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Iron-fisted Vogue editrix Anna Wintour is a dinosaur who’s out of touch with the new generation — and should take the fall for the Met’s John Galliano disaster, fed-up insiders told The Post.
“It’s too late for an apology — she should retire,’’ said a fashion source who works closely with Wintour.
A Conde Nast insider added that the A-list fashion socialite and media titan, 76, “doesn’t understand what people are talking about and thought she could shoulder through this and it would blow over.
“Anna’s lost her touch on the zeitgeist,” they said.
It was Wintour who pushed the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s fated decision to fete disgraced designer Galliano — a convicted antisemite who once declared, “I love Hitler’’ — at its next star-studded Manhattan Met Gala and accompanying costume exhibit.
The selection of Galliano, 65, ended in catastrophe — with scores of wealthy Met donors joining Jewish leaders and others to demand the honor be rescinded before the flamboyant designer caved in Monday and bowed out.
The first source said Wintour’s grip on the Met Gala, influence over designers and how Vogue parent company Conde Nast profits from it all has always given her immense power — but that it might be time to retool the relationship between the entities.
The Conde insider added that Wintour — the former longtime editor in chief of the fashion-industry bible and now a global content editor there — might not be up to the tasks anyway anymore because she’s out of step with the next generation, particularly when it comes to social media.
“She still has stories printed out for her, and she doesn’t understand social-media discourse in general,” the source said.
But another source insisted that Wintour embraces some technology.
“She’s digital-savvy and reads plenty of things on her phone, and she’s always on Zoom,” the source said.
Sources said Wintour pushed for the Galliano celebration because she really believes in him and his redemption.
“It comes from a place of love and forgiveness. She really believes in people’s second chances and becoming better people and learning from mistakes,” a source said. “It came from a good place. She considers him a friend and wants what’s best for him.”
Another source said, “Anna is a big proponent of second chances and getting behind the underdog.
“She brought [designer] Georgina Chapman back into society after [the horrific sex-abuse scandal involving onetime powehouse hubby] Harvey Weinstein and encouraged people to wear [Chapman’s brand] Marchesa.
“There is no question Galliano is talented,” the source said of the designer, whose clients have included everyone from Princess Diana to Kim Kardashian.
“To let him come back is one thing,” the source noted. “But to celebrate him on such a scale especially when antisemitism is at its highest … it sends all the wrong messages. But Anna is very loyal to the people she is loyal to.”
The industry source who works closely with Wintour suggested she should no longer be a Met board trustee because of the Galliano situation.
“I wish Anna would take more accountability,’’ another source said of Wintour — who issued a statement calling Galliano’s decision to step away from the honor “courageous.’’
“She is the person who wanted this to happen, never fully considering the consequences,’’ the source said. “She is the public face and reaps the benefit of the gala and the surrounding coverage.
“Why does she only get to reap the rewards and not face more criticism?”
Sources in Wintour’s camp pointed out that many other people signed off on the Galliano tribute besides Wintour.
“People seem to think she’s the sole person [making decisions about the Met theme],” a source said. “It’s a huge amount of people on the Met board that signed off on this. She’s a piece of that.
“It wasn’t her decision alone, by any stretch of the imagination. This exhibition… people have been speaking about it for at least a couple of years. It was a big group decision. It’s a team effort. Not just her.”
But a Hollywood insider said, “Anna single-handedly thought she could willfully get [Galliano] back in’’ to the fashion-world fold.
“She’s been at it a long time, and she really misjudged it, and she made him vulnerable while doing that,’’ the source said.
“She’s not reading the f–king room.
“She really overplayed her hand. … Anna has stayed too long at the party.”
Conde Nast declined comment to The Post.
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