
Known as the 'Ice Queen' of Vogue, editor-in-chief Anna Wintour has revealed that she actually goes by her instincts when it comes to her work and that she chose her first Vogue cover by following her instinct. The diva reveals that at the beginning of her career she "didn't know anything". Find out more about what Anna Wintour told CBS next!
Known as the 'Ice Queen' of Vogue, Anna Wintour has managed to
revolutionize the magazine at the time she was elected to become
editor in November 1988. Now, recalling those times while preparing
for the launch of the book Vogue The Covers, the esteemed
editor-in-chief Anna Wintour tells CBS that she “didn't know
anything” when she stared working as editor for Vogue.
The first edition of Vogue US appeared on December 17, 1892 and
since then the magazine has earned the title of 'fashion's bible'.
After years in which the magazine seemed to follow a predictable
path as far as the cover went, Anna Wintour took over and decided
to leave her mark over the publication.
Vogue November
1902
Vogue November 1988/ Anna
Wintour
Anna Wintour might admit she didn't know anything, but it seems
that her strategy of going with her instincts worked perfectly as
she simply revolutionized the magazine by opting to put a non-cover
photograph of an Israeli model wearing an embellished top and jeans
on the cover of Vogue, instead of the traditional face shots of all
glam models. Anna told CBS in an exclusive interview that:
“To be in Vogue has to mean something. It's an endorsement, it's a
validation. [the cover] was totally unplanned and I just said,
'Well, let's just try this'. And off we went. It was just very
natural. To me it just said: 'This is something new. This is
something different'. And I remember the printers called us up
because they thought we'd made a mistake - just wanting to check
that that actually was the cover!”
Although her move was a statement and something new that captured
the attention of the public, the fashion editor wasn't all that sure
about what she was doing at that time. The inspiration behind 'The
Devil Wear Prada', Anna Wintour reveals to CBS that she didn't know
it will work. She said:
“I didn't know anything. I never pay any attention. I'm sure it's
not such a good way to be, but I don't really follow market
research. And in the end I do respond to my own instincts.
Sometimes they're successful, and obviously sometimes they're not.
But you have to, I think, remain true to what you believe in.”
Vogue November
1939
Vogue July
1961
Vogue April
1992
Vogue March
2011
Anna Wintour also continued to pass boundaries by swapping
supermodel covers with celebrity cover shots and it seems that the
decision worked perfectly, since Anna has been holding on to her
job for 23 years. The editor-in-chief tells CBS that she faced
plenty of criticism for this decision and that she remembers when
she decided to put Madonna on the cover. Anna said:
“I remember getting quite a bit of criticism for my first Madonna
cover - you know: 'She's not in vogue, she'll never sell'. It was a
little bit risky, but that when sales shot up around 40 per cent it
was an ‘eye-opener to all of us'.”
Now Vogue is preparing to celebrate 120 years of presence in the
fashion industry with a new book which features “an illustrated
history of the most memorable covers” . The book 'Vogue The Covers'
will retails for $50 and is out for sale. Vogue also created a
digital archive that can be browsed through to find editorials and
photographs that were featured from the first 1892 issue to the
last issue of Vogue. Now for $1,575 a year, you can subscribe to
individual access to the Vogue Archives and see every page and
cover from Vogue through its 120 years journey.
Photos courtesy of Getty Images, Vogue.com
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