Book Review: Anna-The Biography by Amy Odell

American Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is probably one of the most powerful women in fashion and media. But despite her fame and influence, Wintour remains an enigma. Who is the woman behind the bobbed hair and dark sunglasses?

Fashion journalist, Amy Odell, whose book Tales from the Back Row: An Outsider’s View from Inside the Fashion Industry I reviewed last fall, also wanted to know more about the imposing and elusive Anna Wintour. And through incredibly thorough research and countless interviews, Odell delivers with Anna: The Biography.

Long before she became the editor-in-chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour was a young girl growing up in London. Her father was the editor of the newspaper, The Evening Standard so media was in Wintour’s blood. She also had a mad passion for fashion. Wintour just knew she had to combine fashion and media and make both her vocation.

Wintour moved to New York City when she was in her early twenties. She first worked at Harper’s Bazaar. She then procured jobs at magazines that are now defunct, including Viva, a Playgirl-like magazine that was found by Bob Guccione, Yes, the guy who gave us the nudie magazine Penthouse. Yes, Wintour worked on fashion layouts in a magazine that featured dicks. And after a briefly editing the British version of Vogue, Wintour was tapped to take over the American version of Vogue (and pushing out the sitting editor-in-chief of Vogue, Grace Mirabella).

Wintour’s first issue of Vogue was quite revolutionary when it comes to its cover in November of 1988. It featured model Michaela Bercu wearing a Christian Lacroix jacket with a pair of stonewashed denim jeans. Now a days, many fashionista combine high and low fashion, and designer streetwear featuring $1,000 hoodies is quite common. But nearly 35 years ago, this look was quite shocking. Readers knew Wintour would transform America’s fashion bible in many ways.

With Vogue, Wintour brought on two fashion icons, Grace Coddington and the late Andre Leon Talley. Vogue featured the top super models of the day, Naomi, Cindy, Linda, Christy (no last names needed). And later Vogue started using celebrities as cover models, something that is still a mainstay at Vogue. Vogue was simply the magazine to read for those in the fashion industry and its wannabes.

But things weren’t always rosy at Vogue with Wintour at the helm. Under Wintour’s helm, Vogue was often seen as too out of touch, and there was often accusations of racism within its ranks. A lot of people weren’t too happy with Wintour’s love of fur and featuring fur within the pages of Vogue. And to work at Vogue, one usually had to be tall, thin, rich, white, and come for the right family. Heck, Wintour even wanted Oprah to lose 20 pounds before she could be on the cover of Vogue-yes, Oprah!

During Wintour’s reign at Vogue, she’s gotten the reputation of being a bitchy ice queen, which seemed to be even more apparent with the release of the novel The Devil Wears Prada written by her former assistant, Lauren Weisberger. And of course, we can’t forge the delicious movie based on the novel which featured Meryl Streep as the Anna Wintour inspired Miranda Priestly. If Wintour was hurt by this book and the movie, she really doesn’t show it. She has much better things to do.

Another feather in Wintour’s couture cap is the Met Gala, which she transformed from a charity event to a major fashion event and showcase of celebrity, glamour, and opulence. For the uninitiated, The Meta Gala raised funds for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City.

Anna: The Biography also covers a personal side of Anna Wintour, including her marriages relationships and subsequent divorces and breakups, and her devotion to her two children, Charles and Katherine (nicknamed Bee). Wintour is now a doting grandmother and even changes diapers. Hopefully, she’s not getting poop on the Prada.

I loved Anna: The Biography. Those looking for a lot of gossip and bitchery will probably be disappointed. Odell humanizes Anna Wintour, showing the good and the bad. Anna: The Biography is a fascinating read and one I think fashionistas and anyone interested in mysterious, yet powerful public figures will probably love.

Book Review: Tales from the Back Row-An Outsider’s View from Inside the Fashion Industry by Amy Odell

Even if you don’t know the difference between a Balenciaga and a Valentino you probably know fashion is a huge business. Fashionistas like magazine editors, style reporters, bloggers, and influencers definitely know the difference between Balenciaga and Valentino. They can spot trends that the public will embrace and they can make or break a fashion designer. And even if we flick through a copy of Vogue, watch Project Runway, and follow popular fashion blogs, the inner sanctum of fashion is one closed to many of us. Just what is it like to be in the rarified world? Fashion journalist Amy Odell knows, and she gives us the inside scoop in her book Tales from the Back Row: An Outsider’s View from the Inside of the Fashion Industry.

With a degree in journalism and literature from New York University, Odell got a job with New York magazine’s newest online blog The Cut. This was when blogging was still quite new, and we still had no idea fashion bloggers would become as big as they are and hugely influence the world of fashion.

Though Odell had very little experience in media and in fashion, The Cut somehow thought she was up to the task. Odell began to attend fashion shows (often as far away from the back row as possible), met models, designers, influencers, and other fashion journalists like herself. She learned a lot and grew as both a journalist and in her knowledge of the fashion industry.

Odell did have her missteps. She learned to never shop while high because you may make some unfortunate fashion purchases. For some reason Alexander Wang sweatpants aren’t very impressive, and they actually offended Odell’s then boyfriend, now husband. And then there was the time she asked various celebrities like Jay Z on what they smell like at a fragrance launch.

But Odell also had her triumphs. Italian fashion journalist and Editor-at-Large of Japanese Vogue, Anna Dello Russo acted as a mentor to Odell and even taught her how to pack. Odell got the scoop on how Victoria Secret models got in tip top shape for the now defunct Victoria Secret Fashion Show. And in one glorious moment, got to interview with Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, who comes across as much warmer than her The Devil Wears Prada doppelganger, Miranda Priestly.

Odell’s career went from strength to strength. She’s been the editor of Cosmipolitan.com and an editor at Buzzfeed. She’s also been published in Time, Business of Fashion, and Refinery29. Her biography of Anna Wintour has been recently released.

For the most part Tales from the Back Row is a fun and interesting read. Odell is no cold and imperious fashion diva. Nor is she over the top outrageous like Diana Vreeland. She’s sort of like your friend from college who spills the tea on the good, the bad, and the ugly of the fashion industry. We learn fashion isn’t always glamorous and a great deal of talent and hard work go into everything from a fashion show to a fashion magazine. Tales from the Back Row is an open book on anyone interested in fashion whether one wants to make it a career or as a casual observer of the stylish and chic.