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Anna Wintour is ending her nearly four-decade tenure as editor of US Vogue, during which she turned the magazine into a global fashion powerhouse and herself into one of the most influential figures in the industry.
The British-born editor will retain control of Vogue globally and a senior role at its parent company, she told staff on Thursday.
As part of a restructuring, Wintour plans to hire a “head of editorial content” for US Vogue and continue in her role as global editorial director for Vogue, said a person familiar with the plans.
She will remain chief content officer for Condé Nast, the parent company of a stable of magazines including Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and GQ.
Wintour’s future plans have been the source of speculation for years, as industry executives questioned who might succeed the 75-year-old who built Vogue into a global fashion brand and cultural force since taking over the magazine in 1988.
The move marks the latest step in a multiyear reorganisation of the Vogue magazine stable by owner Condé Nast, which has aimed to break down the silos between different regional magazines.
In place of editors for titles like British Vogue and Vogue Italia, each region now has a head of editorial content, who can share resources and content across editions. The move upset some staff with complaints about the loss of local autonomy. In London, Chioma Nnadi took over from former editor-in-chief Edward Enninful in 2023 as the local head of editorial.
Under Condé Nast chief executive Roger Lynch, the company has sought to simplify its line-up and develop its digital products, cutting jobs at the end of 2023 in response to digital advertising pressures and a decline in social media traffic. The company has been controlled by the billionaire Newhouse family since 1959.
The change also reflects a more corporate tone at Condé Nast, a departure from the high-flying glamour that defined the magazine industry in the 1990s. Vanity Fair’s editor-in-chief Radhika Jones recently exited, and has been replaced with a “global editorial director”, a subtle shift in title that reflects the changing times.
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