Edward Enninful, the first Black and homosexual editor of British Vogue, has been in the job for six years, supporting diversity in front of and behind the camera. In 2019, he prepared a special issue for women over 50.
The 51-year-old will leave his position as editor-in-chief, but will continue to advise publisher Condé Nast. His most recent British Vogue cover highlights 40 notable women from many fields, including music, cinema, and television. They include supermodels Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and Linda Evangelista. Others include Oprah Winfrey, Victoria Beckham, Dua Lipa, and Miley Cyrus.
According to the BBC, Enninful intended the Legendary issue to be totally “dedicated to women”, stating that no single person could “encapsulate the past few years for the magazine”.
According to the newspaper, he chose women who he considered had “reached beyond fashion and culture to change the fabric of society in the 2020s, in ways small and large and always positive”.
Enninful was born in Ghana, and he spent some of his youth there. He eventually went to London with his parents and five siblings. At 16, he had a chance encounter with fashion scout Simon Foxton on a train ride, which launched his modeling career.
Enninful’s modeling career was brief, and at the age of 17, he began working as an assistant to the fashion directors of the newly established i-D magazine. He managed to combine this employment with his studies at Goldsmith University, and two years later, at the age of 19, he was promoted to fashion director, making him the youngest director of an international fashion magazine.
Enninful rose to prominence at i-D magazine for his edgy style, which he attributed to street inspiration. He also counts his mother, a brilliant seamstress who created vibrantly patterned African attire for her Ghanaian-British friends, as one of his earliest influences.
Enninful has collaborated with well-known fashion labels like as Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Mulberry, Valentino, Calvin Klein, Fendi, Gucci, Hugo Boss, and Missoni. He has worked and dressed some of the biggest names in fashion, including Rihanna, Bella Hadid and Madonna. Enninful is close pals with models Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.
Enninful, an Order of the British Empire (OBE) recipient, was honored at Buckingham Palace in 2016 for his contributions to fashion industry diversity.
Chioma Nnadi, a British journalist, will take over as head of editorial content at British Vogue, rather than editor-in-chief.