 5. Wintour's biography revealed many of her secrets

In 2022, Amy Odell's book "Anna: A Biography" was published. To write, the author talked with friends, acquaintances, and former Wintour employees. The 430-page biography is full of various details about the legend's life and work: about her novels, how she was fired more than once, and how she put Madonna on the cover of Vogue because she was told that the magazine would never He won't do it. At the same time, Anna herself was not involved in writing the book.

• The front pages say that on the morning of November 9, 2016, Wintour cried in front of Vogue staff over Hillary Clinton's loss in the presidential election. Wintour has always supported candidates from the US Democratic Party, starting with Clinton's nomination to the US Senate in 2000 and ending with Kamala Harris' presidential race.

One of the points in Odell's book about Wintour particularly struck Internet users. We are talking about her gastronomic preferences: the biographer told about the unusual caprese salad without tomatoes (that is, cheese with basil) and steak for $ 77, which Anna usually ordered for lunch.