Anna Wintour Quotes

When I hear a company is being run by a team, my heart sinks, because you need to have that leader with a vision and heart that can move things forward.

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. The more eyes on fashion, the more opinions about fashion, the more exploration of fashion around the world, the better it is for Vogue. Vogue is like Nike or Coca-Cola—this huge global brand. I want to enhance it, I want to protect it, and I want it to be part of the conversation.

If you can't be better than your competition, just dress better.

The gossip might make better reading, but the simple fact of the matter is that it isn't true.

The notion that a contemporary woman must look mannish in order to be taken seriously as a seeker of power is frankly dismaying. This is America, not Saudi Arabia.

Fashion's not about looking back. It's always about looking forward.

One wants to be surprised.

It’s always about timing. If it’s too soon, no one understands. If it’s too late, everyone’s forgotten.

There's a new kind of woman out there…She doesn't have time to shop anymore. She wants to know what and why and where and how.

I’m very driven by what I do. I am certainly very competitive. I like people who represent the best at what they do. If that turns you into a perfectionist then maybe I am.

Even if I'm completely unsure, I'll pretend I know exactly what I'm talking about and make a decision.

There's always a way to wear fur.

Well it just looks so ugly. Is it a boy or is it a girl?

I think possibly what people working for one hate the most is indecision. Even if I'm completely unsure, I'll pretend I know exactly what I'm talking about and make a decision. The most important thing I can do is try and make myself very clearly understood.

I went to Wimbledon before I could walk. It's just been a lifelong passion.

People constantly make the mistake of comparing London with New York, Milan and Paris and that's not what it's about. London has its own fashion identity. You come here to find the next Alexander McQueen or John Galliano.

Gisele Bundchen is a bit of a jock. 1 of my fave shoots is her playing football

I'd just been on a trip to Minnesota, where I can only kindly describe most of the people I saw as little houses.

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. 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.

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.

Vogue' is the best of everything that fashion can offer, and I think we point the way. We are, you know, a glamorous girlfriend.

Fashion is not beautiful, neither is it ugly. Why should it be either? Fashion is fashion.

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.

I saw young women in the street dressing in a way that I thought was influencing the designers. Fashion was being influenced by all sorts of different people, and culture and also across the street. So I saw more as a trickle up, than a trickle down influence. When I came to Vogue, that's what I wanted it to reflect.

I'm an ice queen, I'm the Sun King, I'm an alien fleeing from District 9 and I'm a dominatrix. So I reckon that makes me a lukewarm royalty with a whip from outer space.

Some people have the Bible. I have Vogue.

If one comes across sometimes as being cold or brusque, it's simply because I'm striving for the best.

I've never taken a selfie and I don't plan to start now.

[The democratization of luxury] means more people are going to get better fashion. And the more people who can have fashion, the better.

People respond well to those that are sure of what they want.

In the end I do respond to my own instincts. Sometimes they're successful, and obviously sometimes they're not. But you have to, I think, remain true to what you believe in.

I'm very good at delegating - people work much better when they have a real sense of responsibility. But at the same time, I don't like surprises. I don't pore over every shoot, but I do like to be aware at all times of what's going on.

I don't think of myself as a powerful person.

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. In the end it’s going to be helpful to you and so many others.

To be in Vogue has to mean something

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.

Everyone should be sacked at least once in their career because perfection doesn't exist. It's important to have setbacks, because that is the reality of life.

The notion that Anna would want something done "now" and not "shortly" is accurate.

Create your own individual style. 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. I'm interested in a Girl who puts herself together in an ORIGINAL INDEPENDENT Way

They (fashion editors) have always been our secret weapon.

Fashion goes in only one direction -forward- and I am a firm believer in thinking that way too.

You can’t really worry too much…about what the competition is doing or what other people in your field are doing. It has to be a true vision.

I worked for Harper’s Bazaar. They fired me. I recommend that you all get fired; it’s a great learning experience.

I don't really follow market research. In the end, I respond to my own instincts.

I look for strong people. I don't like people who'll say yes to everything I might bring up. I want people who can argue and disagree and have a point of view that's reflected in the magazine. My dad believed in the cult of personality. He brought great writers and columnists to The Standard.

The best way to make dream come true is to wake up.

There is something about fashion that can make people really nervous.

Tears? Are you going for a Barbara Walters moment?