Anna Wintour Says Chloe Malle ‘Had to Prove Herself’ for Vogue Editor Job

Anna Wintour is defending her recent decision to make Chloe Malle the new head of editorial content at American Vogue.

The editor-in-chief — who announced her decision to step back from the role after 37 years on June 26 — appeared on the Tuesday, Sept. 9 episode of The Run-Through with Vogue podcast to discuss Malle entering the highly-coveted role, after she received “nepo baby” accusations following the announcement of her new title.

According to Wintour, she knew Malle was the best fit for the job by observing the quality of her work at the magazine over the past 10 years.

“I feel great. I love Chloe. I’m very happy for her,” she said. “She’s gonna do a brilliant job. We’ve worked together for well over a decade.”

The editor-in-chief noted that Malle, like every other candidate, “had to prove herself during the interview process” and explained that the interview process for the job was extensive before settling on her as their choice.

“We saw a lot of amazing candidates,” Wintour added. “Chloe consistently came back with the clearest vision and the most original ideas and understanding of what a Vogue is.”

Malle started working at Vogue in 2011 as a social editor for the magazine. She switched to a contributing editor position at the outlet in 2016, and later moved up to contributing editor before becoming the editor for Vogue.com in 2023.

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Of Malle’s skill set, Wintour added that she “understands a newsroom. She understands immediacy. She understands culture. She understands completely that fashion doesn’t exist in a vacuum, that it’s a result of many different forces, whether it’s something that might be happening in music or film or politically, and wants to put it into that kind of context. Plus, she has a great sense of humor.”

The “nepo baby” accusations that Malle received following the announcement of her new role stemmed from her parents and their Hollywood background.

Malle’s mother, actress Candice Bergen, once held the fictional position of editor-in-chief at Vogue in her guest role as Enid Frick in seasons 4, 5 and 6 of Sex and the City. Her late father, French film director Louis Malle, has been nominated for awards at the Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and more.

“I’ve spent my career at Vogue working in roles across every platform — from print to digital, audio to video, events and social media,” Malle told Vogue after her hiring announcement. “I love the title, I love the content we create and I love the editors who create it. Vogue has already shaped who I am, now I’m excited at the prospect of shaping Vogue.”