What happened
Margaret Zhang is set to depart her role as Vogue China’s editorial director at the end of March, according to a WWD report. Anna Wintour, the global chief content officer and editor-in-chief of Vogue, announced to Vogue China staff that the search for Zhang’s successor is underway, as Zhang opts for a new career direction after her significant contributions to the magazine.
Australian-born Zhang, while received well globally, had a controversial tenure in mainland China since being appointed to the role in 2021 at the age of 27 - making her the youngest person to ever hold such a position at Vogue. Her departure signals a broader senior leadership overhaul at Condé Nast amid several high profile exits, layoffs, and protests.
The Jing Take
Finding a successor to Zhang will be urgent. China Vogue is a strategically important and lucrative part of the Conde Nast portfolio.
Zhang, who is a savvy digital communicator, gained popularity on the global scene since breaking out in fashion as teenager blogger, influencer then eventually turning into a photographer and film maker. However, after being selected for the top job at Vogue, Zhang did not have the easiest time in the Chinese media ecosystem, especially as a successor to Angelica Cheung.
Her career in fashion was an unconventional route to becoming editor-in-chief at Vogue in the most populous country in the world. In a recent New York Times article, Zhang admitted that people often underestimate her.
“I would be lying if I said that this job or the task wasn’t intimidating,” she told the newspaper. “But I’ve become used to being the youngest person in the room. Often, I’m also the most creative in a business room or the most business-literate in a creative room. Basically, the odd one out. But two years in, I feel like everything that I’ve learned in my career, and all of my different threads of skills, strangely converge for this role.”
The news of her vacancy has sparked immediate speculation about who will fill her boots. WWD states that Chen Bo of Esquire China could be in the running for a deputy editor role.
Zhang’s exit underscores the challenges of implementing a singular US-led editorial vision of a star publication across different countries and cultural landscapes as well as the pressure that comes with having the biggest seat at the table at Vogue China.
Zhang’s tenure and upcoming departure (as well as that of many others in Conde Nast, including Edward Enninful leaving British Vogue) exemplifies the dynamic, often contentious nature of leadership in the fashion publishing sector, emphasizing the need for a delicate balance between global branding, editorial experience, local relevancy, and cultural nuance.
The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.