The China Mail - Anna Wintour steps down as US Vogue editor after nearly 40 years

Wintour, 75, was famous for making Vogue's front covers an authoritative monthly statement on contemporary fashion, and for her total control over the glamorous pages inside.

She will no longer run day-to-day editing of the fashion bible, but magazine group owner Conde Nast was quick to scotch suggestions that she was retiring.

She will continue to hold senior roles at the group and as Vogue's global editorial director, a company source said.

British-born Wintour came to wider public renown as the inspiration for "The Devil Wears Prada," a hit 2003 novel and 2006 movie, in which Meryl Streep played the role of a tyrannical magazine editor.

Wintour, who took the helm at US Vogue in 1988, announced at a staff meeting in New York that the publication would seek a new head of editorial content, several US media reported.

- Global magazine -

She was made a British dame in 2017 and in February this year was made a companion of honour, joining a select group never numbering more than 65 recognized for major contributions in their field.

At the ceremony in London in February, Wintour removed her trademark sunglasses to receive the award and said she had told King Charles III that she had no plans to stop working.

Wintour, who was raised in the UK by a British father and an American mother, reigned over Vogue in the heyday of glossy magazines.

She took the title global, with huge budgets to spend on models, design, photographs and journalism funded by lavish advertisements and high subscription rates.

Wintour was known for axing work without discussion, and was a fixture in the front row at catwalk shows with her unchanging bob haircut.

A 2015 documentary about her life pointed to her ice queen image and steely ambition but also revealed her warmer human side.

As Conde Nast's chief content officer, she will continue to oversee publications including Vogue, Wired, Vanity Fair, GQ, Conde Nast Traveler and Glamour.

Z.Ma--ThChM