Edward Enninful, The First Male And Black Editor Of British Vogue, Quits Position
Edward Enninful, editor-in-chief of British Vogue, has announced his resignation from the position after six years, amid speculation that he and Dame Anna, editor-in-chief of Vogue worldwide, have a falling out.
The 51-year-old will take up a newly created role beginning next year as editorial advisor at British Vogue and global creator and cultural advisor to Vogue, aimed at growing the brand globally.
The new role was created by Enninful, US Vogue editor Dame Anna Wintour and Roger Lynch, chief executive of Conde Nast, the PA news agency has been told.
Enninful told staff in a memo that he had been in discussions with Dame Anna and Mr Lynch about how he can play a “broader role in enhancing Vogue globally.”
The memo read:
“I am excited to share that from next year I will be stepping into the newly appointed position of Editorial Advisor at British Vogue and Global Creative and Cultural Advisor, Vogue, where I will continue to contribute to the creative and cultural success of the Vogue brand globally whilst having the freedom to take on broader creative projects.
“To optimise my increased global responsibilities, and to give British Vogue the new focus it will deserve, we saw the opportunity to hire, in concert with our global editorial structure, a Head of Editorial Content for British Vogue.
“The position will partner very closely with you all and Anna, and will initially report to me until we have onboarded them.
“For now everything remains the same, and I’m so excited about what the future holds for us. I would like to thank Roger and Anna for their continued support.”
This comes amid rumours that there has been a power struggle between Mr Enninful and Vogue’s overall editor-in-chief Dame Anna ever since he took up his post in 2017 – which Vogue has denied.
Enninful, in a recent YouTube interview with “Life of a CEO,” spoke out about his identity as a gay man since childhood. He claims that his father made it clear that anyone he caught being gay in the house would have their throats slashed.
Under Mr. Enninful’s direction, British Vogue underwent significant changes, including the publication of its first transgender cover model. Timothee Chalamet, an Oscar-nominated actor, was the magazine’s first male cover star, while disability campaigner Sinead Burke was the first person with a visible impairment to appear on the cover.
Mr. Enninful, who was born in Ghana and was raised as a teenager in London, was employed by i-D magazine at the age of 18, making him the magazine’s youngest fashion director ever. In 2006, he started working as a contributing fashion editor for American Vogue. In 2011, he moved on to Conde Nast’s W magazine, and in 2017, he started working for British Vogue..
