In The Spotlight: Winta Ghebre

Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you find your way to Condé Nast?
I’m Winta, 29 years old. I’m a true Parisian (born and raised) but I lived a few years in London which I consider my second home. 

I’ve studied History and International Relations at la Sorbonne. As much as I always loved Fashion and “arts,” I initially studied and wanted to work as a diplomat and in geopolitics. I then moved on to study in Milan at la Bocconi for a few months to learn about management specifically in Fashion and Design. From there I moved to London to pursue my masters in Communication focused in Fashion at University of the Arts of London. 

Then I went on to work between London and Paris in different fields within the fashion and creative industries: in PR and communication but as well as a freelance editor, producer and creative director. 

I then joined the Condé Nast family in 2021 in Paris to work across all our brands in France (Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair) in entertainment and casting. 

How do you describe your job to friends and family?
I would describe it as curating talents and stories. But that’s just one part of the job. Really, it’s about connecting with people and trying to understand the story they want to share.The talent is one piece of the puzzle but the true story is that it's about everything that surrounds it: It’s having the sensitivity of understanding to what the talent at the centerpiece of the story wants to share and then from there it’s your choice of photographer, your writer, your stylist. It’s about working hand in hand all together to tell the most sincere story that will speak to people. 

Vogue World: Paris was an incredible hit. What was your contributing role on that project and what did you learn or gain from it?
Thank you! It has been a long journey but we are so happy with the outcome and the incredible feedback we’ve been receiving from our global community! My role was to lead the entertainment and talent casting of the show with my incredible team. From performers, cameos and athletes. 

The process to cast this enormous show started months ago with Juan, Mark, Parris, Carine , Alexandre, IB and the entire fashion team. The idea was to do a show that will celebrate 100 years of fashion and sport in Paris, more specifically in Place Vendome. This was quite challenging knowing also that it was the first time that an event took place in this historic square. 

In this show the casting was extremely important as the people chosen to walk were an essential part of the story. As the show was divided per decade in which we would highlight one moment of fashion and one sport, we worked on “creative casting concepts” to help us sharpen our vision. These will help us contextualize why a certain personality will make sense in this section. Perhaps because of a role a person played, a sport, a specific anecdote.

Some choices were more obvious and straightforward however I would like to explain a few examples that are more subtle. 

Kalash walked in the 1960s fencing section alongside Teyana Taylor on some french Caribbean music as a reference to his own music genre but also a celebration of the many French fencing champions from that region of France, like Laura Flessel who also walked that section. 

The casting of 1950's bleu blanc rouge Dior Bar Suits were Deva Cassel, Malika Louback and Mika Schneider. The idea was to celebrate the diversity within the generation of french models. 

The 1970’s section was an ode to the iconic Battle of Versailles: the first time we saw Black models on the runway. This is why we chose to open this section in custom Givenchy looks worn only by Black women, models and personalities such as Debra Shaw, Ciara, and Jodie Turner-Smith. 

Our 1980’s casting was to truly illustrate this crucial decade for social rights of a lot of under represented groups, which explains our choices of including award winning actor and actress Karla Sofia Gascon and Colman Domingo. We’ve also included two important French figures,  Farida Khelfa and Rokhaya Diallo in this section as a reference to the 1983 anti racist March held in Paris. 

For the finale, Marie-José Pérec in a tricolor dress was a reference to when she held the French Flag in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The idea was to have her with Wemby, the new French star of the NBA. Symbolically, it was a celebration of the past, the now and the future. 

An amazing anecdote to share, we didn’t tell Marie-José that she will be closing the show. We announced it to her when she came to fit the dress! It was so emotional. It was such an honor to have her with us! 

What makes Paris such an exciting and special place to throw this amazing event?
What’s important in Vogue World is actually the word “WORLD”. I grew up in Paris and throughout the years, even if historically my city has always been quite international, being often affectionately baptized as the “second home” of some of the greatest creatives in the world throughout the 20th century. I truly witnessed a radical shift in my hometown within the last decade as Paris turned into such an amazing global creative hub for the youth as we see young designers, musicians, artists and others in various creative disciplines thriving. With this perspective, Vogue World feels so special to me as it’s about celebrating Paris in its entirety — the past, the now and its future but most importantly, its people. 

Which personality do you dream to work with for an issue with one of our brands? 
I’ve been lucky as I was already able to work with a lot of people that I’ve been admiring from such a young age! I wouldn’t say one personality but actually I would love to work on a documentary project with more anonymous people but to highlight something specific from a culture. 

We’ve done this amazing project for GQ France with the issue we co-edited with Kim Jones about “Ethiopia Skate” and the skate culture in Addis Ababa. These are the kinds of project I would love to do more.  

What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?
My guilty pleasure? Quite random but I love bowling! It’s actually one of my favorite activities. It can be in Paris or anywhere I travel to hang out with friends I will always try to organize a bowling night!

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