Condé Nast has appointed 39-year-old Chloe Malle as head of editorial content at American Vogue, following Anna Wintour’s decision in July to step back from her role as editor. The move is effective immediately.
“Fashion and media are both evolving at breakneck speed, and I am so thrilled, and awed, to be part of that,” Malle said in a statement. “I also feel incredibly fortunate to still have Anna just down the hall as my mentor.”
Her promotion signals a major change for the magazine. While Malle takes the reins, Printout remains one of the most powerful figures in publishing as Condo Nast’s chief content officer and Vogue’s global editorial director. That means she keeps control of the brand without handling its daily operations. Both women are expected at New York Fashion Week, as well as the Met Gala and Vogue World, but for the first time in its history, Vogue will move forward without an official editor-in-chief.
“At a moment of change both within fashion and outside it, Vogue must continue to be both the standard-bearer and the boundary-pushing leader,” Wintour said. She praised Malle’s ability to balance the magazine’s heritage with its future and described their new dynamic as one where she will be “mentor but also student.”
Malle is no stranger to the brand. She previously served as editor of Vogue.com and co-hosted The Run-Through podcast. She has been at the magazine since 2011, overseeing newsletters and offbeat projects like Dogue, a playful dog-themed spin on the magazine. Though she once admitted that fashion was not her main passion, she was “seduced by the Vogue machine” and stayed.
Her star power within Condo Nast has grown steadily. She was tapped to cover Jeff Bozos and Lauren Sanchez’s lavish Venice wedding earlier this year, a high-profile assignment that followed her 2023 interview with the couple. Many saw it as a test of her ability to juggle celebrity access and audience interest a test she passed.
Malle, a Brown University graduate, grew up in Los Angeles and began her career writing about real estate for the New York Observer. She has also contributed to The New York Times, Marie Claire, The Wall Street Journal, and Architectural Digest.
She comes from a famous family: her mother is actor Candice Bergen, and her father was French director Louis Male. Bergen herself once played a fictional Vogue editor in Sex and the City. Even Male’s birth made headlines it was announced in People magazine.
The search for Wintour’s successor had fueled months of speculation. Bookmakers even floated names like Meghan Markle, Kim Kardashian, and Victoria Beckham. More serious contenders included Chioma Nnadi, Vogue’s British editorial lead, and Jo Ellison of the Financial Times. Even GQ’s Will Welch was in the mix.
Inside Condé Nast, however, Malle was always seen as the frontrunner. Wintour is known for rewarding close deputies with top jobs, and choosing an insider means she can continue shaping Vogue’s future while keeping continuity at the top.
Still, the shift marks the end of a very particular era. Wintour has kept Vogue’s circulation steady at over a million during a decade of upheaval in fashion publishing, while also spearheading a global digital-first strategy. That push has not been without controversy, as staff across international editions have voiced frustration over the loss of local editorial control.
For readers and the industry, Malle’s appointment is both expected and historic. The glossy magazine that defined fashion now enters uncharted territory, led by an editor who once admitted she never set out to work in fashion at all.
