During the last week of September, while filming the new episode of The Devil Wears Prada, starring Meryl Streep, I was thrilled to see the moment Miranda Priestly met Anna Wintour, the inspiration for her character, in Milano Fashion Week.
Much has been said about Wintour, a leading figure in the fashion world. Wintour, who led the American edition of Vogue for 37 years from 1988 to 2025, will be leaving Vogue in 2025, but I’m certain that Anna Wintour’s legacy will be present in Vogue’s future. 37 years is truly a long time to work for one company.
Above all, with Wintour’s vision, Vogue transformed from a fashion magazine catering only to the elite people into a cultural icon. Her legacy seems unlikely to fade.
During this time, I wanted to see what I could learn from Wintour’s leadership and management style, as she has inspired many people, whether they are from the fashion and design industry or not, has a clear vision, works with discipline, and has created a strong image for herself.
Create your own vision
Wintour embraced the vision of fashion for everyone to redefine Vogue from an elite magazine to a publication everyone can read. To achieve this, she didn’t shy away from challenging the traditions and habits of her product and experimenting with new ideas.
The concept of vision isn’t just about dreaming about the future; it’s also a guiding compass held in one’s own hands.
To develop your own vision, you must first discover your own values, strengths and sources of motivation. These approaches, a form of internal awareness, are crucial elements that will support the enduring and realistic nature of your vision.
To develop a vision, it’s important to carefully observe the leaders you draw inspiration from, the examples of success you follow, and the trends you follow, and to broaden your horizons as much as possible. The most important criteria to consider when developing a vision are to avoid imitation and to successfully blend your own values ​​with those of those you consider leaders.
Identifying concrete, small steps to bring your vision to life is a critical process. As you progress, new experiences and feedback will further refine your vision. The most important point to remember is that vision is not static but a dynamic guide that constantly evolves and moves us forward.
Make your brand strategy consistent
It takes time for someone to trust a brand. Anna Wintour maintained and elevated American Vogue’s style for 30 years without major changes with her own vision.
This attitude tells us to focus on continuity, consistency, and the trust of our target audience, rather than constantly developing new and evolving strategies and losing our energy with them.
Build a strong and diverse team
It would be ridiculous to say that a magazine like Vogue originated from a single source. While Wintour is the head and face of the business, American Vogue is a true team effort, even before it’s even put on the table. Perhaps this is the primary reason Wintour has a diverse team of people with diverse perspectives.
Being a manager also means believing in, trusting, and empowering the rest of the team; investing in young talent who will contribute to the vision. A more diverse team means more robust and creative solutions.
Wintour is a manager who due to the nature of her work, requires a lot of thought and a strong focus on maintaining her versatility. Trusting the rest of the team and delegating some of the work to them is also beneficial in terms of holding them accountable and motivating them.
Give quick and clear feedback
One of the most significant problems in today’s business world is the underdeveloped culture of communication and feedback. Communication and feedback, essential for any task, should not be delayed.
One of Wintour’s most important qualities that many business professionals should embrace is her ability to communicate promptly and directly. Prompt communication, criticism, guidance, and feedback play a key role in quickly resolving issues.
This reduces conflict within the team, prevents misunderstandings, prevents wasted time on insinuations, and prevents delayed deadlines.
Establish a structured and planned work system
The first step in establishing a structured work system is planning and following that plan. Prioritizing tasks within the daily and weekly schedules makes tasks manageable and makes it easier to complete them within the expected timeframe.
Schedules can be comprehensively created with simple “to-do” lists or digital planning tools; the key is to succeed in creating these lists.
Another key to a structured work system is to start the day at the same time every day, create study blocks, and reinforce discipline by reducing distractions.
To ensure a sustainable and effective work system, regular monitoring and making changes where necessary are essential. Two important questions to ask here are What’s working? and What can I do better?
Hold targeted and productive meetings
Meetings are essential for every company, and they were essential for Vogue, where Wintour heads the company. Wintour’s approach to meetings is to make quick decisions with small teams. Of course, this doesn’t mean that meetings with larger participants don’t take place.
This minimal approach ensures that each meeting has its own agenda and that only relevant people gather, eliminating unnecessary clutter, thus increasing efficiency.
Blend business with new ideas
Wintour transformed the famed Met Gala into an event that combined creativity and commerce. She elevated Vogue’s prestige while also generating revenue for the Costume Institute.
This approach is a significant example of how, by moving away from traditional marketing methods, partnerships can be formed and multiple organizations with high brand value can come together more easily.
The equation is actually quite simple: inspire the target audience while simultaneously finding a way to generate sustainable revenue. Who knows, this might be one of the new ways to make money.
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Anna Wintour is now an icon who has left her mark on the world, and she will continue to influence and inspire the world in different ways through her other works.
Despite all this, I’m most curious about how she felt when she met Miranda Priestly in Milano.
Photo by Rhema Kallianpur on Unsplash
