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She's ambitious, driven, insecure, needy, a perfectionist—and she's considered the most powerful force in the more than $100 billion fashion industry. She's Anna Wintour, editor in chief of Vogue, the world's fashion bible. With her signature Louise Brooks bob, trademark sunglasses, and glamorous furs, she's a sexy international diva, gossiped about the world over. As famed designed Oscar de la Renta declares, "She's a star."
How did Wintour, who quit school over the length of her hemline, and who had no real writing or communication skills, rise to the pinnacle of the fashion magazine world? Based on scores of interviews with present and former friends and colleagues, Front Row is the scrupulously researched, often shocking life story of this enigmatic icon—a candid portrait of a fashion-obsessed teenager in Swinging Sixties London who claws her way up the ivory tower in New York. It is also an intimate examination of Wintour's personal passions and needs, her loves lost and won, and her feuds and achievements. Anna Wintour's story is an inside look at one of the world's most influential women as well as the catty, competitive bitch-eat-bitch world of fashion. Meow!
| Acknowledgments | xi | |
| Prologue | xv | |
| 1 | Family Roots | 1 |
| 2 | A Teenage Bond | 12 |
| 3 | Swinging London | 19 |
| 4 | A Growing Independence | 28 |
| 5 | London Party Girl | 36 |
| 6 | Shopgirl Dropout | 42 |
| 7 | Finding Love at Harrods | 51 |
| 8 | Live-in Model | 56 |
| 9 | Making the Masthead | 63 |
| 10 | Family Affairs | 76 |
| 11 | Creative Energy | 80 |
| 12 | Meeting Mr. Wrong | 84 |
| 13 | Playing Hardball | 94 |
| 14 | Axed American Style | 100 |
| 15 | A Curious Betrayal | 111 |
| 16 | An Embarrassing Position | 116 |
| 17 | Complex Persona | 132 |
| 18 | Out in the Cold | 139 |
| 19 | The Chanel Affair | 151 |
| 20 | A Savvy Decision | 158 |
| 21 | New York by Storm | 173 |
| 22 | A Territorial Grab | 181 |
| 23 | Mister Big | 191 |
| 24 | In Vogue | 203 |
| 25 | Golden Handcuffs | 211 |
| 26 | Marriage Made in Heaven | 220 |
| 27 | Baby Makes Three | 229 |
| 28 | Anna's Guillotine | 236 |
| 29 | Lover, Friend, Mother | 247 |
| 30 | Beginning of the End | 257 |
| 31 | The Parking Lot | 265 |
| 32 | July Fourth Massacre | 274 |
| 33 | Anna and the Boss | 282 |
| 34 | Madonna, Di, and Tina | 289 |
| 35 | The Assistant | 297 |
| 36 | Fashion Battlefield | 303 |
| 37 | The Party's Over | 314 |
| 38 | An Affair to Remember | 329 |
| 39 | A New Life | 345 |
| Selected Bibliography | 361 | |
| Author's Note on Sources | 363 | |
| Index | 365 |
Anonymous
Posted December 31, 2011
I love fashiom so it was very cool to read aboit one of my role models, anna wintour. I think she is just a very buisness like person, and that shes not as mean as everyone thinks. I hope one day to be as succesful as her. I mean, if you are that succesful, you dont have to be kind and loving.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.sugarpy18
Posted June 4, 2009
This is a well-researched, well-written book that shows the true life of Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue. The book was very engrossing and an easy read at that.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted July 13, 2005
A global 'who's who' of the fashion world, this story reinforces the notion that it isn't important to have people skills and compassion to run a company - it's your 'aura'. In this case, Anna appears destined for exactly what she is doing - and apparently doing well. She has earned the technical side of her position. God bless the ravaged souls who serve her every day.....
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 6, 2005
I'm wondering what her Myers-Briggs personality type is. When you can't please everyone, you might as well please yourself and your friends. It makes clear the importance of who you know -- mere talent and hard work are rarely enough. As my mother said about a friend who held the opposite view on an important issue, 'I focus on the things we have in common and her good qualities.' At least she's someone who would be an asset at a dinner party. Most people are starving at life's banquet table. She knows where to find soul food. The book itself is a good read. I'm impressed with the number of adjectives the author surrounds each 'name' with. Not a scrap of research seems to have been wasted, but nothing seems superfluous, either. Now I will see fashion magazines with a new eye, although I prefer trade publications.
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Posted May 6, 2011
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Posted May 4, 2011
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Posted September 27, 2011
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Posted June 6, 2010
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Posted December 12, 2010
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Overview
She's ambitious, driven, insecure, needy, a perfectionist—and she's considered the most powerful force in the more than $100 billion fashion industry. She's Anna Wintour, editor in chief of Vogue, the world's fashion bible. With her signature Louise Brooks bob, trademark sunglasses, and glamorous furs, she's a sexy international diva, gossiped about the world over. As famed designed Oscar de la Renta declares, "She's a star."
How did Wintour, who quit school over the length of her hemline, and who had no real writing or communication skills, rise to the pinnacle of the fashion magazine world? Based on scores of interviews with present and former friends ...