Almost two months after announcing that he would step down from his role as editor-in-chief of British Vogue next year, Edward Enninful has confirmed that the March 2024 issue, which will come out in February, will be his last.
Enninful made the announcement on Instagram, saying: “With just seven issues left at @BritishVogue, I would love to know which issue was your favourite. March 2024 is my last @BritishVogue as EIC so set your clocks. With my final issues I’m in planning mode for sure with lots on my mind. The power of brilliant global change makers! The unbeatable creativity of the UK! And above all FASHION! More than anything, I am just so excited for what is still to come in the next seven months.”
Enninful may be leaving his current position, but he will stay on at Condé Nast, where he has worked in one guise or another for 25 years, to become Vogue’s global creative and cultural adviser and editorial adviser at British Vogue.
When he first announced he would be leaving, he reportedly told staff that his new position meant he would “continue to contribute to the creative and cultural success of the Vogue brand globally while having the freedom to take on broader creative projects”. A successor has not yet been named.
Enninful has been at the helm of British Vogue since 2017, when he took over from Alexandra Shulman and brought in supermodels Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell and film director Steve McQueen as contributing editors. His appointment made him the first man, and the first black editor, to hold the title. In December 2020 he was promoted to European editorial director of Vogue. He is a former model and was a contributing editor at US, Japanese and Italian Vogue, and creative and fashion director at W magazine.
During his time, he has worked with the Duchess of Sussex on a guest-edited issue of the magazine, secured a rare interview with Beyoncé and featured Rihanna, A$AP Rocky and their baby son on the cover – probably the first time a nappy has ever had such a prime spot. His cover stars have included big names in pop culture, such as Zendaya, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa, as well as supermodels Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Iman.
Enninful has made representation a key tenet of his time at British Vogue by giving the cover to activists ranging from Marcus Rashford to Prof Angela Davis and Reni Eddo Lodge. In May of this year he put what was described as “a new vanguard of disabled talent”, including the CEO of the accessibility consultancy Tilting the Lens, Sinéad Burke, on the cover of an issue for which Vogue published its first ever braille edition. For the June 2020 issue, Enninful put Judi Dench on the cover, making her Vogue’s oldest cover star at 85 years old.
He was awarded an OBE for services to diversity in fashion in 2016 and has previously said that diversity should be a “continuous conversation” and “shouldn’t even be an issue as far as I’m concerned. Beauty’s beauty.”
His promotion puts him in prime place to replace Anna Wintour when she vacates her position as the editor of American Vogue, a spot she has held since 1988.
