Anna Wintour: This is how employees took action against the Vogue boss

Since the film “The Devil Wears Prada”, even those who have never held a Vogue in their hands know them: editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is said to have been the model for the film, which tells of a domineering fashion director at the fictional magazine “Runway”. Persiflage – or detailed portrait? An almost unnecessary question, because her characterization in the film ensured that Anna Wintour became the most famous, even the most powerful woman in fashion.

But the pedestal on which Wintour stood securely for years is beginning to crumble. While the 74-year-old visited the haute couture shows in Paris on Tuesday and sat in the front row at Chanel and Schiaparelli, employees of the Condé Nast publishing house took to the streets in New York. The editorial teams of the fashion and lifestyle magazines Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Allure and Glamour were represented. They had chosen the day carefully, after all, Tuesday was not only the start of the shows in Paris, but also the Oscar nominations were announced. An important day for magazines like Vogue and Vanity Fair, a day when you can’t afford for the workforce to stop working for 24 hours. The strikers’ protest is directed against the publisher, who wants to save money despite increasing sales. Against layoff plans and poor working conditions, against overtime and poor pay. There was even talk of surveillance among the angry people.

The fact that the protest is not only addressed to publishing boss Roger Lynch, but is also aimed at Wintour, is due to the role she has held since 2020. At that time, she was 71 years old at the time and was appointed head of all Vogue editions worldwide and also content chief officer of all Condé Nast magazines. The Wintour criticism was obvious on signs that were now held up in front of the headquarters in New York. There you could read slogans like “Condé gets Prada, the employees get Nada” and “The devil wears Prada if she throws us out”.

In doing so, the protesters and the Condé Nast United union are alluding to situations like those allegedly experienced by Allison Hussey, an employee of the online music magazine Pitchfork, which is also part of Condé Nast. Hussey wrote on Twitter that Wintour had gathered the editorial team in a conference room and explained that Pitchfork would be incorporated into the men’s magazine GQ and that many employees would lose their jobs. “Wintour didn’t even take off her sunglasses,” Hussey said.

Overworked and underpaid

A video that has been circulating on social media since Tuesday also contains accusations. Inspired by Vogue’s “73 Questions for…” format, in which stars typically respond to fashion and styling questions, the video “73 Answers from Condé Nast Employees” explains what the strikers are about. “It’s time for justice in the workplace,” said Allegra Kirkland, Teen Vogue’s political editor. “We’re burned out,” adds Ben Dewey, a cameraman for the publisher. And Matt Hunziker, video director, explains: “We are overworked and underpaid.”

Anne Hathaway probably attracted the most attention. The actress, who once played editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly’s inexperienced assistant in The Devil Wears Prada, is said to have canceled a fashion shoot with Vanity Fair when she learned of the strike on Tuesday. An act of solidarity that also has a parallel to the film. Because when Hathaway quits her job in her role as Andrea Sachs, the role of editor-in-chief, which is probably based on Anna Wintour, predicts that she will never find a job in the fashion world again. What a great thing that Hathaway is now standing in solidarity with the brave employees of the US publisher! The Condé Nast Union gave a special thank you to Hathaway. She wrote on Instagram: “If there had been a union on ‘Runway,’ ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ probably would have only lasted 30 seconds.”