35 Anna Wintour Inspirational Quotes

The person we are learning from in today’s Quotes is Anna Wintour, a British-American journalist, who has served as Editor-in-Chief of Vogue since 1988 and Global Chief Content Officer for Condé Nast since 2020.

Download the first chapter of The Storytelling Series: Beginners’ Guide for Small Businesses & Content Creators by Obehi Ewanfoh.

Anna is also the Artistic Director of Condé Nast and the Global Editorial Director of Vogue. There is more to her credit in the business world.

Under Anna Wintour role as editor-in-chief, American Vogue reached over 12 million readers in print and an average of 1.2 million monthly visitors online.

Wintour is surely one of the most commercially minded editors in the history of the Fashion industry.

Now, Anna Wintour collection of best quotes about style and fashion. Do you want to receive the next post in your inbox? Click here to be notified.

1. If you can’t be better than your competition, just dress better.
2. Fashion is not beautiful, neither is it ugly. Why should it be either? Fashion is fashion.
3. Fashion goes in only one direction – forward – and I am a firm believer in thinking that way too.
4. Fashion’s not about looking back. It’s always about looking forward.
5. I’m interested in seeing just the girl on the street because she is unlike any other. I’m inspired by whatever it is she might be wearing.
6. Fashion is a reflection of the time.
7. There is something about fashion that can make people really nervous.
8. You either know fashion or you don’t.
9. Fashion can tell you everything that’s going on in the world with a strong fashion image.
10. It’s always about timing. If it’s too soon, no one understands.
11. If it’s too late, everyone’s forgotten.
12. If you look at any great fashion photograph out of context, it will tell you just as much about what’s going on in the world as a headline in the New York Times.
13. Just dress better. Create your own style, let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others.
14. Even if you aren’t sure of yourself, pretend that you are – most people prevaricate.
15. Create your own individual style.
16. I’m not interested in the girl who walks into my office in a head-to-toe label look that’s straight off the runway.
17. I’m interested in a girl who puts herself together in an original independent way.
18. Everyone should get sacked at least once. It forces you to look at yourself.
19. It is important to have setbacks because that is the reality of life.
20. If one comes across sometimes as being cold or brusque, it’s simply because I’m striving for the best.
21. Just be true to yourself, and listen as much as one is able to, to other people whose opinions you respect and look up to but in the end, it has to come from you.
22. I’m struck these days by how often people come up to me and ask to take a photograph instead of shaking hands, meeting one’s eyes, and having an actual conversation.
23. People respond well to those that are sure of what they want.
24. To be in ‘Vogue’ has to mean something. It’s an endorsement. It’s a validation.
25. I want ‘Vogue’ to be pacy, sharp… I’m not interested in the super-rich or infinitely leisured.
26. I want our readers to be energetic executive women, with money of their own and a wide range of interests.
27. I’ve been very lucky to put women that I sincerely admire on the cover of ‘Vogue’: the then First Lady and now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and, more recently, First Lady Michelle Obama.
28. Those were benchmarks for the magazine, and certainly covers that I’ve been very, very proud of.
29. Vogue’ is a fashion magazine, and a fashion magazine is about change.
30. I learned how important it is to lead and be decisive and to, in a way, empower other people to do their best.
31. Vogue’ has a history of picking up on various TV shows that reflect a moment in popular culture, whether it’s putting Lena Dunham on the cover or Sarah Jessica Parker.
32. I think we’re living, in terms of media, in a very democratic age, but I think that we still look at everything through the lens of ‘Vogue’ and through our own point of view.
33. I don’t think in today’s world you can go too far. However, you may feel about social media or the Internet or selfies, it’s part of how we all live today.
34. ‘Vogue’ needs to understand and reflect that.
35. With all the new media outlets out there, with all the noise, a voice of authority and calm like ‘Vogue’ becomes more important than ever.
36. Some people have the Bible. I have ‘Vogue’.
37. We have to reflect the world that we live in. It is so important for designers not to run scared, and not to be too worried about what’s safe and what’s commercial.
38. The best way to make a dream come true is to wake up.
39. In today’s world you have to interact. You can’t be some difficult, shy person who is not able to look somebody in the face; you have to present yourself. You have to know how to talk about your vision, your focus and what you believe in.
40. I don’t really follow market research. In the end, I respond to my own instincts.
41. You can’t really worry too much by looking to the left and the right about what the competition is doing or what other people in your field are doing. It has to be a true vision.
42. If you’re an overnight sensation, you can be yesterday’s news in no time. Whereas building something slowly and carefully that has value and quality, that’s what’s going to have legs.
43. It’s the mishaps that make it fun, and brings you the surprise.”
44. Go get a job. Whether it’s working as a designer or working in a restaurant and then doing your own thing in your own time, it’s a reality of life.
45. In the end, it’s going to be helpful to you and so many others.
46. I think possibly what people working for one hate the most is indecision.
47. Even if I’m completely unsure, I’ll pretend I know exactly what I’m talking about and make a decision.
48. I’m very good at delegating—people work much better when they have a real sense of responsibility.
49. I surround myself with a talented group of people that are opinionated and interesting. I try to remain very open to what others have to say.
50. I wasn’t academically successful. And maybe I’ve spent a lot of my career trying to make up for that.
51. I’m very driven by what I do. I am certainly very competitive. I like people who represent the best at what they do, and if that turns you into a perfectionist, then maybe I am.
52. There is no typical day. Every day is different, and that’s why it’s fun. Many things are routine—deadlines, certain meetings—but you never really know what’s going to happen.
53. You just need to have a love for what you’re doing. It’s not about thinking that it’s the cool thing; it’s about really believing in it.

Download the first chapter of The Storytelling Series: Beginners’ Guide for Small Businesses & Content Creators by Obehi Ewanfoh.