For the first time in 37 years, there is a new editor of American Vogue. Anna Wintour has surrendered the title that transformed her into a titan of fashion and publishing, and handpicked a successor – sort of.
The role now belongs to 39-year-old Chloe Malle, the editor of Vogue’s website and co-host of its podcast.
For at least a decade, the industry has speculated wildly about who might replace Wintour. For Malle, the question became a routine “dinner party parlour game,” she said.
Rather than editor, though, Malle is the “head of editorial content” – a sign of how much the magazine business has changed since Vogue established itself as fashion’s monthly print bible.
RM Block
Who is Chloe Malle?
Malle is a useful avatar for change, relaxed and charismatic, yet rooted in New York society. She has an aversion to fashion snobs. She once stood up at a Tommy Hilfiger runway show and began dancing with musician Jon Batiste at his urging. Her office is decorated with Lego models of Disney villains (Maleficent and Cruella de Vil, assembled by her five-year-old son).
Malle, who grew up in Los Angeles and New York, has also said she is a “proud nepo baby”- her father is director Louis Malle and her mother is actor Candice Bergen.
“There is no question that I have 100 per cent benefited from the privilege I grew up in,” Malle said. “It’s delusional to say otherwise. I will say, though, that it has always made me work much harder. It has been a goal for a lot of my life to prove that I’m more than Candice Bergen’s daughter, or someone who grew up in Beverly Hills.”
What did Malle do before Vogue?
Malle studied literary arts and comparative literature at Brown University. After college, she worked for the New York Observer. She has contributed articles to many publications, including the Times. (Her first mention in the Times came at age three.)
She also identifies more as a journalist than an authority on fashion or visuals – though Vogue is more known for the latter. (In an email to staff, Wintour made a point to praise both qualities, calling Malle a “voracious, engaged journalist” with an “eye for the definitive image.”)
And what about her role at Vogue before now?
The magazine often dispatches her to write major profiles, particularly related to weddings. Online, she has expanded wedding coverage 30 per cent since 2023, she said.
Her recent digital cover story on Lauren Sánchez Bezos caused an uproar on social media, with commenters suggesting that as Jeff Bezos’ new bride, she hadn’t earned the prestige of a Vogue cover.
“I do think there is an element of endorsement with a Vogue cover, and I do think that it is worth taking a calculated risk,” said Malle, who said she received death threats in the aftermath of the article.
“You want something to be a moment, and that was a huge moment for us,” she continued. “That was what everyone was talking about. And we had that, and we owned it.”
When asked if she would ever put Melania Trump on the cover, Malle declined to answer.
Does this all mean Anna Wintour is retiring?
Wintour is not retiring. She is still the company’s chief content officer. She is still, in fact, Malle’s direct supervisor, overseeing all 28 international editions of Vogue. She isn’t even moving out of her office.
Both women have acknowledged the strangeness of this arrangement. In remarks to staff members Tuesday, Wintour referred to herself as both Malle’s mentor and her student. And in the interview with the Times, Malle called upon the image of Philippe Petit, the extreme high-wire artist, who in 1974 balanced precariously between the twin towers.
“I know that some people who were interested in this job were sort of daunted by the idea of Anna being down the hall,” Malle said. “I’m very happy she’s down the hall with her Clarice Cliff pottery.”
Still, Malle was vocal throughout her application process that “whoever took on this job would not succeed if what they produced was ‘Anna lite,’” she said.
“Placing my own stamp on this is going to be the most important part of this being a success. There has to be a noticeable shift that makes this mine.”
So, is Malle planning any big changes at the magazine?
Malle believes issues should be released less frequently and around specific themes or cultural moments, upending its current monthly schedule. These issues should be viewed more as collectible editions, printed on thick, high-quality paper. Her first print issue will most likely be published next year.
“I keep all my World of Interiors,” Malle continued, referring to the Condé Nast design magazine. “They feel like something that shouldn’t be thrown away, and that has to do with paper stock, and that they feel like historical documents in a way.”
What about the website?
Malle similarly believes that less is more on Vogue’s website, which she has led since October 2023, overseeing projects like Dogue (an elaborate cover contest for dogs), breaking WNBA news, and hiring Jack Schlossberg, the provocative grandson of former US president John F Kennedy, as a political correspondent during last year’s presidential election.
She wants to build “a more direct, smaller, healthier audience,” Malle said – leaning into Vogue’s niche rather than appealing to a general audience – through “giving original, witty, irreverent, joyful points of view on things”.
[ Is getting engaged the least interesting thing Taylor Swift has ever done?Opens in new window ]
This may mean publishing fewer of the quick trending stories saturating online news outlets that are designed to capture wide swathes of search traffic. One recent example: like every other media organisation, Vogue raced to publish a prewritten story online about Taylor Swift’s engagement to Travis Kelce. Yet the story that ultimately received more web traffic, according to Malle, was a Vogue analysis of Swift’s jumbo diamond ring.
The way in which Malle describes Vogue’s operations today – “resourceful and nimble and scrappy” – may seem at odds with the public’s perception of glossy fashion magazines, perpetuated by such pop culture touchstones as the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada. Those heady days of cold and cut-throat glamour are largely over. – New York Times
