(London) This cover could be one of those that remains in the memory: for its last edition of Vogue British, Edward Enninful, who installed diversity in the fashion bible, brought together forty celebrities for a photo ranging from Dua Lipa to Oprah Winfrey.
Edward Enninful didn’t want to choose just one woman for his latest cover. “We needed a group”, the “power of the collective”, illustrating “a bold period in the history” of the magazine, writes the British of Ghanaian origin, editor-in-chief of the magazine since 2017.
So he called some of the most famous women in the world, models, sportswomen, actresses, singers, whom he had already posed for on the front page. He held his breath for weeks: “Would 40 of the most in-demand women on the planet walk into a studio in New York one day in December to take a photo together? »
PHOTO TAKEN FROM THE VOGUE SITE
The result hits newsstands in a few days, just in time for the opening of London Fashion Week, but has already taken over social media.
We are far from the covers with young, skinny, white women, who have dominated fashion for so long and therefore Vogue.
In the photo by Steven Meisel, the American presenter Oprah Winfrey takes a central position. Very close to her is the actress Jane Fonda, the tennis player Serena Williams, the ex-Spice Girls who became essential in fashion Victoria Beckham. Pop stars Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa also responded. Cindy Crawford poses not far from her daughter Kaia Gerber, as do Kate Moss and Lila Moss.
Naomi Campbell is there too. Just like Adwoa Aboah, also a black model, who appeared on the first cover of Vogue after the arrival of Edward Enninful, or even Laverne Cox, the first trans person to pose on the front page of the magazine.
“All Black”
In seven years, Edward Enninful has changed profoundly Vogue, giving such prestigious headlines to people who could not have imagined being there a few years earlier. Sinéad Burke, for example, was the first short person to appear on the cover.
Posing black models has become normal.
Covers with non-white people have “long been seen as a risk of commercial failure (this magazine was a major culprit in fact),” points out Edward Enninful. “This is so ridiculous,” I thought. And so we proved it.”
For his longtime friend Naomi Campbell, Edward Enninful “showed that fashion is more than clothes.” “It is a powerful tool to change society,” wrote the ex-top model in the Daily Telegraph.
Edward Enninful became the first editor-in-chief of Vogue man, black and homosexual.
The previous year, he had already been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), for his contribution to diversity in the fashion industry.
In 2008, he launched an “All black” issue for the Italian edition of Vogue.
He also collaborated on a short protest film against the controversial anti-immigration decree of American President Donald Trump, entitled I am an immigrant (I am an immigrant), featuring 81 fashion personalities.
Edward Enninful was not spared from criticism, accused in particular of misappropriating Vogue of its initial mission. It was also reported that he was at odds with the high priestess of the community Anna Wintour, at the head of Vogue and one of the managers of the Condé Nast group.
But they will continue to work together: Edward Enninful has been appointed global creative and cultural advisor for Vogue and Condé Nast, where he promised to “ensure that the explosion of energy of recent years continues.”
At the head of Vogue British succeeds Chioma Nnadi, who thus becomes the first black woman to direct the prestigious magazine.