The Business of Fashion Podcast - Inside the Unauthorised Biography of Anna Wintour

Inside the Unauthorised Biography of Anna Wintour

05/13/22 • 31 min

2 Listeners

BoF’s Imran Amed quizzes Amy Odell on how she went about biographing the fashion media icon, and the surprising things she learned on the way.

Background:

Anna Wintour is arguably the most recognisable name in fashion media. In her new biography of Wintour author Amy Odell sets out to paint a nuanced and meticulously researched picture of Wintour’s life based on hundreds of interviews and sweeping archival research.

This week on The BoF Podcast, Odell joins BoF’s Imran Amed to talk about the process of biographing the complicated fashion titan, and provides some insight as to what she learned about Wintour’s life and career, as well as what the future holds for Vogue in a post-Anna Wintour era.

Key Insights:

Even amid a number of industry shifts, including the decline of print media, Wintour has maintained her power in part because of the strong network of people — in fashion and beyond — who value her advice and her ability to bridge the business and creative sides of fashion.
Former colleagues and friends have described Wintour as future-focused and hungry; she hasn’t stopped working because she enjoys the work.
Whoever succeeds Wintour as editor-in-chief will inherit lots of sway that comes with the role. Odell theorises that a Vogue veteran will be tapped next as has always been the case in the past.

Additional Resources:

What Anna Wintour’s Big Promotion Means for Condé Nast: As the publisher focuses on returning to profitability, a new unified content strategy under Anna Wintour, more powerful at the publisher than ever, aims to make its strategy more efficient and intertwined.
Org Chart: Vogue’s New Global Editorial Structure: The heavyweight international Vogue editors who once filled the front rows at Paris Fashion Week were gone this season, a stark sign of the restructuring that has consolidated power in the hands of global editor Anna Wintour and her regional deputies.

Join BoF Professional today using the link here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BoF’s Imran Amed quizzes Amy Odell on how she went about biographing the fashion media icon, and the surprising things she learned on the way.

Background:

Key Insights:

Even amid a number of industry shifts, including the decline of print media, Wintour has maintained her power in part because of the strong network of people — in fashion and beyond — who value her advice and her ability to bridge the business and creative sides of fashion.
Former colleagues and friends have described Wintour as future-focused and hungry; she hasn’t stopped working because she enjoys the work.
Whoever succeeds Wintour as editor-in-chief will inherit lots of sway that comes with the role. Odell theorises that a Vogue veteran will be tapped next as has always been the case in the past.

Additional Resources:

What Anna Wintour’s Big Promotion Means for Condé Nast: As the publisher focuses on returning to profitability, a new unified content strategy under Anna Wintour, more powerful at the publisher than ever, aims to make its strategy more efficient and intertwined.
Org Chart: Vogue’s New Global Editorial Structure: The heavyweight international Vogue editors who once filled the front rows at Paris Fashion Week were gone this season, a stark sign of the restructuring that has consolidated power in the hands of global editor Anna Wintour and her regional deputies.

Join BoF Professional today using the link here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Benoit Pagotto: Fashion Brands Are Getting Community Building Wrong

At the BoF Professional Summit, RTFKT’s co-founder explained why he agreed to sell to Nike in 2021, and unpacked how brands can leverage web3 and associated technologies to grow their communities.

“A lot of brands are getting it wrong — they need to stop thinking about their business and ask instead: ‘what can I do for my community?’” said Benoit Pagotto, co-founder of virtual fashion start-up RTFKT Studios.

Pagotto added that fashion brands need to invest in incentivising individuals to build an engaged community in the long run.

Giving people access to digital assets or tokens such as NFTs, which can increase in value over time, helps customers feel they are contributing to a brand’s growth story, he explained, but adding that brands also need a new mindset.

“The word ‘consumer’ is over,” he said, noting how the democratising nature of the web3. “has shifted power to the individual, and now brands’ communities will define their value.”

Key Insights:

Co-founded by Benoit Pagotto at the beginning of the pandemic as a virtual fashion platform, RTFKT was acquired by Nike in December 2021, marking the sportswear giant’s most significant push into the metaverse.
In late April, the two companies revealed their first product: a pair of virtual Nike Dunk sneakers, whose look owners can change with different digital skins.
Pagotto believes that building and engaging communities is a long-term endeavour that requires customer incentivisation, rather than social media strategies.

Additional Resources:

How Brands Are Using NFTs to Keep Customers Hooked: Brands like Adidas, Gucci and The Hundreds are finding the tokens are a great way to reward their superfans. But maintaining that loyalty can be hard work.
Op-Ed | Notes From an NFT Sceptic: Nike, Adidas and other big brands have plunged headlong into the latest crypto craze. But companies and their customers may soon discover converting virtual fashion into real-world profits isn’t so easy. Caveat emptor, warns The NPD Group’s Matt Powell.

Join BoF Professional today using the link here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

How to Fix the Loneliness Epidemic | BoF VOICES 2021

To mark Mental Health Awareness Month, Intimacy expert and podcast host Lila lays out a formula for creating intimacy to combat loneliness.

“We are simultaneously the most connected and the loneliest we have ever been,” said intimacy expert Lila at BoF VOICES 2021, just before the Omicron wave extended further restrictions and social distancing amid the pandemic.

Indeed, social distancing caused a complete breakdown in contact among family, friends, and entire communities. But the epidemic of loneliness predates the Covid-19 crisis, and has only worsened since the pandemic began

On this week’s episode of The BoF Podcast Lila explains why intimacy is the cure for loneliness, and lays out a formula for creating authentic connections.

To subscribe to the BoF Podcast, please follow this link.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.