US Vogue editor Anna Wintour made chief content officer at Conde Nast

US Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour 

Credit: ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images

Anna Wintour, the editor of US Vogue, has been promoted at Condé Nast, months after admitting to allowing “hurtful and intolerant” behaviour and not doing enough to champion black designers and models.

Wintour will now serve as the company’s chief content officer and global editorial director of Vogue while continuing to oversee Vogue US, in an apparent vote of confidence following a rocky year.

The British editor will lead the company’s editorial teams across all of its 25 global editions, except The New Yorker.

The move comes after a tough few months for Condé Nast, punctuated by layoffs and staff unrest over diversity issues.

London-born Wintour, 71, one of the most powerful people in the fashion world, was accused over the summer of sidelining and belittling black employees during her 32 years at the helm.

Critics say few black models have appeared on the fashion magazine’s front page during Wintour’s time overseeing its creative content.

Amid a reckoning on racism in the US following the death of George Floyd, Wintour took responsibility and vowed to do better.  

“I want to say plainly that I know Vogue has not found enough ways to elevate and give space to black editors, writers, photographers, designers and other creators,” she wrote in email to staff.

“We have made mistakes too, publishing images or stories that have been hurtful or intolerant. I take full responsibility for those mistakes.”

A group of 18 black journalists who have worked with her over the years responded by accusing her of favouring employees who are “thin, white, and from elite backgrounds” in a piece published by the New York Times.  

She has been editor-in-chief of Vogue US since 1988 and became Condé Nast’s global content advisor in 2019.

For decades she has been chairwoman of the Met Gala at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, and she inspired the character played by Meryl Streep in the 2006 film "The Devil Wears Prada."

In a memo to staff, Roger Lynch, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Anna’s appointment represents a pivotal moment for Condé Nast as her ability to stay ahead in connecting with new audiences, while cultivating and mentoring some of today’s brightest talent in the industry, has made her one of media’s most distinguished executives,” said Mr Lynch, to whom Wintour will continue to report.

Mr Lynch said in an interview that the company now makes less than half its revenue from advertising in the pages of its print magazines and that there would be a push towards digital.