It’s not enough for Vogue editor and Conde Nast executive Anna Wintour to be the queen of fashion, she wants to be the queen of politics as well.
Wintour, who has been a major supporter of Hillary Clinton’s campaign since it launched in 2015, will merge the world of high-power fashion with high power next Friday when she holds a high dollar fundraiser for the Democratic Presidential nominee — right before New York Fashion Week officially kicks off.
The event, called the “Made for History Fashion Show and Rooftop Party” will feature an appearance by Chelsea Clinton, a chat with Huma Abedin (fresh off her separation), an exclusive runway show with looks from top designers including Prabal Gurung, Marc Jacobs, Jason Wu, Joseph Altuzarra, and Diane von Furstenberg, and a few celebrity co-hosts.
To sit front row, the way Wintour does at NYFW, you’ll have to shell out at least $2,700. If you’d prefer to stand with the rest of the proletariat, you can snag a ticket for $100. If you want full access to the runway show, the party, and the VIP lounge, you’ll have to plunk down $22,500 (but they will brand you a member of the “Hillsquad” and give you a free tee shirt).
Hillary Clinton isn’t confirmed to be attending, but with Anna Wintour hosting, she’d be hard pressed to miss it.
Wintour has, of course, been instrumental in Clinton’s campaign already, apart from this Eleventh Hour fundraising push. She is, supposedly, the “genius” behind Hillary Clinton’s campaign wardrobe, helping to deck the Presidential candidate out in only the finest bouclé housecoats French couture houses can produce.
She’s also the force behind the “Made for History” campaign itself — personally curating a range of designer-made Hillary Clinton campaign goods that help pad the Democrats’ coffers. Tory Burch, Marchesa and Rag & Bone have all contribute exclusive tee shirts, bags and accessories to help well-to-do Clinton supporters wear their Democratic bona fides on their sleeves.
She even gave Hillary Clinton a glowing, 10-page feature in Vogue right before the primaries. Other people have had to marry Kanye West to get that kind of treatment. And her political impact is felt across Conde Nast publications: Conde Nast tech publication WIRED, for example, recently announced it had endorsed Hillary Clinton for President, even though Hillary Clinton can’t comprehend basic things like email security.
Of course, Wintour did the same thing for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, curating Obama’s “Runway to Win” collection and hosting lavish fundraisers for the then-Presidential candidate at her home in New York.
Back then, as now, Wintour’s exact motivations are a mystery. Certainly she’s involved with Democratic politics and is a dedicated liberal activist, but rumors swirled within the fashion industry in 2012 that Wintour was angling to leave Vogue and segue into a life of diplomacy. Obama was, reportedly, going to name Wintour to the post of US Ambassador to the UK in return for her generosity. The post went to Matthew Barzun, an Obama bundler from the 2008 campaign instead.
Now, Wintour has another chance. After Vogue‘s legendary Creative Director (and top Wintour collaborator) Grace Coddington stepped down in January, there were, again, rumors that Wintour would be soon to leave the magazine she’s helmed for nearly three decades. A plum ambassadorship would be the perfect career move.
