The editors who decided what the world would wear, and the pages they made.
By Shreya S · Last reviewed 15 November 2026
Who were the first great editors?
Carmel Snow, editor of Harper’s Bazaar from 1934 to 1958, who championed Balenciaga and is credited with telling Christian Dior his first collection had a “new look”. Her fashion editor Diana Vreeland wrote the playful “Why Don’t You…?” column and later edited Vogue from 1963 to 1971, bringing fantasy and youth culture to its pages. Afterwards she transformed the Met’s Costume Institute.
Why is Anna Wintour so powerful?
She edited American Vogue from 1988 and made it a business and cultural force: putting celebrities on covers, mixing high and low (her first cover paired jeans with a couture jacket), championing young designers and running the Met Gala. She is now Vogue’s global editorial director and Condé Nast’s chief content officer. Her long-time creative director Grace Coddington was the star of the documentary The September Issue.
Who were the great European editors?
Franca Sozzani, who edited Vogue Italia from 1988 until her death in 2016 and made it the most daring Vogue, with Steven Meisel’s provocative shoots and the all-Black-model issue of July 2008. Carine Roitfeld, editor of Vogue Paris from 2001 to 2011, known for its rock-and-roll sexiness, who then founded CR Fashion Book. Edward Enninful, editor of British Vogue from 2017 to 2023, its first Black and first male editor, who was succeeded by Chioma Nnadi.
What does a fashion editor actually do?
The editor sets the magazine’s point of view, chooses covers, commissions writers and photographers and decides which designers and trends to back. Fashion editors, or stylists, choose and style the clothes on each shoot. At their peak, a single editor’s support could make a designer’s career.
Read on Ayerhs: ‘meiselpic’ Vogue Italia December 2009 · ‘Floating’ Vogue Italia March 1999 · Does Talent Matter, or Just Proximity to Power?