The Search for American Vogue’s Head of Editorial Content Starts

LONDON — Let the “Game of Thrones” begin.

Following her decision to step down from the helm of American Vogue, Anna Wintour is on the hunt – but not for a replacement. Instead, she’s looking for a “head of editorial content,” in line with the new structure at the Condé Nast titles.

That person, like Chioma Nnadi at British Vogue, Claire Thomson-Jonville in Paris, and the editorial heads at many of the Condé Nast titles, report directly to Wintour, the group’s global chief content officer and global editorial director, Vogue.

One is clear. Wintour, 75, remains firmly in control.

Whispers of names have already started circulating, with W Magazine’s editor in chief Sara Moonves being a top contender, as well as Instagram‘s Eva Chen and a few others.

Wintour is said to be casting her net far and wide, and is open to interviewing internal and external candidates, one in-the-know source said. Moonves started her career at Vogue and was mentored by Sally Singer, whose name is also in the mix.

Singer left Vogue to head T: The New York Times Style Magazine, and Moonves joined her in 2010. Singer is now president of Art + Commerce after a stint at Amazon Fashion.

Moonves has been editing W Magazine since 2019 and lined up investors to acquire the publication in 2020, which Karlie Kloss is involved in.

Moonves and Singer could not be reached for comment at press time on Friday.

“Sara has great freedom at W, but stepping into Anna’s role is a no-brainer, especially in the creative industry, where she’s so front-facing,” said an industry source.

As for Instagram’s director of fashion partnerships Chen, the source said, “Eva knows and understands digital better than anyone else and it would benefit Condé Nast so much in a world of changing algorithms.”

Chen, who declined to comment Friday, could be a contender for multiple reasons well beyond her 3 million-plus Instagram followers. She knows the inner workings of Condé Nast International well and her career trajectory aligns with the seismic shifts in media.

Before joining Instagram in 2015, she spent more than 10 years at Condé Nast, where she gleaned the importance of a global reach. Between 2013 and 2015, Chen was Lucky magazine’s editor in chief and also worked as a Vogue China columnist. The digital adept also had a nearly eight-year stretch at Teen Vogue.

Chen has another connection to Wintour through The Met Gala, which Instagram has sponsored. A first-generation Chinese American, Chen has also written children’s books.

Previously one of Vogue’s favorite photographers, Mario Testino, said Friday that Wintour has “a unique talent for sensing the pulse of the moment, staying open to change, and identifying the right people to build iconic teams. With Vogue behind her, she perfectly evolved with the times, embracing each shift as it came. Many editors can become stuck and sometimes obsolete due to their inability to adapt and be open.”

Looking ahead, Testino said, “For a new editor, the challenge may be even greater. The landscape has changed: print has largely been replaced by digital platforms, and today, anyone with a phone and a following can be a trendsetter. Now more than ever, adaptability is essential to staying relevant in an ever-changing world.”

Three other Condé Nast staffers, whom Wintour is known to appreciate – Vogue’s fashion news director Mark Holgate, Vogue Runway’s director Nicole Phelps and British Vogue’s head of editorial content Nnadi – are also being talked about as potential candidates. Constance C.R. White praised Nnadi on LinkedIn Friday. Holgate, Phelps and Nnadi could not be reached Friday for comment.

Another Vogue staffer, Chloe Malle, editor of Vogue.com and cohost of “The Run-through With Vogue,” could offer a multimedia edge. Meanwhile, last week British Vogue posted a job opening for a fashion and style editor, whose responsibilities would include collaborating with Vogue editorial teams globally to ensure consistency. How that new hire will play into all of this is anyone’s guess.

Another candidate for the job could be fashion stylist Ib Kamara, who stepped down as editor in chief of Dazed after a four-year tenure earlier this year. It is understood that Wintour held an hourlong meeting with him at her office at One World Trade Center.

Kamara could not be reached for comment at press time on Friday.

The list of Condé-certified candidates includes Karla Martinez, head of content for Vogue Mexico and Latin America. She too could not be reached immediately for comment. Then there is Will Welch, editor in chief of GQ, who was said to be in the running for the Vanity Fair job as well. Observers, however, questioned whether in this day and age Condé Nast would appoint a man to a top job at the legendary women’s fashion title.

The names of Jo Ellison, editor of The Financial Times’ weekly magazine How To Spend It, and Sothebys’ head of media Kristina O’Neill have also surfaced. Neither could be reached for comment Friday.

Some industry insiders have speculated about the possibilities of Harper’s Bazaar’s editor in chief Samira Nasr returning to Condé Nast, after leaving five years ago. Nasr could not be reached immediately for comment Friday, nor could Stella Bugbee, editor of The New York Times Styles section. A former Vogue staffer floated the prospect of Lindsay Peoples, editor in chief of The Cut at New York Magazine. Peoples could not be reached for comment Friday.

There was chatter about New York Magazine’s recently installed editor at large Erik Maza too. He said Friday, “I am happily settling in at New York Mag, where I get to work on blockbuster projects like our special Hamptons issue, which is out now.”

The news of Wintour seeking a deputy-of-sorts comes two weeks after Condé Nast announced Mark Guiducci as the first global editorial director of Vanity Fair.

“She planted Mark into the Vanity Fair job so she can pass on giving him her job. She has orchestrated the whole thing,” said the same industry source, reiterating that Guiducci was Wintour’s right-hand man at American Vogue.

The job of helming Vogue has changed — it’s no longer chauffeured town cars and caviar lunches on the company card. Instead, it’s about shifting and sharing copy and photoshoots with fellow Vogue titles, and answering directly to Wintour.

The American title is following in the footsteps of the other international Vogue magazines by eliminating the editor in chief title and replacing it with a head of editorial content. British Vogue tapped Nnadi as its head of editorial content in September 2023 following the departure of editor in chief Edward Enninful.

“Anna has long since transcended the role of editor of a single magazine, so this announcement seems like the next logical step — not a step back, but a step up, above the day-to-day and page-by-page,” said Susan Scafidi, founder and director of Fordham Law’s Fashion Law Institute. “There may be a seismic shift at Vogue, but not yet for an industry that has in so many ways been shaped and will continue to be influenced by its leading mononym.”

In her wider role, Wintour oversees every brand globally, including Wired, Vanity Fair, GQ, AD, Condé Nast Traveler, Glamour, Bon Appetit, Tatler, World of Interiors, Allure and others, with the exception of The New Yorker, which is overseen by David Remnick.

Over the last five years there have been increasing questions in fashion world as to when Wintour might finally step down.

But she remains a major asset to Condé Nast and a main reason for brands still to advertise in its print titles which, as is the case across media, have grown thinner and thinner. Industry observers speculate that without the pressure from Wintour, Condé Nast would likely struggle even more.

So for the time being, Wintour isn’t really going anywhere – and will still rule the Condé Nast editorial kingdom, just with a “head of editorial content” to carry out her bidding.

— With contributions from Evan Clark