Anna Wintour explained why she wears her iconic sunglasses, and her reasoning is surprisingly relatable

Alison Millington

April 9, 2019 10:44 AM

Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue since 1988, is known for her iconic heavy black sunglasses.

anna wintour lfw feb 2019

She recently told CNN that she wears them to "avoid people knowing what [she's] thinking about."
"They help me when I'm feeling a bit tired or sleepy," she went on.
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Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour is rarely seen without her iconic sunglasses.

One of the most famous people in the world of fashion, Wintour, who has been editor since 1988 and artistic director for Cond Nast, Vogue's publisher, since 2013, is seen sporting her heavy black frames to most runway shows and events.

She even kept the glasses on when she sat beside Her Majesty the Queen at Richard Quinn's London Fashion Week runway show in February 2018.

Queen Elizabeth II sits next to Anna Wintour

However, it turns out her reason for wearing them is less glamorous than you might think.

In a recent interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour , Wintour, who wore her sunglasses throughout the entire meeting, said she finds the eyewear "incredibly useful because you avoid people knowing what you're thinking about."

"They help me when I'm feeling a bit tired or sleepy," she went on. "And maybe they've just become a crutch in part of who I am. But today I really did need them."

She added:"I'll be brutally frank: I have been unbelievably ill all week. And, plus, I just had eye surgery, so those are the real reasons I'm wearing them today."

It's not the first time Wintour has commented on the reason behind her emblematic sunglasses.

In a 60 Minutes interview in 2009, she reportedly said : "They are seriously useful. I can sit in a show and if I am bored out of my mind, nobody will notice At this point, they have become, really, armor."

She's still spotted without them sometimes, though and when she was made a Dame by the Queen in 2017 , they didn't make an appearance.