Anna Wintour

Years later, after Anna conquered fashion, Tony would deny that he ever happened.

History, as they say, is written by the winners.

At the time, I didn't know what he meant, Anna reflected, but in retrospect, I think he meant I was obstinate, that I wouldn't take direction.

Years later, Anna conquered fashion, and Tony denied firing her.

Anna would reflect on this years later and say everyone should get sacked at least once in their career because perfection doesn't exist.

The lesson, getting fired for your standards is different than getting fired for your performance.

One is failure, the other is reconnaissance.

Despite the setback, she was confident in her vision and confident in herself.

Anna took a job at Viva magazine.

The owner?

The penthouse publisher.

A porn king trying to make feminist fashion content.

Stores hid Viva behind the counters next to the adult magazines.

Anna didn't care.

I needed a job, and Viva offered me an enormous amount of freedom.

The editor, Alma Moore, saw Anna clearly.

This woman knows what she wants, but she's going to be difficult.

She hired her anyway.

Smart leaders know that difficult people often produce the best work in the right environment.

At Viva, Anna spent hours studying French L, Italian Vogue.