Condé Nast announced last Wednesday that Anna Wintour, Vogue's Editor in Chief for the past 25 years, is taking on the additional role of artistic director of the company. It has been confirmed that Wintour will maintain her position at Vogue while joining forces with Condé Nast, making her one of the most influential people in the advertising world.
It was speculated that Wintour, who worked intimately on the 2012 Obama re-election campaign, would become ambassador to Great Britain. Though she expressed no disappointment when the position was filled by another, it is interesting to consider the impact of Wintour's clear political convictions as she fortifies her position of influence in popular culture.
Granted, it's not statistically deviant that Wintour; a highly educated, accomplished and ambitious 63 year old fashionista can be found leftward in the political spectrum. However, the fact that she is both actively and dynamically involved in the political process speaks volumes. The assumption of Wintour into Condé Nast's executive ranks widens her already colossal cultural influence. With her newly acquired access to the likes of Vanity Fair, GQ, Glamour and Architectural Digest under the scope of Condé Nast, Wintour has exponentially expanded her possible audience. Now, this is not to suggest that Wintour intends manipulate audiences as a sort of conspiracy to liberalize all magazine reading America. I mean, if you're reading GQ, it's just as likely you support Barack just as vehemently as you do Cole Haan. More of what I'm trying to get at here is that, perhaps, with a fatally polarized state of American society, could magazines make a difference? If a new culture could be cultivated, would we start seeing more eye to eye? Maybe, maybe not. Regardless, perhaps our current trajectory will land us in a nation under God... and Anna Wintour.
New York Times feature article on Wintour's new role at Condé Nast :
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/business/media/conde-nast-creates-new-job-for-anna-wintour.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0
I personally don't know much about Anna Wintour's background except for her involvement in fashion, but I believe her to be an extremely impressive lady. I mean, any woman who can get Meryl Streep to portray her in a movie must be pretty badass, right? I'm not quite sure if magazines like GQ or Vanity Fair could change America's scope of thinking, however I do believe in the power of a publication. While GQ may not change everyone's point of view, an news article can always prompt someone to review and think about their own beliefs. So essentially, more power to Anna Wintour, the woman is a stud.
ReplyDelete