Anna Wintour has revealed that she’s taken up running while in quarantine in an attempt to find a way to release all of her stress and tension.
The 70-year-old Vogue editor-in-chief opened up about her life in lockdown during a live YouTube interview with supermodel Naomi Campbell on Wednesday afternoon, revealing to the fashion star that she is now running for an hour a day.
‘I’ve taken up running,’ she revealed during her No Filter With Naomi appearance, adding that her son Charlie Shaffer’s wife Lizzy urged her to take it up.
Getting candid: Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour joined Naomi Campbell’s live YouTube show on Wednesday and opened up about her life in quarantine
Something new: The 70-year-old revealed to the supermodel that she has taken up running while in lockdown and is trying to do an hour everyday
Shock: Earlier this month, Anna caused a frenzy online when she posed for a photo in sweatpants, after famously saying she would never wear them
‘My daughter-in-law is a runner and she told me, “Well you just should run as much as your body lets you,”‘ she added.
But Anna admitted that her new hobby hasn’t been the easiest one to embrace, joking that her ‘body keeps telling her to stop rather than run’.
‘I’m working on it,’ she added. ‘I am [enjoying running]. I’m very lucky in that I’m able to run inside. My heart really goes out to people that are stuck in small apartments and confined spaces.
Opening up: Anna, pictured at the Met Gala in 2019, revealed that running has become a great ‘release’ for her in quarantine
‘I feel lucky that I can just run for the hour. It’s a great release for me.’
The fashion legend and long-time tennis fan admitted that she plans to turn her attention to the tennis courts when it gets warmer, but for now she is content to keep hitting the treadmill as often as she can.
Anna is currently quarantining in her Hamptons house with ‘different members of her family’, and opened up to Naomi about how her life has changed – and the struggles that she is having with work.
‘I’m at my house in the country with different members of my family and it’s certainly a different way of conducting your life,’ she shared.
‘I’m on Zoom day in, day out, and I think the most difficult thing is that time kind of merges… hours merge into hours and you don’t really have a sense of accomplishment the way you do in a more traditional work day.
‘I’m constantly in touch with my colleagues, the good news is they’re all safe and healthy… [but] we all miss human connection.’
Anna’s revelation about her new workout regime comes just days after she caused a frenzy online when she posed for a photo in sweatpants, after famously insisting that she would never wear them.
Struggle: The magazine legend joked that her ‘body keeps telling her to stop rather than run’
Inspiration: Anna’s daughter-in-law Lizzy Shaffer, who is married to the editor’s son Charlie, is the person who urged her to take up running
As you might expect, Anna put her own very stylish spin on the loungewear trend when she posed for the photo for Vogue’s Instagram account on April 13, teaming the red bottoms with a striped jumper as she sat at her chic desk to work from home.
And while there are bigger things going on in the world at the moment, her fans playfully noted that seeing this fashion stalwart in sweatpants did seem out of sorts.
‘I never imagined I would see Anna Wintour wearing sweatpants,’ one person commented on the image, while another incredulous commenter added: ‘ARE THOSE SWEATPANTS?!!!!’
While wearing sweatpants might not ordinarily seem like a subject that would cause so much interest online, Anna’s ensemble appears to represent something of a U-turn as far as her own personal style rules are concerned.
Just last year, the magazine editrix was asked whether or not she ever wears sweatpants, to which she responded, ‘No,’ in an incredibly unimpressed turn.
The style move was also surprising because Anna is renowned for wearing the same fashion formula day in day out, no matter what the weather or the occasion.
Since 1994, Anna has worn the same style of nude Manolo Blahnik pumps, which were designed especially for her by the footwear legend.
Comfortable: The Vogue editor-in-chief is currently in lockdown at her home in the Hamptons with several member of her family, and she has been trying to run every day
Protect yourself: While speaking to Naomi, Anna urged everyone to wear masks whenever they go outside in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19
Looking ahead: Avid tennis fan Anna, pictured with her son Charlie at the US Open in 2018, said she plans to hit the courts when the weather gets a bit warmer
Although she will occasionally switch these out for a more sensible boot during the colder months, the rest of her ensemble remains the same: a floral-print dress, a stack of colorful gem collar necklaces, and her signature sunglasses.
However, spending days quarantined at her home appears to have pushed Anna towards a more comfortable collection of clothing – although she has not ever been without her sunglasses, even while self-isolating at home.
Despite the frenzy of excitement about Anna’s outfit however, the fashion icon was actually trying to make a more important point with the post, which hinted at a need to embrace sustainable fashion going forward in a bid to take better care of the environment.
It read: ‘We need to talk frankly and openly about what fashion is going through, but just as importantly, we need to start imagining what comes next.
‘Please join us. Anna Wintour shares how #VogueGlobalConversations, a four-day event on Zoom that starts tomorrow, came to be, as well as what she’s most looking forward to about it.’
In November, Anna urged consumers to be more mindful of their shopping habits in order to promote sustainability in fashion and not fast fashion.
While speaking to Reuters, she said that in her view, it is more advantageous for shoppers to take better care of their garments and pass them onto others, rather than to get rid of them after a few wears.
Changing it up: Anna usually sticks to a strict fashion formula that includes a floral patterned dress, chunky gem necklaces, and her signature sunglasses
She said: ‘I think for all of us it means an attention more on craft, on creativity, and less on the idea of clothes that are instantly disposable, things that you will throw away just after one reading.’
The topic of sustainability if one that she also spoke to Naomi about, with Anna issuing a grave warning that the fashion industry will never be the same again after the pandemic.
She insists that the fashion industry needs to ‘rethink’ what it stands for once the coronavirus pandemic has passed.
She told supermodel Naomi that she thinks people’s values ‘are really going to have shifted’ because of the crisis, and added that the amount of waste and excess in the industry will need to be reconsidered as a result of COVID-19.
‘I feel very strongly that when we come out at the other end – which we will do – that people’s values are really going to have shifted,’ she said.
‘I think it’s an opportunity for all of us to look at our industry and to look at our lives, and to rethink our values, and to really think about the waste, and the amount of money, and consumption, and excess – and I obviously include myself in this – that we have all indulged in and how we really need to rethink what this industry stands for.’
The fashion editor said that there will need to be ‘more of an emphasis on sustainability’ and ‘more of an emphasis on luxury, on creativity, [and] on craft’.
She added: ‘We need to celebrate the art of fashion, and the design of fashion.’
Anna noted that the industry needs to ‘slow down’ and that people should ‘enjoy it much more’ without always be looking for the next new thing.
‘There isn’t any time to just look and think, and enjoy it,’ she said.