Insiders revealed that Vogue’s new editorial chief may be “destroying” the icy brand her predecessor built.
Sources speaking to the Daily Mail discussed the relationship between Chloé Malle, 40, and Anna Wintour, 76, after the two appeared in a joint New York Times interview that highlighted their differences.
“While she thought it was the right appointment, she is probably like, ‘What have I done?’” a source close to Condé Nast, Vogue’s parent company, told the outlet about Wintour’s decision to appoint Malle as her successor at Vogue.
In response to a request for comment, a Vogue spokesperson told the Daily Beast that Malle is “beloved” by everyone and has the “complete support” of the entire team, including Wintour, adding that the Daily Mail report has “no truth” to it.
Malle, who has described herself as a “proud nepo baby,” is the daughter of Murphy Brown actress Candice Bergen and My Dinner With Andre director Louis Malle. She was named Head of Editorial Content at Vogue U.S. in September after 14 years with the company, taking over Wintour’s role, which the legendary fashion icon has held since 1988.
Speaking with the Times, Wintour emphasized that she did not want anyone “AW-lite in any way” to take over the position, and when Malle was chosen, she reiterated in her statement that she was “excited to continue working with her, as her mentor but also as her student,” while remaining the magazine’s Global Editorial Director.
“Chloé is her own person,” Wintour said.
As editor of Vogue for 37 years, Wintour became known for celebrity-driven covers, her signature bob and sunglasses, and her famously demanding personality—which formed the basis for the Miranda Priestley character in The Devil Wears Prada, a book written by Wintour’s former assistant, Lauren Weisberger, which was later adapted into a highly successful film. (A sequel, once again starring Meryl Streep in the Priestley role, will be released on May 1.)
“It’s kind of destroying the Vogue brand,” the source told the Daily Mail about Vogue’s direction under Malle. “The Vogue brand is all about being unattainable and icy and aspirational, and Anna was always aspirational.”
During her tenure, Wintour became known for Vogue’s elitist tendencies. Notable incidents include allegedly advising Oprah Winfrey, 72, to “lose a little bit of weight” before her cover shoot, criticizing presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for avoiding Vogue to not appear too feminine, and, according to a feature writer, swapping out a story about a flight attendant for a “high-flying businesswoman who’d had cancer” in a breast cancer feature, because “she wouldn’t have a stewardess in the magazine.”
Meanwhile, Malle has been open about the fact that fashion was not one of her “main interests in life” and told the Times that, if given a bigger budget, she would build a new podcast studio, pay everyone 30 percent more, and make sure the social team had more people on it.
“The thought that somebody could even be honest about wanting to pay their staff more and invest in social media and be honest about being nervous, it’s like the antithesis of Anna,” a source told the Daily Mail, adding, “Anna will always win.”
The source also claimed that Wintour “still signs off the covers, she still signs off the budgets, so really Chloé hasn’t got that much power.”
A second source told the outlet this was incorrect, saying Malle allegedly controls her covers and budget, though she still reports to Wintour.
A Vogue spokesperson told the Daily Beast that Malle continues to receive her predecessor’s support, as Wintour has “oversight across all markets” in her current position.
Wintour’s influence is not something either the new or former editor tried to deny. In their joint interview, Malle described being pulled into Wintour’s office while working on the March issue of the magazine, when her predecessor asked, “Where are the weird dogs?”—referring to Malle’s idea, as editor of Vogue.com, to hold a competition for dogs to appear on the cover of Dogue.
“It was very liberating for me because I do feel the pressure of carrying on this enormous legacy,” Malle said of Wintour’s oversight.
Despite the sources’ comparisons of Malle’s vision with her predecessor’s, they acknowledged that the younger editor was “doing a really good job in the eyes of the young, the millennial and Gen Z part of Condé Nast” as she prepares to release her first issue as editor in March.
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