Anna Wintour

When reading about Anna Wintour, one inevitably comes across phrases like “fashion icon” and “legendary editor.” While both are unequivocally true, to celebrate Wintour solely for her role as media’s most famous tastemaker is to sell short her many other accomplishments. The longtime Vogue editor in chief and Condé Nast artistic director has an influence over a global industry that most CEOs could only dream of, a talent for raising awareness (and funds) that’s valued by everyone from museum curators to presidential candidates, and a knack for fostering talent that has launched the careers of power players in the magazine business and beyond.

- Emma Bazilian

Wintour is also, in the words of Condé Nast CEO Bob Sauerberg, “a true celebrity.” With her trademark bob and Chanel sunglasses, she has become a brand unto herself, whether she likes it or not—and for the record, she does not, which she makes clear during an early-morning interview at her airy office on the 25th floor of Condé Nast’s One World Trade Center headquarters in New York.

“I have a wonderful family, and they do not think of me as an icon or a brand,” says the notoriously private Wintour, visibly wary of talking too much about herself. (Later, when asked why she doesn’t maintain a social media presence, she explains, “I just feel that’s not my responsibility in terms of the job I have. I work for Vogue and Condé Nast. I don’t work for Anna Wintour.”)

What she does want to talk about: the state of fashion, the future of Condé Nast, her involvement with the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, and, most importantly, Vogue’s 125th anniversary, which the magazine is celebrating this year. “We felt that it was such a milestone, and obviously one is so proud of so much of what Vogue has created over such an incredible amount of time,” she says. “The great thing about the world that Vogue works in is we’re always celebrating the new, and it seems to me such a fascinating time for fashion. Vogue’s mission is to reflect that and reflect our culture.”