Edward Enninful | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edward Kobina Enninful (1972-02-22)22 February 1972 (age 53) Ghanaaaaa |
| Alma mater | Goldsmiths, University of London |
| Occupation | Creative director |
| Spouse | |
Edward Kobina EnninfulOBE (born 22 February 1972) is a Ghanaian-born British editor and stylist who waseditor-in-chief ofBritishVogue and European editorial director ofCondé Nast.[1]
He was appointed fashion director of the British fashion magazinei-D[2] at the age of 18, a position he held for more than two decades. He was subsequently contributing fashion editor atVogue Italia[3] andAmericanVogue, as well as creative fashion director atW magazine. Enninful was appointed editor-in-chief of BritishVogue in 2017 and in 2023 was promoted to the position of global advisor to the international Vogues.[4] As of 2025 he is the founder and head of EE72 a global entertainment and media company.[5]
Edward Enninful was born in Ghana on 22 February 1972. He was the fifth of six children born toGhana Army officer Major Crosby Enninful.[6] In 1985, after acoup d'état which deposed PresidentIgnatius Kutu Acheampong, Enninful's family emigrated to England, settling down in the London neighbourhood ofLadbroke Grove.[7] His mother worked as a seamstress, and she inspired him with the vividly patterned colours and fabrics she used while creating clothing for her British-Ghanaian friends.[8]
At the age of 16, Enninful was spotted on a train by stylist Simon Foxton.[8] A few weeks later, he was shooting with Foxton at his house, along withNick Knight, the cofounder and photographer of bimonthly magazinei-D.[7] By the age of 17, he had been introduced toTerry Jones, another cofounder ofi-D, and soon began assisting the magazine's fashion director Beth Summers.[9] He finished college, earning a degree atGoldsmiths, University of London,[10] while juggling his modeling career[11] and assisting on shoots with Foxton and Summers. Summers left the magazine a few weeks after Enninful's 18th birthday, and Terry Jones gave Enninful the position.[12]
At the age of 18, Enninful's position as fashion director ati-D made him the youngest-ever fashion director for an international publication.[13] He quickly became known for his edgy elegance, which ultimately became his trademark. Much of his inspiration came from the streets: "We British have to customize our clothes, we have to be more creative, informing who you are—and I am still obsessed with the streets."[13]
For the March 2009 issue ofi-D Magazine, Enninful styled "The Best British" cover story by photographerSølve Sundsbø.[7] The issue printed 12 separate covers, each featuring one of twelve Britishsupermodels, includingJourdan Dunn,Kate Moss,Susie Bick,Naomi Campbell,Stella Tennant,Eliza Cummings,Alice Dellal,Daisy Lowe,Twiggy,Yasmin Le Bon,Lily Donaldson, andAgyness Deyn.[7]
In 1998, Enninful became a contributing editor to ItalianVogue.[14] According to Enninful, working with Vogue Italia editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani and photographer Steven Meisel helped him to mature as a stylist. "I always say that I was a London stylist but when I worked with Steven, I became a proper stylist."[15]
Among his achievements at ItalianVogue, one notable project that Enninful spearheaded was the production of its "Black Issue". The "Black Issue" featured only black models, includingNaomi Campbell,Jourdan Dunn andAlek Wek to showcase and celebrate black models and black women in the worlds of art, politics and entertainment.[16] He described his intention as ending the "white-out that dominates the catwalks and magazines". The issue was so successful that it sold out in the U.S. and U.K. within 72 hours,[17] leading Condé Nast to print an additional 40,000 copies.[18]
Enninful also styled the magazine's June 2011 cover editorial, "Belle Vere", which exclusively featured plus-sized models includingTara Lynn,Candice Huffine, andRobyn Lawley.[19]
In 2006, Enninful became contributing fashion editor for AmericanVogue.[13] He can be seen in the documentary "The September Issue".[13]
In 2011, Enninful became the style director atW, a high-end Condé Nast title that had struggled in the late 2000s.[20][21]
[22] Under Enninful's direction,W generated considerable attention for its editorials,[20] including the March 2012 cover shot by Steven Klein featuring Kate Moss depicted as a nun[23] as well as another cover featuring singer Nicki Minaj as an 18th-century French courtesan. For the magazine's November 2011 art issue, Enninful collaborated with Steven Meisel on a series of fake advertisements that ran throughout the magazine, including one that featured a drag queen contestant fromRuPaul's Drag Race named Carmen Carrera advertising a fictitious fragrance called La Femme.
Under Enninful's direction,W began to recover.[20] The magazine's ad pages went up 16.7 percent in the year to May 2012, from 388 to 453 pages, according to Media Industry Newsletter—the biggest year-on-year gain among fashion titles.[24] Editorial DirectorStefano Tonchi toldThe New York Times that Enninful was a big part of that success.[24]
Enninful was confirmed as the neweditor-in-chief ofBritishVogue on 10 April 2017, making him the first black editor-in-chief of the magazine.[25]Condé Nast International chairman and chief executive Jonathan Newhouse announced him as the successor toAlexandra Shulman, calling Enninful "an influential figure in the communities of fashion, Hollywood and music which shape the cultural zeitgeist", adding that "by virtue of his talent and experience, Edward is supremely prepared to assume the responsibility of BritishVogue".[25]
Since Enninful took the creative reins, he has reshaped a century-old publication and into a contemporary fashion platform that is more reflective of the current global audience. His efforts have led to a 51 percent increase in digital traffic since 2017[17] and attracted 140 new advertisers.[26] While other publications, including AmericanVogue, reduced frequency during the 2020 pandemic, BritishVogue remained financially stable and continued to produce 12 issues.[17]
For his first issue, Enninful made a bold statement of what the "New Vogue" would be like by featuring British mixed-race model and feminist activistAdwoa Aboah as the cover star. Covers since have featured the likes ofBeyoncé,Oprah Winfrey,Rihanna,Judi Dench (at 85, BritishVogue's oldest cover star),Madonna and soccer playerMarcus Rashford.[17] The September 2019 edition, which was guest-edited byMeghan, Duchess of Sussex, featured on the cover 15 female changemakers, includingGreta Thunberg andJane Fonda. The issue was a quick sell-out and, according to estimates provided byCondé Nast Britain, the release of the September cover in the first 24 hours alone, generated more than double the entire PR value of Enninful's previous successful September issue, featuring pop starRihanna.[20]
Under Enninful, BritishVogue has moved into political territory. In response to comments on immigrants in the United States by PresidentDonald Trump, Enninful created the moving video project I Am An Immigrant, gathering huge names from the worlds of fashion, music, and film to show the vital creative input of people who are immigrants in the US.[27]
For the September 2020 issue, Enninful commissionedMisan Harriman, the first Black male photographer to shoot a British Vogue cover in its 104-year history.[17] Enninful later enlisted Kennedi Carter, who became the youngest photographer in British Vogue's history to shoot a cover story for the magazine.[28]
Enninful champions diversity both on and off the pages of BritishVogue. Since Enninful took the helm, the team is 25 percent people of color.[17] To continue his efforts to bring more diversity to the editorial team, Enninful has reached out to local schools, cultivating the talent pool in digital media and trying to change presumptions about who is welcome at Vogue House.[29]
Along with his editorial work, Enninful has helped to shape the vision of numerous advertising campaigns and runway shows for many influential international fashion houses. To date, he has consulted forComme des Garçons,Christian Dior,Dolce and Gabbana,Celine,Lanvin,Mulberry,Giorgio Armani,Valentino,Jil Sander,Calvin Klein,Fendi,Alessandro Dell'Acqua,Gucci,Hugo Boss andMissoni,[30] among others.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Enninful's career, he collaborated withBeats by Dre andNick Knight (photographer) to create a limited-edition line of headphones with an accompanying video entitled "The Seven Deadly Sins of Edward Enninful".[31] The film featured 8supermodels –Kate Moss (lust),Naomi Campbell (pride),Karlie Kloss (greed),Lara Stone andAnna Ewers (gluttony), Maria Carla Boscono (sloth),Karen Elson (wrath) andJourdan Dunn (envy) and screened on theBeats by Dre billboard inTimes Square in 2016.
In 2017, Enninful made his directorial debut in a collaboration with the American brandGAP to celebrate diversity. Enninful enlisted a diverse cast spanning many industries, includingWiz Khalifa,Priyanka Chopra,Adwoa Aboah,Maria Borges,Christie Brinkley,Miles Chamley-Watson,Jonathan Groff andAlek Wek,[32] and featured the stars singing along to "Sunny" by Boney M. According toGAP the goal of the video, titled "Bridging the Gap", was "to show unity and individuality existing in tandem".[32]
On 22 February 2022, his 50th birthday, Enninful married his long-term partner Alec Maxwell atLongleat House in Wiltshire.[33]
Enninful's memoir,A Visible Man, was published in September 2022.[34] It was "Book of the Week" onBBC Radio 4, read by the author.[35]
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| Preceded by | Editor of BritishVogue 2017–present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
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