Appointed in 2017, Enninful made history being the first male and black gay editor of the magazine. When taking on the role he set out with hopes to increase diversity and equality across the publication – something which former editor Alexandra Shulman was criticised for lacking. The fashion industry has never been the most diverse arena, something which it is still battling, and this was an area that the new editor did not shy away from. During his time as Editor-in-Chief, more than half of the women included on his covers have been women of colour.
153 cover stars later, Enninful made sure women were at the forefront of his final cover – which consisted of 40 women who had graced the cover during his reign. Some of the stars included Serena Williams, Gigi Hadid, Oprah Winfrey and Dua Lipa. The question on everyone’s mind was how did they manage to get these 40 women all available on the same day and time to organise this shoot.
The selection was made up of women who had all appeared on past covers created by Enninful – who he referred to as legends. It also included model Adwoa Aboah, who was the first woman to grace one of his covers. Touching upon this cover and history he stated, “Women have shaped British Vogue for 108 years now, and have certainly informed every moment of my six and a half year tenure here”.
Many covers by Enninful have stemmed from the desire for inclusivity within the magazine. Laverne Cox, who stars on this legendary cover, made her first appearance on a 2019 issue as the first transgender person to grace British Vogue.
In 2023, an edition titled ‘Reframing Fashion’ centred around 19 individuals with disabilities from various backgrounds. This included Aaron Rose Philip who was the first black and transgender woman who had a physical disability to gain a modelling contract. He told the BBC “people forget how hard it is for the disabled community”, as it was revealed advertisements from fashion brands were turned down as they did not align with the inclusivity standards which were set.
The 2020 July pandemic issues also featured three 3 key workers including a supermarket worker. Enninful projected the importance of having three women who were making sacrifices in the middle of the pandemic, with “The New Front Line” being a heading.
This was followed by an activism focused September issue which featured multiple activists and was fronted by Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford and Adwoa Aboah. Enninful referred to this issue, saying the voices of those fighting for “systemic racism, disability discrimination and domestic abuse, gender inequality and the climate crisis” needed to be amplified in the weeks following the murder of George Floyd.
One of his most popular covers was in collaboration with Megan Markle, for the September 2019 issue the two collaborated to bring a “Forces for Change” issue featuring 15 women. The issue which became widely popular reportedly sold out within 2 weeks.
There is no doubt that Enninful brought fresh energy and creativity when it came to British Vogue and amplified the diversity across the publication. This is something in which he hopes continues and will implement the same mindset in his new role as he becomes the global creative and cultural advisor of Vogue.
Chioma Nnadi is set to take over the editor role, as the first black woman to edit the magazine.