Dame Anna Wintour returned to North London Collegiate School this week for the first time since leaving in 1965, spending the morning on the Canons site and speaking to the whole Senior School about building a life in fashion, media and the creative industries.
Addressing students in the Main Hall, she spoke candidly about the gap between visibility and real achievement. Being on TikTok, she suggested, is not a business plan. Sustainable careers, she argued, are built on clear ideas, decisions taken over time and a strong point of view about the work you are putting into the world.
She also reflected on how the school has changed since her time here. While she admitted she still could not quite find a love for dark brown, she remarked on how much better the uniforms look today than in the 1960s.
Throughout the conversation she returned to the importance of storytelling. She described the student show at Central Saint Martins that transformed John Galliano’s trajectory because it told such a powerful story on the runway. She then moved to the Met Gala, where under her leadership the event has evolved into a cultural landmark. Madonna performing with a choir from the Vatican, friends such as director Baz Luhrmann helping to bring each year’s theme to life, and Rihanna arriving in a papal inspired look for the Heavenly Bodies Ball all served as examples of fashion being used to create a narrative rather than just an image.
She also spoke about the forthcoming Condé M. Nast Galleries, which will be unveiled in May next year, and after meeting Condé Nast’s daughter, Leslie, reflected on how important it is to remember the person behind such a legacy.
For Dame Anna, the question is never simply whether a dress or pair of shoes is beautiful. It is what they are saying that is different from everyone else, who the person wearing them is, where they might be going and why they are there. Before the talk toured the school and made a point to visit the school’s Fantasy Fashion display on the main stairway. Looking at the student designed costumes, she highlighted the originality and sense of character in many of the pieces, noting how clearly some of them expressed who that imagined wearer might be.
The interview was led by Year 13 student Emma, Chair of the Art & Design Society. Her questions ranged from memories of rolled up uniform skirts and advice about how young people might break into fashion without existing connections. Dame Anna also spoke about the limited funding available to the fashion industry and the role it plays in supporting the wider creative economy
Students left the hall inspired and reflective, with a sharper sense of what a creative career might involve, hearing it described by someone who once sat where they do now. We are extremely grateful for how generous Dame Anna was with her time and her advice for our students.
