With the departure of Alexandra Shulman from British Vogue marking a huge shift in fashion – now an instrumental figure in fashion, music and celebrity culture, shaping the cultural zeitgeist, the echoing news of Edward Enninful being appointed as the new Editor has created an exciting air.
Edward Enninful arrives at the title from his position as fashion and creative director at W Magazine situated in New York, where he has been since 2011. The 45-year-old will become the first non-white man to lead a mainstream women’s fashion magazine, set to disrupt a 100-year history of white women holding the position.
Ghanaian-born Enninful, 16-year-old Londoner, was scouted by the influential stylist Simon Foxton and told he should become a model. Soon after, he made the acquaintance of i-D founders Trish and Terry Jones and began assisting the publication, becoming the youngest ever fashion editor for an international publication at the aged 18.
While the fashion industry has acknowledged his talent, Enninfuul was awarded the Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator at the 2014 British Fashion Awards, the British monarchy also accredited his contribution to fashion, making him OBE last October for his services to diversity in fashion – a truly deserved accolade.
His service to developing diversity in fashion was shown in 2008 while working with the late Vogue Italia editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani. Enninful. They put together the magazine’s first black models only edition. The results of the issue were overwhelmingly successful that Condé Nast swiftly went to reprint extra 40,000 copies.
What does Enninful’s appointment mean for the future of British Vogue?
His cutting-edge, innovative, revolutionary thinking when it comes to what his ideas on what fashion should be will truly aid with the sales of British Vogue.
His predecessor Alexandra Shulman, by comparison, has avoided the spotlight, where Enninful is a bridge between Fashions establishments and the next generation.
Enninful and Shulman are different because he is an image-maker and she is a features writer. Under Shulman, Vogue’s signature style has been described by the fashionable West London neighbourhood, nonetheless, as London changes and expands so did the magazine’s outlook. With the change, one can only imagine that it will continue to do so under Enninful’s lead, reflecting more on the city’s cultural diversity.
Edward Enninful’s core skill is in creating powerful and memorable imagery, which will put him in good stead to revive the Vogue brand for a new generation of readers and followers.
We believe, Edward will no doubtingly bring an exciting new creative aesthetic to the magazine.
