Before the inauguration kicked off this morning, the most interesting fashion news coming out of Washington, D.C. was that Anna Wintour was no longer being considered for the U.K. ambassador job, as the New York Times reported. The French embassy is still up for grabs (though apparently the Vogue editor doesn’t want it)*, but even greater than that fantasy is this tweet from Nick Confessore, who helped write the Times piece: “She wanted the [Great Britain] job & could afford it. She didn’t play it that well – the Guardian leak, mid-campaign, irked some people.”
He’s probably referencing this Guardian piece. And he was responding to WWD media critic Erik Maza, who had tweeted that Wintour never really wanted the position and was just using it as a tool in Condé contract negotiations. Still, is it possible that Anna Wintour — Ms. Machiavelli of all things fashion industry — actually bungled her own chances at the plum position? Fascinating to think about. Even if it sounds like an alternate, DVD-exclusive ending to the The Devil Wears Prada.
And P.S. Nick, Eric: If you have some reporting about how she did/did not mess up her chances, the Cut welcomes freelance submissions!
* This post has been updated to include that Wintour is, reportedly, uninterested in the Paris position.
