Anna Wintour visits Vogue House in Mayfair for the final time as Condé Nast moves location after 65 years – amid staff unrest over job cuts
Anna Wintour visited the iconic Vogue House this afternoon and burst the bubble as staff marked their last day in the Mayfair office after 65 years.
The fashion magazine’s 74-year-old editor-in-chief donned her statement sunglasses and sported her perfectly coiffed signature bob as she arrived at Condé Nast’s London headquarters.
She wore a royal blue coat and textured scarf as she stood in front of the building and met with British Vogue staffers as they said goodbye to the office.
Condé Nast announced last year that the staff of its publications, which includes GQ, would move to The Adelphi on the Thames Embankment.
Meanwhile, Vogue House was put up for sale earlier this year and bought by shipping magnate Eyal Ofer, a Monaco-based businessman reportedly worth $23 billion.
Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour visited Vogue House in Mayfair this afternoon as Condé Nast staff left the office after 65 years
It will be renamed 1 Hanover Square, marking the end of an era for the publisher.
The deal only covers the leasehold of the property, as the Church of England owns the freehold.
Ofer paid £75 million for the property, £5 million more than the price it was listed for The Telegraph.
As staff said goodbye to their beloved office this afternoon, they were treated to champagne and sweets – but not before taking selfies outside the building for the last time.
When she arrived at Condé Nast’s London headquarters, Wintour sported her signature coiffed bob and sunglasses and wore a royal blue coat.
The Vogue editor, who first joined Condé Nast in 1983, has continued to rise to the magazine’s top ranks
Wintour, a Brit living in America, flew to London to celebrate the last day of Vogue House before the publisher moves
British Vogue was launched in 1916 and moved to Vogue House, just off Regent Street, in 1958.
Wintour, the legendary editor-in-chief of Vogue and model for the ruthless magazine boss in the film The Devil Wears Prada, began her career at Condé Nast in 1983 when she took on the role of creative director of American Vogue.
Three years later, the Briton returned to Great Britain to become editor-in-chief of British Vogue.
Champagne all around! The staff wheeled out an ice bucket full of bubbles to enjoy on their last day of work at Vogue House
The bubbles were wheeled to the staff who were waiting for a glass
Employees joked as they celebrated Condé Nast’s last day in the office
A model struts her stuff outside the revolving doors of the iconic building
Employees were also treated to sweets as they said goodbye to an office that was home to Condé Nast in Britain for 65 years
A huge crowd of employees gathered outside the Mayfair office to toast the building ahead of Condé Nast’s move
Employees take selfies outside Vogue House
An employee places champagne and wine on the windowsill to keep it cool before a giant toast
Staff took photos outside the iconic seven-storey building to remember their time there
Farewell Vogue House! Condé Nast staff gather for photos outside Vogue House in Mayfair as the company moves
Staff made sure to take selfies outside the iconic building for the last time before the company moved
Employees beamed as they left the office and gathered outside for champagne and sweets
However, her stint in her home country only lasted two years before she was poached again by her American counterparts and returned to America. In March 2013, Ms. Wintour was appointed artistic director of Condé Nast.
Speaking about her vision for the future of Vogue, Wintour once told The Telegraph: ‘I want Vogue to be fast, edgy and sexy, I’m not interested in the super-rich or endless free time.
‘I want our readers to be energetic, executive women, with their own money and a wide range of interests.
‘There is a new kind of woman. She is interested in business and money. She no longer has time for shopping. She wants to know what and why and where and how.’
Rumors of a possible Condé Nast move were first whispered in 2022, when a source told The Mail on Sunday that many believed the move was imminent, saying: “We’re moving from the old to the new.”
Mail on Sunday columnist Alexandra Shulman, editor of Vogue for 25 years, previously said: ‘I have very sentimental and nostalgic feelings about Vogue House. It became famous as magazines became more important and magazine personalities grew in the 1980s and 1990s.”
The location of the building has always been a big part of the overall brand.
Shulman explained: ‘It’s close to Soho, Carnaby Street, Mayfair and Covent Garden. It was always nice to see what the building meant to so many people. You saw young Japanese girls taking selfies outside, which was sweet.”
It was even said that Vogue House was one of the few places where Princess Diana felt safe in London and even attended board lunches there.
Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell are better known faces to have hosted there over the years.
The move comes amid unrest at the publisher after hundreds of union workers walked out last month in protest against threatened layoffs.
As part of the NewsGuild campaign, 400 U.S. employees walked off the job on the news-packed day when Academy Award nominations were announced and voting took place in a presidential primary.
The union urged people not to cross the digital picket line by not visiting Conde Nast sites, which also include GQ, Bon Appetit, Glamour, Architectural Digest and Teen Vogue.
Protesters chanted, “Bosses wear Prada, workers get nada!”
The industrial action comes after the company’s CEO, Roger Lynch, said last fall it would lay off five percent of its total workforce – about 300 employees.
Facing protests from the union, Conde Nast later said it would instead lay off 94 members of the guild, about 20 percent of the union’s total workforce. Negotiations are ongoing.