fashionologie

Si Newhouse on Ousting Anna Wintour From Vogue - "Never. I Hope She's Here 10 Years From Now"

fashionologie — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 11:27:14 PDT

>> Mario Testino photographed Anna Wintour for the April 2011 cover of WSJ. - likely at her request (he often shoots Vogue's covers). Because if there's one thing about Wintour, it's that she does things on her own terms.

Si Newhouse (chairman of Advance Publications, which owns Vogue) attests with an anecdote about a Fashion's Night Out meeting Wintour held in Paris, which had 30 international Vogue editors and publishers in attendance: "It was the first time anybody had gotten them all together. She didn't need my authority to do it - she has a remarkable ability to impose her will. If I had had reservations, she probably would have gone ahead anyway."

Marc Jacobs, too, confirms: "If I get a request for something I don't want to do, first I get an email, then a phone call from someone at Vogue, and now I don't even bother to say no - I know the next call is from her." And New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who Wintour has worked with on a number of initiatives - including Fashion's Night Out - says: "Behind all Anna's grace and poise is some pretty tough resolve. She's not a person you want to say no to."

Even the Costume Institute has bowed to Wintour's requests (she has raised a grand total of $75 million for the organization, after all). For last year's gala, she had a 30-foot hot-air balloon trucked in from South Dakota to float above the museum's Engelhard Court. "When we first saw it, we go, 'Never! We can't have gas in the museum!' " says Met president Emily Rafferty. "Anna's changed our attitude - she's brought us to new levels of thinking of what we can do, but without ever losing sight that we're working in a museum context here."

Needless to say, Wintour's reach extends much further than fashion. Harvey Weinstein, who has known Wintour for 15 years (and more recently married Marchesa's Georgina Chapman), notes: "I'm a streak player, but Anna's there, good or bad. When I wasn't doing so well, Anna would throw a party and put me next to Bernard Arnault." Although he declined to be specific, Weinstein said that he had several business deals come out of that party. And Baz Luhrmann, who just recently cast Wintour favorite Carey Mulligan to star in his upcoming film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, says: "I always talk to Anna about what I'm up to, and I always listen to what she has to say."

Within fashion, too, Wintour is more than just an editor. As Francois-Henri Pinault, head of PPR, says: "She tackles things that are really much bigger than what any other editors take on." Because of Wintour, Pinault is currently discussing how to financially support young designers with the French government. But Wintour never straight-out asks him to do something: "She's much more subtle than that."

She's also something of a matchmaker - whether it's designer to brand (in the case of placing John Galliano at Christian Dior back in 1996; Bernard Arnault - chairman of LVMH, which owns Dior - says of Wintour: "She pointed us towards unexpected choices. I speak very openly to her, and this was quite audacious - it was not about picking the big names of the moment. It took her to see that there was a stylistic closeness between John and Dior. She was the discoverer.") or brand to financier (in the case of Bottega Veneta and Gucci Group or Michael Kors and Sportswear Holdings). "She does this very discreetly, but she's really a kind of consigliere to the entire fashion and retail industry," one former colleague who worked closely with Wintour says. Another former colleague, who attended several corporate matchmaking meetings with Wintour, adds: "I came to realize that she's really the McKinsey of fashion." As for Wintour's word on the matter? "We can suggest," she says, "but in the end, everybody makes up their own minds."

It sounds like Wintour isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Vogue is Conde Nast's most profitable publication, Si Newhouse confirms, adding that he has no successor in mind: "Never. I hope she's here 10 years from now, 20 years from now." Wintour, for her part, says: "With all the new media outlets out there, with all the noise, a voice of authority and calm like Vogue becomes more important than ever. The more eyes on fashion, the more opinions about fashion, the more exploration of fashion around the world, the better it is for Vogue. Vogue is like Nike or Coca-Cola - this huge global brand. I want to enhance it, I want to protect it, and I want it to be part of the conversation."

A few more quotables from the WSJ. profile:

Marc Jacobs on Wintour's cold reputation: "She gets such a bad rap. She stands by the people she believes in, and if you're not one of those people, perhaps you take a different view."

Wintour's take on her reputation: "I care deeply about my friends and my family and they know it, but work is work."

Wintour on cover choice regrets: "I'm not terribly proud of putting the Spice Girls on the cover."

Wintour on the John Galliano scandal: "This is all so tragic."

Wintour on being criticized for using the same people in Vogue: "I try to remain open to new people, but obviously there's a stronger element of trust with people you've known for a long time. I think we have a Vogue vocabulary, and there are certain people we like to have as the backbone of the magazine - Vogue's signposts. We try very hard to integrate the familiar signatures with people we feel are new and up-and-coming, but I would rather err on the side of being a little more familiar than being too . . . What's the right word? . . . Edgy."

WSJ. on Wintour's morning habits: "When I met Wintour in her big, artfully tidy office at Vogue, she had been up since 5 am - her normal waking hour. On most days she goes off to play tennis at 6, but lately she's been nursing a sore elbow and can't play. Which didn't mean no tennis."

Amy Astley Found Out She Was Teen Vogue's Founding Editor Nine Days Before She Gave Birth

fashionologie — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 14:02:06 PST

>> Contrary to popular opinion, Amy Astley says, she didn't work under Anna Wintour when she was editor at House & Garden (HG, as it was called then). In fact, she only met Wintour the day the magazine was shuttered: "So I get the call the day HG closed, would I go and see Anna, and I said sure, of course . . . and they were like, ‘Today, right now.’ And that’s how I learned how Vogue operates - I was like, ‘Can I do it tomorrow? I have to get my outfit together!’ And HR was like, ‘No, she’s ready for you now, right now.’ So I toddled up there in my little Agnes B. T-shirt and my brand new Chanel ballet slippers that cost, like, a week’s salary." She was hired as beauty associate at Vogue and promoted soon after to beauty director: "I stayed at Vogue for nine years - I did four test issues of Teen Vogue, I edited Index - and I didn’t think Conde Nast was going to launch Teen Vogue, so I got pregnant for the second time, and Anna and Mr. [Si] Newhouse called me in. I was nine days away from giving birth - I was so fat. I had gained, like, forty pounds . . . I was huge! And they said, ‘We’re going to launch Teen Vogue, and we want you to edit it.’ I literally gave birth to my second child Ingrid as the magazine was being launched, so she and it are the same age - eight. I was 35 at the time." [Into The Gloss]

Quote Of The Day: Si Newhouse And His Editors

coutorture — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 06:43:00 PDT

“

Three of Newhouse’s editors, past and present, took the stage to praise Leibovitz, the diva of divas, the kind of exotic, cantankerous talent that could only exist in Si’s world. Annie shows up at photo shoots with two vans of assistants and equipment, commandeering the scene. During her baroque financial troubles, Newhouse rushed to her aid, making a personal loan said to be seven figures...Onstage, Tina Brown, Anna Wintour, and Graydon Carter lined up, three of the four editors who praise Annie-Jann Wenner is the fourth. The stage was bare, like in a Beckett play, commanding presences waiting awkwardly on spots visibly marked in blue tape-the Oscarish aspirations broke down long ago.

”"Si Newhouse's Dream Factory", New York

Fashion In 50 Seconds 06/01/09 Williamson Returns To LFW & More

coutorture — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 05:59:11 PDT

Matthew Williamson will not show in New York this Spring 2010, but in London for its 25th anniversary.

The Fall 2009 Christian Dior Couture show will be staged at the first Christian Dior store in Paris.

Christian Lacroix wrote a letter to the firm's 125 employees, saying that he will give "200 percent" to keep the couture house alive.

New York's cover story this week is entitled "Si Newhouse's Dream Factory" and discusses the fate of Condé Nast.

fashionologie — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:34:33 PDT

>> INSIDER WIRE -More rumors have hit that Anna Wintour is looking for a place in the Obama administration - possibly as ambassador to Britain - but a rep denies them, and we can likely chalk it up to the fact that she has contract negotiations coming up. But it sounds like the Anna situation isn't the only thing Si Newhouse is about to have on his plate: New York's Monday cover story - online Sunday night at 10 pm - is titled "Si Newhouse's Dream Factory" and the teaser reads: "Conde Nast's own stars compare their glossy empire to the MGM of Old Hollywood, but no one would wish it the same fate. What happens to a magazine empire built on glossy fantasies when harsher realities intrude?" [Page Six, FWD]

fashionologie — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:09:19 PST

>> INSIDER WIRE -Is "Change!" afoot, as the January 2009 cover of Vogue touts? Despite all the rumors otherwise, it looks like Anna Wintour is staying put - just like Si Newhouse said. According to "industry sources" - the numbers aren't publicly released - Vogue "was the most profitable magazine [for Conde Nast] this year." Which in theory means good things for dear Anna - but it's always important to remember that Grace Mirabella, who Wintour replaced, tripled Vogue's circulation and built the magazine to be one of the "consistently largest advertising-revenue producers of any publication in America," but was still unceremoniously sacked when she was no longer taking risks - a fault that an increasing number would say Anna has. [Page Six]

Carine Roitfeld Denies Vogue Takeover Rumors

fashionologie — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:01:53 PST

>> Just to round out yesterday's bout of Anna Wintour in, Carine Roitfeld out rumors followed by Si Newhouse's denial, Carine also denied the rumor last night in London, where she was overseeing a photoshoot with Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott and then heading to Paris for the Chanel Paris-Moscow showing today: "I'm very happy at Vogue France."

And just like Si, another senior official at Conde Nast laughed the rumor off yesterday: "I would eat my hat if such a changeover came about. It is borderline theatre of the absurd." But again, it's important to remember that everyone is denying that Carine is replacing Anna, not the rumor that Anna is going to retire or be replaced - no one has commented on that.
*image: source

Si Newhouse, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld Dismiss Vogue Replacement Rumors; Another Name Floated Around

fashionologie — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:40:34 PST

>> After all the rumors on Gawker today that Anna Wintour was going to be replaced as editor-in-chief of Vogue by Carine Roitfeld starting in January 2009, Si Newhouse decided to put the talk to rest. After receiving a copy of the original Gawker item via fax in Europe, he denied through a spokeswoman that anything was amuck: "It’s the silliest rumor I ever heard. There is no truth to it."

When asked about the possibility of her mother Carine replacing Anna a couple of weeks ago, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld also dismissed the possibility: "I don’t know how that rumor started. She loves Paris too much - she’d never leave."

The general consensus seems to be that Carine wouldn't be a good fit for Vogue - unless there were some massive changes in the prioritities of ad sales, circulation size, and creative appearance made - but as for Anna being on the outs? Who knows . . . what executive would do anything but deny a rumor before he's ready for it to be outed?

UPDATE: Over at Fashion Week Daily, they've heard another editor's name floated around as Anna's possible replacement - British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman, who as the clues indicate, trains the incoming Vogue editors and is "not too tall, not too short, 'deplores plastic surgery' and is sporting a fresh new fringe." My best guess for promoting someone within Vogue would have to ride with Sally Singer.
*image: source

Anna Wintour Out, Carine Roitfeld In at Vogue?

fashionologie — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:17:29 PST

>> Did Lauren Weisberger predict the future? The Devil Wears Prada had Miranda Priestly, the Anna Wintour character, being replaced by Jacqueline Follet, the Carine Roitfeld character - until Miranda maneuvered her way out of it - and according to rumors, that might just be what is in the works in real life.

Talk of Anna Wintour's retirement has been running rampant, especially with Anna's deflated "leave me alone" response when asked about the retirement rumors, and her daughter Bee Shaffer's recent comment about how she would be "staying far away from Vogue." Last night, Conde Nast insiders were overheard talking about how Si Newhouse left early for his three-week December vacation in Vienna - the one during which he usually makes big strategical changes in the company - purportedly to meet in Paris with Carine Roitfeld and finalize details about her moving to New York and taking over at Vogue at the beginning of next year.

Wintour may well be on the outs - she has been at the magazine twenty years, her domain at Conde Nast shrunk recently, Vogue's ad pages dropped this year, and her supposed $2 million per year salary could be seen as a hindrance in this economy - but is Carine the right fit? She loves being subversive and has a substantially smaller circulation at Vogue Paris - two things that wouldn't fly with American Vogue, unless Si really is looking for the magazine to be entirely restructured. But would Carine want to leave all the freedom she has now behind? She'd definitely be scrutinized much more closely at Vogue. And what about staff? The editors at Vogue Paris and Vogue have entirely different styles and personalities. But her daughter, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, does live in New York . . .
*image: source

Au Revoir, Anna Wintour? Retirement Rumored

fashionologie — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:30:10 PST

>> Is Anna Wintour ready to put the cap at twenty years of Vogue? Her contract is said to be up soon, according to a Page Six source, and she's thinking of retiring: "She feels she's done it all and had enough. She has been putting out feelers to intimate friends recommending a possible replacement to Si Newhouse. She's so tired out, she just let Men's Vogue close instead of fighting for it."

This news is especially timely, since Vogue's decreasing ad numbers just came out, and Si Newhouse is about to take his annual month-long European sabbatical in December - the one where he figures out what at Conde Nast needs fixing and then comes back in January, the month when he typically hires and fires, making big changes at the company.

Si is famous for his dislike of confrontation, and many of his editors in the past have said their first inkling of trouble was when they were fired - the editor Anna replaced at Vogue, Grace Mirabella, was never given a reason for her dismissal, and found out about it from a television report.

Sudden and unforeseen dismissal doesn't seem a way Anna would want to go - she always has to be on top of her game - so retirement seems more in character. A rep denies the reports, but I'm more curious about these replacements she's suggested. Honestly, who could instill the fascination and fear that Anna can?
*image: source