Vogue, Venus & the VMAs - Mentor Moments We’re Falling For
Vogue | Getty Images | Getty Images for MTV
“Fashion and media are both evolving at breakneck speed, and I am so thrilled—and awed—to be part of that,” stated newly-minted Head of Editorial Content for American Vogue Chloe Malle last week. “I also feel incredibly fortunate to still have Anna just down the hall as my mentor.”
Referring, of course, to Vogue legend Anna Wintour, Malle’s fashion-forward hat tip was immediately returned. “Chloe has proven often that she can find the balance between American Vogue’s long, singular history and its future on the front lines of the new,” said Wintour with respect. “I am so excited to continue working with her, as her mentor but also as her student, while she leads us and our audiences where we’ve never been before.”
And as icons hit the fashion runways, tennis courts and rockstar stages, it feels that fall is bringing the mentor moments we need.
The Cut | Entertainment Tonight
Vogue’s editorial hand-off was just the start, and it brought smiles to many faces who not only recognize Malle’s enormous contribution since joining Vogue in 2011 (indeed, just since taking the reins of Vogue.com in 2023 the site has seen direct traffic double with "double-digit growth across key metrics like unique views, time spent, and content output," while the wedding section simultaneously celebrated record engagement), but recall her mother Candice Bergen assuming the role of Vogue’s fictional EIC in Sex and the City.
A wink to fashionistas paying attention? Absolutely. A nepo baby moment? Hardly. “Although she is no stranger to the glamour of red carpets,” confirmed Wintour in Vogue’s announcement last week, “her talent has been for original thinking and hard work.”
Glamour and hard work took us from carpets to courts a few days later as Venus Williams and her partner Leylah Fernandez, the spectacular wild-card entry in the US Open women’s doubles, won their first three matches seamlessly before finally losing 6-1, 6-2 to top-seeded Taylor Townsend and Kateřina Siniaková.
U.S. Open - Geoff Burke
The mentor moment that brought girls to their feet cheering even after the loss? Williams’ inspiring words about grit and pride:
“I think what I’m proudest of is it’s not easy to come off the bench,” Williams (45) told reporters in her 25th US Open appearance, returning to the game after a 16-month break. “It really isn’t, and I have never had a layoff that long. It brought new challenges that I wasn’t ready for in so many ways.”
“I’m very proud that I stayed myself. I didn’t try to play another game. I didn’t try to play it safe. I went for it, and that’s who I am. I go for it. When you go for it, good things happen. Perhaps I didn’t get there this time, but I know who I am.”
Think about the impact on next gen fans and players as she looked directly into the camera to say I know who I am. Imagine what that meant to Fernandez (22) playing and learning alongside the tennis icon.
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“I’m growing a lot, actually,” Fernandez confided in a press conference. “I feel like my team members and even my family say, ‘Wow, you are growing just by playing with Venus, learning from her.’”
“I mean, you (Venus) may not say much on the bench, but whatever you say, I’m like a sponge and kind of soaking everything in. It’s a huge opportunity for me to just learn from such a great champion, a legend like you.”
We’re not crying, you’re crying. And then we learned more from legends last night at the VMAs, when Ariana Grande thanked Mariah Carey for providing fans with "the soundtrack of our lives," noting that Carey is "the reason why so many of us sing."
MTV
"As a vocalist, there's only one queen and that's Mariah," continued Grande. "She knows no limits with her iconic five-octave range and has left an irrevocable impact on music history with her tone, technique and sound. Her music videos have become the pop playbook, giving us everything from alter egos to male drag to hundreds of iconic looks. Mariah Carey is a singular talent and artist."
When music icons introduce legends...when sport veterans partner with newer stars...when fashion mavens recognize rising mentors...magic happens.
Here's to a month of more mentorship moments we can all fall for.
Looking forward,
Illana
ÊXTRAS: Three more fall mentor moments you won’t want to miss: Hello Sunshine’s CEO torch pass from Sarah Harden to Maureen Polo and the epic words on mentorship they shared here, here and here. Huge congrats to both of these leaders and the entire organization!
