Zhang Out! Editor Says Bye Bye to Vogue China

Well it seems Margaret Zhang's time as editor-in-chief of Vogue China is coming to an end. Word on the street is her contract expires at the end of March and she won't be renewing. Anna Wintour, the big boss over at Condé Nast, broke the news to the Vogue China staff in an email last Friday. 

When Zhang first got the gig back in 2021, it was a big deal. Not only was she one of the youngest people to run a Vogue, she was also the first influencer to rise up the ranks like that. It showed even a magazine like Vogue recognizes social media is a force. She took over from the founding editor Angelica Cheung, who left in late 2020 along with some other international Vogue leaders. Around that time is when Condé Nast started focusing more on a global strategy across all their titles, with Wintour leading the charge as editor of American Vogue. Zhang was one of the few new editors who got to keep the fancy title of "editor-in-chief" too, while most others now go by "head of editorial content".

Zhang's time in charge had its ups and downs. Last year, a big shot CEO in Chinese publishing named Feng Chuxuan called her out publicly for a disagreement over a cover shoot. He said as someone from Australia, Zhang just didn't get the Chinese market well enough. But others in the industry, like PR guru Melvin Chua, stood up for her after some online bullying over a photo snafu. Seems Zhang's run at the top is coming to an end after all.