Anna Wintour is seeking a head of editorial content to handle more of the day-to-day operations at Vogue while retaining plenty of power to keep her a force at the magazine that built her reputation in fashion, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press Thursday.
Winter will retain her roles as chief content officer for Condé Nast and global editorial director of Vogue, said the person who was not authorized to speak about the change publicly.
Wintour broke the news to Vogue staff in a meeting on Thursday.
The news shook the fashion world and Wintour-watchers on social media amid breathless headlines that Wintour was “stepping down” from Vogue. The new lead will report directly to Wintour in her capacity as global editorial director, the person said.
As chief content officer, Wintour will continue to oversee every Condé Nast brand globally, including American Vogue, Wired, Vanity Fair, GQ, AD, Condé Nast Traveler, Glamour, Bon Appétit, Tatler, World of Interiors, Allure and more, with the exception of The New Yorker.
Wintour also oversees the annual Met Gala, fashion’s biggest night and a major fundraiser for the fashion wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Four years ago, the company changed its editorial structure, bringing together the editorial teams around the world for the first time.
Every market where Condé Nast operates has a head of editorial content led by a global editorial director.
The new role at American Vogue is part of that reorganization. The new structure has already been rolled out at other Vogue titles around the world.
The company will not seek an editor-in-chief to replace Wintour at American Vogue, replacing that title with the new head of editorial content. The idea is to afford Wintour more time to tend to other titles in her portfolio.
Wintour transformed Vogue during her decades at the magazine.
She was named creative director in 1983, served as editor-in-chief of British Vogue from 1985 to 1987 then rejoined the American title as editor-in-chief.
She modernized the magazine by featuring celebrities on its covers and mixing high fashion with more affordable street style.
She championed emerging designers, including Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen and John Galliano, and broadened the brand’s reach by adding new titles around the world.
