Vogue has, not unexpectedly, vehemently denied these rumors, with a spokesperson saying, “There’s zero truth to this story.” Condé Nast also denied that Wintour is leaving. The report, published late Monday evening, said in classic Page Six style, that a “host of stunned sources” said that the “grand high priestess of both the fashion and publishing industries since she became editor in chief of Vogue in 1988 — is to exit her all-powerful role at the publishing house this summer after the July wedding of her daughter, Bee Schaffer, to Francesco Carrozzini, the son of former Italian Vogue Editor Franca Sozzani.” While it’s maybe not the craziest thing in the world that Wintour would be retiring sometime soon, it seems a bit unlikely it would happen this year.
Wintour has been Vogue’s editor-in-chief since 1988 and the artistic director for Condé Nast since 2013. Page Six speculated that Vogue UK’s editor Edward Enninful would be the likely replacement for Wintour’s position, with one source saying that Condé Nast CEO Jonathan Newhouse “doesn’t like [the amount of power] Anna has” and favors Enninful. Another rumor is that she could be potentially eyeing a position in England leading the British Fashion Council (she did recently sit front row with Queen Elizabeth II after all.)
But all of this is just entertaining speculation for now — almost as entertaining as trying to figure out whether Wintour really did have a fling with Bob Marley. The rumors of her departure might not be as implausible as they once were; after all, many long-time Condé editors have left (or been replaced) in recent months, from Graydon Carter to Cindi Leive. A world without Anna Wintour as arbiter of all things fashion? Hard to imagine, but maybe not so far off.