Anna Wintour is shifting away from the day-to-day editing of American Vogue magazine after 37 years to focus on her global roles overseeing editorial for all of the Vogue magazines and as chief content officer for Condé Nast's properties, with the exception of The New Yorker.

Considered one of the most revered figures in the fashion industry, Wintour first stepped into the Vogue editor-in-chief role in 1988. Before her historic run as leader of the Condé Nast glossy, she worked at titles like New York's Harper's Bazaar and London's Harpers & Queen magazine. And her decision to move away from her editor-in-chief role surprised many fashion industry insiders and everyday style connoisseurs when it was officially announced on Thursday.

Though Wintour may be leaving her role as editor-in-chief of Vogue U.S., her work at Condé Nast is not coming to an end.
Her continued influence on the editorial and creative strategy for Vogue and most other Condé Nast titles will be seen through her continuing global editorial management.

But with Wintour having announced the creation of a new position to head editorial at U.S. Vogue, , curiosity is growing over what's next for the esteemed fashion magazine and who will be chosen to lead the glossy after almost four decades of Wintour shaping its vision.

In an interview with Morning Edition, Amy Odell, a fashion and culture journalist and author of Anna: The Biography, spoke with NPR's A Martinez about Wintour's legacy, the challenges her new successor will face when modernizing the magazine and the current the relevance of Vogue today.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Interview highlights

A Martinez: Is this the end of the era or just maybe a symbolic changing of the guard?

Amy Odell: It's a huge deal. I think it is the end of an era. Yes, she's still going to be Condé Nast and working on global editions of Vogue. What strikes me about the way in which she made this announcement, in which she's stepping back, is that she's appointing her successor. She's going to be overseeing and working with that person and shaping the magazine that she will leave behind when she eventually does leave her job at Conde Nast — because no one can do any job forever.

Martinez: Amy, I'm wondering if anyone has checked in with the hip hop world because her name has been dropped in so many hip hop songs that I'm sure that they're wondering what's going on, too. Like maybe Jay-Z even. But also, is another editorial career like Wintour's impossible now?

Odell: I think so. She started her career in late 1960s [in] London. The job was to find a photographer or find a model, pack a trunk of clothes and flit off to St. Moritz for a week and take beautiful pictures and come back. And now the job of a young editor is blogging and trying to get traffic to a website or making videos for Instagram or Tik-Tok. The work is so different and fashion photography is just kind of a dying art.

Martinez: So considering all these things that are different that you just mentioned, what changes do you think we might see in Vogue now?

Odell: That's the really big question. I honestly think it's hard to say since Anna is there. She has such a clear and strong point of view, it's hard to imagine it changing all that much. However, any new editor in chief, particularly, one with this much visibility on their first issue — wants to make their mark and wants to clearly establish their vision with that first cover. So we will have to wait and see.

Martinez: How does Vogue stay relevant considering that you don't have to wait for the magazine to come out to see the latest? In fact, all you have to do tis hop on YouTube or go to Tik Tok and you [can] get fashion advice [and] see the latest trends.

Odell: Absolutely. You don't need Vogue to keep up with fashion. It is an amazing resource and many people do still use the website and its many channels. However, I will say that Anna Wintour, I think, has been keeping the magazine relevant because she's a celebrity. I think that her relevance is helping keep Vogue relevant. And I think the struggle for her successor is to maintain the relevance.

Copyright 2025 NPR