Social media floored by Anna Wintour leaving Vogue: “Recession indicator”

Vogue editor-in-chief of 37 years and fashion mogul icon Anna Wintour will step down after the magazine’s next cover release. The inspiration for The Devil Wears Prada will continue her roles as Vogue’s global editorial director and chief content officer of publisher Condé Nast.

The news rocked the entire fashion world and left social media reeling, with users alternately grieving, paying their respects, and pitching her replacement.

The legacy of Anna Wintour: farewell to fashion’s fiercest editor

Dame Anna Wintour maintains a long list of duties at age 75 as the head of Condé Nast’s content empire, lead chairperson of the Met Gala, and trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Her achievements have made her one of the most powerful women in fashion.

Her iconic dark glasses and bob haircut mirror Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada. The film depicts a woman who fits Wintour’s reputation as stern, demanding, and emotionally distant. As a wealthy woman in a cutthroat industry, she’s been accused by many of elitism and is a frequent target of PETA for promoting fur as fashion.

Despite the criticism, few doubt that the fashion industry or Vogue would be what they are today without her. She has shaped trends and launched careers around the world, powerful enough to tell figures like Hillary Clinton what to wear for a photo shoot.

Earlier this year, former President Joe Biden awarded her the Medal of Freedom.

Vogue is reportedly looking for a new editor-in-chief, but it won’t be easy to fill those heels.

Reactions to Anna Wintour leaving Vogue

Social media and fashion go hand-in-hand, so there’s no shortage of strong reactions to this news. Those who don’t get it will find plenty of explanations on how huge this is. Others don’t yet know how to feel.

“Anna Wintour stepping down in pop terms means the Fashion version of Beyoncé quitting music,” said @LegendaryKay__.

“Me trying to explain to my husband how big the Anna Wintour stepping down news is…” wrote @SaraThornton1 alongside a gif showing extremely complex math.

“Anna Wintour & her bob stepping down from vogue while Fashion week is taking place is so wild to me. Like wow. Idk how I feel about this,” confessed @FlyGrlJustice.

“Anna Wintour leaving Vogue. Recession indicator,” lamented @whotfisjovana.

A few have ideas for who could replace her.

Vulture is backing Stanley Tucci, posting his photo while urging “give it to him.”

User @horejsiii hyped Edward Enninful of British Vogue, writing “omg imagine him taking the spot??”

Others went straight for the obvious film reference.

“Congrats to Jacqueline Follet,” said @_currentguy.

“Only 1 person can fill her shoes,” wrote @Amann_Ghani with an iconic Meryl Streep gif.

The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.