Let Anna Wintour Leave Vogue

If there's "zero truth" to any rumor circulating the industry at the moment, it's that Anna Wintour is leaving Vogue. At least, that's what a Condé Nast rep told us when we reached out for comment after a Page Six article relit the flame on rumors of her long-alleged departure. If you follow this type of thing, you're aware that any time the wind blows due South toward lower Manhattan, where Vogue sits in the Freedom Tower, it's cause to believe that the editrix is on her way to greener pastures. But after 30 years at the helm of America's most storied magazine, say she did leave. Would time stop? Or, like turning the page on a good story, could we move on?

Within hours of the Page Six report, the news spread like wildfire. (My own father emailed me this morning asking me to corroborate his Vogue-laden MSN alert. MSN!) It's true that editors are dropping fast, but it's not such a headline as much as it is gossip considering we've heard this before. See:

The Summer of Her Discontent (New York Magazine, 1999)
Is Vogue's Anna Wintour Next in the Mass Editor Exodus? (Fortune, 2018)
Will Sarah Jessica Parker Run Vogue When Anna Wintour Retires? (The Atlantic, 2014)
Who Will Replace Anna Wintour At Vogue? (NewNowNext, 2012)
Will everybody leave Vogue now that Grace Coddington has? (Page Six, 2016)
Is Anna Wintour Angling for an Ambassador Post in London? (The Cut, 2012)
Wintour of Discontent: Those Vogue Editor Rumors (TIME, 2009)

By the numbers, just last year saw the departure of several era-defining editors: Graydon Carter of Vanity Fair (25 years), Cindy Leive of Glamour (16 years), and Wintour's long-rumored nemesis, Alexandra Shulman of British Vogue (25 years). So it wouldn't be a surprise for Wintour's reign to come to an end. But does it have to? Well, according to the report, several Condé Nast insiders — amongst other insiders familiar with the matter — seem to think so. It's also alleged that Jonathan Newhouse, head of Condé Nast International in London, is not a fan of the Dame. Apparently Wintour will exit her role in July, following the wedding of her daughter Bee Shaffer to the son of late Vogue Italia editor and Wintour's close friend Franca Sozzani.

What a world without the stalwart editor looks like is beyond anyone's current comprehension, in part because she's influenced most of the fashion world as a multi-billion dollar business for the greater part of the last demi-century, and in part because of the legacy she's created for herself along the way. But, if you ask us, maybe it is time. And maybe whoever replaces her will do just as good a job as she did — or better? Reports also include a naming of Shulman's replacement Edward Enninful, who's only on his sixth British Vogue issue, to Wintour's spot stateside. And sources say she's eyeing a position atop the British Fashion Council in London, which wouldn't be such a bad idea considering she's on a first-name basis with Queen Elizabeth.

But anyway — what's for dinner?