Anna Wintour: Fashion Icon, Comedy Legend
Anna Wintour isn’t just the editor-in-chief of Vogue, the creative director of Condé Nast, the namesake of the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute, and host of its annual gala, it turns out she’s also the executive producer of Late Night with Seth Meyers (if you believe a recent skit on the show) and a comedy legend. (Is there anything that woman doesn’t have her hands on?!).
Meyers revealed the real brains and decision-maker behind every detail on his show in a sketch on Wednesday night. Every morning, the host said, he meets with Wintour — at 30 Rock or One World Trade, it’s unclear — to recap the previous night’s production and get notes for the next one. And she’s not just making her mark on the comedy world, she’s also an unsung icon in the field. “Anna Wintour has been behind every major comedy decision of the past 40 years,” Meyers confessed. “Saturday Night Live was her idea, she directed Animal House, she told Jerry Seinfeld the show should be about nothing.” Her influence at 30 Rock is so ubiquitous, the writers just call it Late Night with Anna Wintour, The Anna Wintour Show, or just Anna. Hey, it could happen.
But while Wintour’s comedic talents have been hidden for decades, her fashion influence has been widely documented (in reality). At Monday night’s Met Ball, the Brit’s significance was spotlighted when the most important designers, celebrities, and tastemakers congregated on the Upper East Side dressed in Chinese white tie — a dress code she created — so, white tie with a touch of China. Wintour disclosed who she thought followed her vague edict best.
Kanye West, with wife Kim Kardashian in a see-through dress by Peter Dundas for Roberto Cavalli, added a fringe scarf to his black velvet suit to carry out the Chinese theme. “We tend to see each other when we’re traveling or I’m exhausted from the fashion shows, and the wonderful thing about Kanye is he likes to talk,” Wintour said of her friend, whom she adores. “And he basically likes to talk about anything, sort of like Karl Lagerfeld. He’s brilliant, and I like to listen, so we have a very close relationship”
Anne Hathaway’s China reference was less obvious, but the inspiration came from a contemporary Chinese artist, and Wintour thought that was “brilliant” and that the actress looked “amazing.”
Justin Bieber’s look was one of her favorites. The jacket, made by Balmain designer Olivier Rousteing, is covered in Chinese dragons and apparently it’s made with aged gold bullion thread. (Who knows what that is, but it sounds impressive!)
George Clooney’s tux complied with white tie with the tails, but it wasn’t China-themed without his wife, Amal, on his arm. Wintour, who has some influence over the seating chart, placed herself between Bradley Cooper and Clooney, or a “handsome sandwich,” as Meyers called it. “There have to be some perks,” she exclaimed.
Rihanna surfed the Internet looking for her look, and Wintour declared that “it’s a dress not to forget.”
As for Vogue staffer Grace Coddington, she had a flight to catch and could only stay for cocktails, so she wore comfy custom Michael Kors pajamas. These will be everyone’s new uniform for a flight if Wintour has anything to say about it.
And, let’s be serious, she totally does.
More from Yahoo Style:
Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian, Rihanna & More Best Dressed from the Met Gala
Cocktails at the Met: Elizabeth Banks’s Nipple Worries & Ansel Elgort’s Love of Larry David
Madonna’s Hot Pants, Kendall Jenner’s Crop Top & More of the Night’s Afterparty Outfits
