Anna Wintour Cedes Vogue Editor in Chief Title But Will Retain Editorial Control

Media|Anna Wintour’s ‘Pivotal Decision’ to Cede (Some) Control

Anna Wintour shocked the media and fashion worlds on Thursday when she said she would give up her role as editor of American Vogue. It’s a shift in power, but not the end of her run as the world’s most famous magazine editor.

At Condé Nast, where she has worked since 1983, Ms. Wintour has three jobs. Once she relinquishes the editor in chief title, that role will no long exist.

Instead, a “head of editorial content” — a newly created role at American Vogue — will report directly to her.

Ms. Wintour, 75, will remain Vogue’s global editorial director. She will also remain chief content officer for Condé Nast, overseeing Wired, Vanity Fair, GQ and several more magazines. (The only Condé title she does not oversee is The New Yorker.)

The fervor over Ms. Wintour’s stepping down is a testament to her influence over the fashion world, and her chokehold on the industry rumor mills. Every few years there is a slew of reports about Ms. Wintour’s departure plans and her potential successors.

They have never been accurate. Thursday’s news was also only a half step.

“I wanted to talk to all of you this morning about a pivotal decision that I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” Ms. Wintour told Vogue’s staff Thursday morning, in remarks obtained by The New York Times. She outlined that she would be looking for a head of content for American Vogue but reinforced — in the most Wintour-esque way possible — that she wasn’t going anywhere. This was not a chief executive retiring and joining the board.