When it comes to writing an Anna Wintour biography, where do you even begin? Amy Odell, the former editor of Cosmopolitan.com and the founder of The Cut, was troubled by this issue when she left the publication in 2018. "I felt it would be a good chance to distinguish Anna, the symbol, from Anna, the real person," she adds over the phone. "It was a good opportunity." Exactly what this book does is to demystify the lady who hides behind her hairstyle and costly sunglasses.... To be more specific, the very first page depicts the protagonist sobbing at a staff meeting the morning after Donald Trump was elected President of the United States in 2016.
Anna: The Biography seems like the culmination of a three-part series of trap the cat renowned fashion figures' tell-alls, the first of which was Grace Coddington's 2012 memoir and the second of which will be Andre Leon Talley's stinging autobiography, which will be published in 2020. Without a doubt, Wintour's meteoric climb to popularity during the golden era of fashion publication is thoroughly recounted, and those who have read all three volumes will no doubt appreciate the diverse viewpoints on specific events provided by the authors in each book. But it's in Odell's examination of Wintour's life outside of work that the book truly shines: Wintour's connection with her mother, Wintour's friends disputing whether she's an extrovert or an introvert, and a complete history of her dating life. It is, in fact, as delicious as it sounds!
To learn more about Odell's new Anna Wintour biography, FASHION chatted with her about everything from how the renowned editor originally earned her chilly image to how realistic Meryl Streep's depiction of her was in The Devil Wears Prada to exactly how much power she has over the Met Gala.