Anna Wintour is the British Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue and has been for the past 25 years. What she doesn’t know about fashion is not worth knowing. Talented, fierce and fashionable. She is incredibly inspirational. Have a read of some of her quotes below and feel inspired. 

“I look for strong people. I don’t like people who’ll say yes to everything I might bring up. I want people who can argue and disagree and have a point of view that’s reflected in the magazine. My dad believed in the cult of personality. He brought great writers and columnists to ‘The Standard.”

“I’m very good at delegating – people work much better when they have a real sense of responsibility. But at the same time, I don’t like surprises. I don’t pore over every shoot, but I do like to be aware at all times of what’s going on.”

If one comes across sometimes as being cold or brusque, it’s simply because I’m striving for the best.”

“There is something about fashion that can make people really nervous.”

“I wasn’t academically successful. And maybe I’ve spent a lot of my career trying to make up for that.”

“Create your own style… let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others.”

‘Vogue’ is a fashion magazine, and a fashion magazine is about change.”

“The notion that a contemporary woman must look mannish in order to be taken seriously as a seeker of power is frankly dismaying. This is America, not Saudi Arabia.”

“I like having young assistants in my office; they have energy, and I spend time with them to make sure they understand what we’re doing. By investing in them, I’m investing in the magazine. All over ‘Vogue,’ ‘Teen Vogue,’ and ‘Men’s Vogue,’ there are people who have been through not only my office but also many other offices at ‘Vogue.'”

“My father was a newspaper editor, so I was surrounded by journalists my entire life. I think the fact that he was so well known may be why I chose to go into magazines and move to the States at a young age.“

“It’s always about timing. If it’s too soon, no one understands. If it’s too late, everyone’s forgotten.”

“I don’t really follow market research. In the end, I respond to my own instincts.”

“You either know fashion or you don’t.”

“Because of reality television and all these celebrities thinking they can be designers, everyone imagines that they can just become a designer, photographer, or model, but that’s not the way things work. People have to go to school, learn their craft, and build a brand – that’s the right, healthy way to do things.”

“I want ‘Vogue’ to be pacy, sharp, and sexy – I’m not interested in the super-rich or infinitely leisured. I want our readers to be energetic executive women, with money of their own and a wide range of interests. There is a new kind of woman out there. She’s interested in business and money.“

 “If you look at any great fashion photograph out of context, it will tell you just as much about what’s going on in the world as a headline in The New York Times.”

“Just be true to yourself, and listen as much as one is able to to other people whose opinions you respect and look up to but in the end it has to come from you. You can’t really worry too much by looking to the left and the right about what the competition is doing or what other people in your field are doing. It has to be a true vision.”

“I think possibly what people working for one hate the most is indecision. Even if I’m completely unsure, I’ll pretend I know exactly what I’m talking about and make a decision. The most important thing I can do is try and make myself very clearly understood.”

“[The democratisation of luxury] means more people are going to get better fashion. And the more people who can have fashion, the better.”

“It’s very important to take risks. I think that research is very important, but in the end you have to work from your instinct and feeling and take those risks and be fearless. When I hear a company is being run by a team, my heart sinks, because you need to have that leader with a vision and heart that can move things forward.”

“Fashion’s not about looking back. It’s always about looking forward.”

“In the end I do respond to my own instincts. Sometimes they’re successful, and obviously sometimes they’re not. But you have to, I think, remain true to what you believe in.”

“Part of the pleasure of editing ‘Vogue,’ one that lies in a long tradition of this magazine, is being able to feature those who define the culture at any given moment, who stir things up, whose presence in the world shapes the way it looks and influences the way we see it.”

“Fashion is not beautiful, neither is it ugly. Why should it be either? Fashion is Fashion”

“To be in ‘Vogue’ has to mean something. It’s an endorsement. It’s a validation.”

“I surround myself with a talented group of people that are opinionated and interesting. I try to remain very open to what others have to say.”