Portrait Of The Week - Anna Wintour

Born in November 3rd 1949 and editor-in-chief of American Vogue since 1988, Anna Wintour, or the lady behind the black sunglasses, is known as the “fashion priestess” recognized by everyone with her trademark “pageboy bob haircut”. As a real institution in the fashion world, Anna Wintour is widely praised for her unrivalled eye for fashion trends and for her strong support of young designers. The British-born style icon is also known for her extremely demanding personality and cold appearance which has earned her the nickname, “Nuclear Wintour”.

Very early in her young age, Anna Wintour showed signs interest in fashion, regularly reading fashion magazines such as “Seventeen” and already challenging what was established as, when at school, she frequently rebelled against the dress codes by taking up the hemlines of the skirts… And this is how Anna Wintour’s eye for details was released!! Also, her father, Charles Wintour, editor of the Evening Standard, very early decided that her daughter was to work in fashion and quickly arranged jobs for her in that field. This is how Anna Wintour started by working at the influential Biba boutique and later on began a training program at Harrods. The young Wintour didn’t stop there as she took fashion classes and began her career in fashion journalism in 1970 at Harper’s & Queen. And from there on her career was set… While the rest of her professional path is history, I would like to take a closer look at the personality and the style of that woman who became a real pillar of the fashion world….

It is not an overstatement to say that through the years, Anna Wintour has come to be regarded as one of the most powerful people in fashion as she has been setting trends with top designers cherishing her advices. Her talent and her gifted eye for details and aesthetic are probably the main reasons of this achievement. While people admire her, many fear her at the same time. As a matter of fact, her freezing personality and lack of indulgence and patience as well as her “volatile outburst of displeasure” makes her feared by a lot of people who are close to her. Moreover, she is constantly feeding her unapproachable appearance and her emotional distance.

Anna Wintour is the story of a talented perfectionist who felt the need to shut down a part of herself to climb the steps of power. One can criticize this, but I imagine that to obtain that kind of recognition and status one is obligated to leave a part of himself go, and make certain sacrifices… We can never have it all….

Last but definitely not least, Anna Wintour is one (maybe THE) fashion icon of our time, with every one of her outfits and looks scrutinized, with each detail studied carefully…. Her style is always impeccable and if I had to choose one single outfit to describe her style it would be a Chanel tweed straight dress underneath an oversized fur coat.

While she sometimes is seen wearing simple straight dress or skirt suits, she sometimes surprises with extravagant outfits which will be directly identified as a major trend. Because let’s face it, if Anna wears it should be right…. The years do not weight on her style, as the fashion goddess, reinvents year after year her look, while still keeping its essence, adapting it to her age…. Hence, she never lets any space for a “fashion faux pas”...

Zoom on her outfits…..