Chloe Malle to become top editor at American Vogue after Anna Wintour steps aside

Chloe Malle will become the top editor at American Vogue after Dame Anna Wintour stepped aside as editor-in-chief, the publication has announced.

The 39-year-old worked her way up the fashion magazine ranks over the past 14 years to become editor of Vogue.com and host the magazine’s podcast The Run Through.

Malle’s appointment marks a new era for the magazine, considered one of the most influential and glamorous fashion publications.

Dame Anna, the British-born fashion magnate, announced she was leaving the role in June after holding the position for 37 years. The magazine said she would retain senior positions at its publisher.

In a statement announcing the news, Malle said she had worked across every platform during her time at the magazine. “Vogue has already shaped who I am, now I’m excited at the prospect of shaping Vogue,” she said.

Dame Anna said Malle had proven adept at finding the balance between Vogue’s “long singular history” and its future “on the front lines of the new”.

“I am so excited to continue working with her, as her mentor but also as her student, while she leads us and our audiences where we’ve never been before,” Dame Anna said.

Malle, the daughter of actress Candice Bergen and French film director Louis Malle, grew up splitting her time between Paris and Los Angeles until her father died when she was 10 years old.

In a previous job, Malle covered real estate for the New York Observer. Her next gig as a freelance writer led her to Vogue, where she began a full-time position as the social editor in 2011, aged 25.

Much like an iconic scene in the acclaimed fashion film The Devil Wears Prada, Malle has previously recalled attending her interview wearing a “boring” ensemble.

“I was hesitant when I was interviewing, because fashion is not one of my main interests in life, and I wanted to be a writer more than an editor, but I was so seduced by the Vogue machine that I couldn’t resist,” she also said in 2013.

Malle rose through the ranks of the organisation and later became the editor of Vogue.com, while also hosting a podcast for the magazine called The Run Through.

While at Vogue, Malle has reportedly been responsible for securing the magazine’s photoshoot with Naomi Biden for her 2022 White House wedding, as well as an interview with Lauren Sanchez ahead of her wedding to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

Like her predecessor, Dame Anna, she has not shied away from politics while in her job.

Both on her social media and on her podcast, she has supported Democratic causes and candidates.

She participated in the Women’s March in 2017 and was photographed with a sign that read “Keep Your Tiny Hands Off My Rights”.

And during a 2024 episode of her podcast, which aired after Donald Trump was re-elected as US president, Malle expressed her disappointment with the election result.

She asked her guest on the programme, Jack Schlossberg – the grandson of former President John F Kennedy – “what would [Kennedy] say to people who are struggling this week and advice on getting through it?”

It is unclear exactly when the transition from Dame Anna to Malle as chief of the magazine will be, but 75-year-old Dame Anna is not completely leaving the picture.

In an interview with the New York Times, Malle acknowledged that working alongside Dame Anna could be a balancing act.

“I know that some people who were interested in this job were sort of daunted by the idea of Anna being down the hall,” she said. “I’m very happy she’s down the hall with her Clarice Cliff pottery.”

Dame Anna will remain publisher Condé Nast’s chief content officer – a role to which she was appointed in 2020 – which means she will still oversee Vogue’s content, along with the company’s other titles such as GQ, Wired and Tatler.

Lauren Sherman, a reporter with Puck News who broke the story, told BBC News that Malle had the pedigree and background of those in Dame Anna’s inner circle, but was also known as being a hard worker.

“She’s still reporting to Anna Wintour, so the buck stops with Anna Wintour,” Sherman said. “I don’t think we’re going to see any big splashy changes to start, but let’s see how much she pushes back on Wintour and makes it her own.”