Words by Chanelle Goddard
As the first black editor-in-chief in the history of Vogue magazine, Ghanaian-born Edward Enninful has risen to become the foremost name in British fashion.
As the renowned editor-in-chief of British Vogue and a stellar creative director in the fashion industry, Edward Enninful has become a staple of British-Ghanaian success.
Edward’s journey first started when he and his family of six moved from Ghana to West London. As you can imagine, this marked a huge transition in their lives, but it was actually his mother’s job as a seamstress in the UK that sparked Edward’s initial interest in the fashion industry. He would often see his mother pushing the boundaries with her work, using vibrant fabrics and unique textures whilst making clothes for her fellow British-Ghanaian friends – his mother was his first source of inspiration.
Since his younger days up until now, Edward has never been shy when it comes to expressing himself through his fashion. At age 16, he caught the eye of famous stylist and visual artist Simon Foxton on a train, and only a couple of weeks later was plunged into the world of fashion headfirst after being invited to Foxton’s home for a photoshoot with i-D photographer Nick Knight. After this photoshoot, Edward was given the opportunity of a lifetime and was introduced to fashion industry heavyweights including Trish and Terry Jones, the co-founders of i-D magazine, and Beth Summers, i-D’s fashion director. It would be through these meetings that his fashion career began to take off.
Working alongside Beth Summers as i-D magazine’s fashion director at only 18 years old proved that Edward was a force to be reckoned with, and doing so even earned him the title of the youngest fashion director in history to work for a major international publication – pretty impressive, right? Styling celebrities from Kate Moss to Naomi Campbell, Edward, through the early stages of his career, developed a particular niche for himself. He became known for providing fashion content that combined a perfect balance of edginess and elegance.
After the tremendous work experience i-D magazine provided, and as more people became knowing his name and recognising his work, Edward continued to dominate the industry and went on to work as a contributing editor for Vogue Italia in 1998, American Vogue in 2006 and, most recently, became editor-in-chief of British Vogue in 2017(and the first black editor-in-chief in Vogue history).
By having the full creative reigns of British Vogue as of April 2017, Edward made sure to inject his own beliefs in championing diversity straight into the magazine and the staff that work behind it. Since his appointment at British Vogue, Edward has tried his hardest to reshape the brand into a fashion platform that represents its diverse global audience. For his first-ever Vogue issue, he featured British mixed-raced model and feminist activist Adowa Aboah on the cover, rocking bold blue eyeshadow and a headwrap. For the Vogue September 2020 issue (the most famous in the fashion calendar), Enninful hired photographer Misan Harriman to shoot cover content, making him the first black male photographer to be hired in Vogue’s104-year history.
Appointing Edward Enninful as editor-in-chief has also had an amazing effect on the overall digital reach of Vogue – the brand has enjoyed a 51% increase in digital traffic since he took over. It seems, then, that his hard work – and commitment to breaking boundaries – paid off.
Edward’s creativity and drive definitely hasn’t gone unnoticed by award ceremonies and renowned industry critics, and he’s been praised worldwide for his contribution to changing the face of fashion. Most recently, he was awarded both the PPA 2020 Editor of The Year award and PPA 2020 Diversity Initiative of the Year award – a double and well-deserved win for the British-Ghanaian. In the years to come, we can only expect more sartorial greatness – and even more diversity in the world of fashion – from the industry powerhouse that is Edward Enninful.
Speaking of fashion, check out our preview of the upcoming Gucci x The North Face collection.