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Anna Wintour, Condé Nast’s longtime doyenne of fashion, is known for a unique brand — her sunglasses.
In fact, Wintour didn’t take off her sunglasses the entire time she met with Pitchfork employees this week to tell them they would lose their jobs after Condé Nast decided to merge the music criticism site into GQ, according to one now-former employee. In attendance.
“One absolutely bizarre detail from this week is that Anna Wintour — sitting inside at the conference table — didn’t take off her sunglasses while telling us we were about to get fired,” Allison Hussey, former Pitchfork staff writer, said. Written on X. “The incivility we have witnessed from senior management this week is appalling.”
It’s not clear whether Wintour’s decision not to remove her glasses during the meeting was a deliberate fashion choice or rather a way to avoid having to look into the eyes of the Pitchfork staff. Condé Nast representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Condé Nast on Wednesday told employees that Pitchfork, the music news and criticism site the company bought in 2015, will merge with men’s magazine GQ. First launched in 1996, Pitchfork has become known for lavishing praise on favorite artists while harshly criticizing those who displease it. “The decision was made after careful evaluation of Pitchfork’s performance and what we believe is the best path forward for the brand so that our music coverage can continue to thrive within the company,” said Wintour, chief content officer and global editorial director at Condé Nast. of Vogue, he wrote in a memo to staff.
Among the staffers let go at Pitchfork are editor-in-chief Pooja Patel and features editor Jill Mapes, who commented to Less manly until GQ magazine ends up at the helm More than half of Pitchfork’s staff are believed to have been laid off.
The company’s changes with Pitchfork come after Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch said last November that the company planned to lay off about 5% of its total headcount, among other cost-cutting steps.