Anna Wintour heads to Dolce & Gabbana show in Milan... amid claims feud with Alexandra Shulman could be to blame for her stepping down from British Vogue editor role

Rumours have been swirling that her feud with Alexandra Shulman is the reason why she's stepping down as editor of British Vogue.  

But Anna Wintour put the hearsay on the back burner as she continued her duties as editor-in-chief of the fashion bible's USA publication on Thursday. 

The 67-year-old journalist looked typically stylish as she arrived at the Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2018 show at Haute Couture Fashion Week in Milan, Italy. 

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Fashionable arrival: Anna Wintour, 67, looked typically stylish as she arrived at the Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 2018 show at Haute Couture Fashion Week in Milan, Italy

The fashion powerhouse donned a chic black knee-length coat which boasted an eye-catching floral design and faux-fur detail.

Underneath she opted for a metallic blue form-fitting dress and teamed it with a pair of knee-high boots. 

Anna's signature bob was teased to perfection and framed her eternal features, which were enhanced with a dusting of bronzer. 

The shocking news of Alexandra Shulman stepping down from her role as editor of British Vogue this summer didn't seem to be on her mind as she strutted along to the catwalk show.  

All eyes on her: The Vogue editor-in-chief paired her an eye-catching floral coat with a metallic blue form-fitting dress and knee-high boots

Battle of the editors: Anna's appearance comes after rumours that her feud with the editor of British Vogue, Alexandra Shulman (left), could have contributed to her decision to exit the role

The news, which is causing a stir in both fashion and publishing circles, was announced on Wednesday on Vogue's UK website.

In her statement, Alexandra, 59, admitted it was 'hard to find a rational reason to leave' but she 'wanted to experience a different life.'

However, rumours are already brewing that her feud with Anna could have contributed to her decision.

And fashion insiders are already tipping Samantha Cameron's sister Emily Sheffield - currently Shulman's deputy editor, to take over the coveted role.

Saying goodbye: Alexandra, Editor of UK Vogue, photographed in her London office before the announcement that she was stepping down

New role? Samantha Cameron's sister Emily Sheffield, pictured left, is currently Shulman's deputy and is being tipped to take over the coveted role

ALWAYS IN VOGUE: ALEXANDRA'S TIME AT THE TOP

1999: Published a 'millennium' issue with a reflective cover - making Vogue readers the cover stars - in one of several iconic collectors' issues she championed 

2005: Awarded an OBE for services to the fashion industry 

2009: Wrote an open letter to fashion houses criticising their 'miniscule' sample sizes 

2012: Published her first novel, Can We Still Be Friends?   

2013: Deemed one of the UK's 100 most powerful women by BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour 

2016: Landed the Duchess of Cambridge's first ever cover shoot, for Vogue's special centenary issue 

However, Glamour Magazine editor Jo Elvin is the favourite with bookmakers Coral to land the job, with current odds of 2/1, while British Vogue fashion features director Sarah Harris is also believed to be in the running.

The rivalry between Alexandra and Anna is thought to have begun when Shulman landed the editing job back in 1992.

Anna, who was her predecessor, was said to be among the many voices who complained that Shulman, formerly the editor of British GQ, didn’t have the fashion pedigree to take over the coveted role.  

Rumours of discontent between the pair re-surfaced following the airing of a BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary about the magazine last year.

The show revealed how Alexandra was going to run an image of Rihanna as the British Vogue May issue cover, but then she discovered the singer was going to be on the cover of the upcoming American Vogue.

In a fit of fury she dumped her planned April cover of Kate Moss and used Rihanna instead, thus robbing Wintour of her exclusive.

Size 16 Ashley Graham describing gracing her first Vogue cover as 'an absolute honour'

Speaking on the show, Alexandra said: ‘I don’t know their exact publication date and I don’t know any of the details of that. All I know is that we agreed that we would have Rihanna.’   

A Condé Nast spokesman said the spat over Rihanna had not been personal, adding: 'In the case of Alexandra and Anna, the editors only have the greatest respect for each other.’ 

Despite the controversy, the tenure of Shulman - who lives in London with her son Sam, 21, and her partner, writer David Jenkins - at British Vogue has been marked with various iconic issues of the magazine.

Nicholas Coleridge, managing director of Condé Nast, the magazine's publisher today said: 'Alex has been the longest-serving and most successful editor of Vogue in its 100 year history.'

One of her most famous coups was having the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, pose for the June 2016 cover - after revealing that Kate had initially turned down the request to be a Vogue cover star.

'Probably every magazine in the world had asked her if she would be on the cover, I should think,' Alexandra said. 

Fashionista: Alexandra last year appeared on the BBC documentary Absolutely Fashion: Inside British Vogue

Friends in high places: Alexandra visits the Vogue 100: A Century of Style exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London with the Duchess of Cambridge and Nicholas Cullinan

Influencer: Kate was the cover star of British Vogue's centenary issue in June, but editor Alexandra Shulman has revealed that she previously turned down requests to appear in the magazine

Glam pals: The British Vogue editor-in-chief with Victoria Beckham at London Fashion Week 2016

'It was the best news when I heard she was going to be on the cover,' she added.

Her December 1999 Millennium Issue, possessing a simplistic page layout and a reflective, mirror-like cover – giving the illusion that its reader was on the front cover – became the highest selling issue of the magazine, with circulation of 241,001. 

More recently, her January 2017 issue was one of the first to feature a plus-size model on the cover - with curvy Ashley Graham describing gracing her first Vogue cover as 'an absolute honour'. 

Talented: The mother-of-one's tenure at Vogue, which began in 1992, has been marked with various iconic issues of the magazine

Mingling: Alexandra with model David Gandy at the launch party for Inside Vogue: A Diary of My 100th Year in October

Shulman has gained a reputation for going against the grain in the fashion industry.

Speaking about the January cover, she admitted that some fashion houses had 'flat-out refused' to loan clothes to dress size-16 Ashley.

In her editor's letter, Alexandra wrote: 'It seems strange to me that while the rest of the world is desperate for fashion to embrace broader definitions of physical beauty, some of our most famous fashion brands appear to be travelling in the opposite – and in my opinion, unwise – direction.'

While Vogue's statement did not name a successor to the title, it stated that the announcement would be named 'in due course'.

However, speculation is already rife online - with Shulman's deputy Emily Sheffield being the front runner.

A popular, although seemingly unlikely, suggestion is that her supposed rival Anna Wintour - originally from London - could return to the capital to take up the prestigious position.

ALEXANDRA SHULMAN'S STATEMENT IN FULL

'Although I have had months to acclimatise to the idea of leaving Vogue it hasn’t made the moment of announcing this any less sad.

I have been incredibly privileged to have been able to look after such a great magazine for so long and even more to have worked with so many people over those years who have made the experience so interesting and rich.

It was difficult to decide to leave but 25 years is a very long time and I am tremendously excited that I will now look forward into a different future - but I know that nothing will be quite like the years I have spent at Vogue. 

Nicholas Coleridge and Jonathan Newhouse have given me the space to edit this important magazine in exactly the way I wanted to and for that, and of course the opportunity in the first place I am tremendously grateful. 

I will miss the people who surround me daily at Vogue House more than I can say and I am very pleased that I will be here for several months more concentrating on the next issues and new initiatives for this magazine that I love.'

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