Anna Dello Russo Italian Journalist From Bari

Anna Dello Russo is an Italian journalist and fashion editor, born on 16 April 1962 in Bari. She spent much of her working life at Condé Nast titles, holding senior editorial posts in Italy and later in Japan, and she is also recognised for her own public image as a dedicated collector of clothing, shoes and jewellery.

Early life

Dello Russo was born in Bari, in the south of Italy, and grew up with a strong interest in clothes. She has said that a coordinated set of Fendi accessories, which she asked her father for when she was a child, started her habit of collecting. That habit grew into a large wardrobe. By 2010 she owned more than 4,000 pairs of shoes, and she kept her collection in a second apartment next to the one she lived in.

She studied Italian literature and art history at the University of Bari. She then completed a master's degree in fashion at the Domus Academy in Milan.

Career

After her studies, Dello Russo began in the editorial department of the magazine Donna and was then hired by Condé Nast to work on Vogue Italia. There she worked closely with the magazine's editor-in-chief, Franca Sozzani, whom she has named among her most important mentors, together with Manuela Pavesi. She was a fashion editor at Vogue Italia and later became editor-in-chief of L'Uomo Vogue, where she also served as creative director.

In 2006 she left that position and worked for a time as a freelance creative consultant. In 2007 she returned to Condé Nast as editor-at-large for Vogue Japan, a role she has continued to hold. In 2010 she started her own fashion blog and website.

Her work has extended well beyond magazines. She has appeared on television and in magazine editorials, including features in 10 and Interview. In 2010 she partnered with the online retailer YOOX on T-shirts printed with ten different images of her, which sold out on the first day. In 2012 she released a collection of accessories and a collaboration with H&M, and she marked the launch with a song called "Fashion Shower", released in partnership with Vimeo. The following year she designed accessories for the Swedish retailer. She has also released her own fragrance and accessory line. Her book AdR: Beyond Fashion was published by Phaidon in 2018. In 2023 she launched a capsule collection with the denim company 7 For All Mankind.

Dello Russo built a large following on Instagram and Twitter, and her colourful and frequently changing outfits made her a familiar figure in street-style photography at fashion weeks. In later years she has said she is gradually stepping back from social media.

Recognition

Fashion publications have described her as one of the most photographed women in the industry, and she appears on the BoF 500 list of people shaping the fashion business. Forbes called her a force to be reckoned with.

Her charitable activity became a visible part of her public profile in 2018. She began auctioning pieces from her wardrobe, giving the proceeds to the British Fashion Council Education Foundation, and she also auctioned clothing for the Swarovski Foundation, which raised 147,000 euros for the foundation's scholarship programme. In February 2018, during Milan Fashion Week, she announced that she would donate her furs to PETA instead of including them in a Christie's auction.

Public roles

Beyond publishing, Dello Russo became international brand ambassador and scientific director of the Milan campus of the Istituto Marangoni in 2018. At the school she launched a year-long course called Playground, in which students work together on fashion projects and present them to a panel of designers. The panel has included Marco de Vincenzo, Alessandro Dell'Acqua, Andrea Incontri and Giuliano Calza.