This is not the time to Tiptoeing. ‘As British Vogue Edward Enninful shake the world of fashion

This is not the time to Tiptoeing. ‘As British Vogue Edward Enninful shake the world of fashion

August 2020 saw the Soca does not float along the West London Ladbroke Grove slide. No pink feathered wings and giant plumes of headgear. The Notting Hill Carnival as canceled for all public events in late COVID Lockdown, choked the streets nor spare, nor the air with pain. No curry goat and jerk pan smoke rose over the city trees. And the music, the large current band of the Caribbean islands of Black Britain, Africa and America, did not insist on the foundations of neighborhood terraces to make them tremble. All this would have been a normal summer for Edward Enninful while growing up in the area in 1980. His mother grace the window of her sewing room could look at his house right on the carnival route and see some manifestation of Trinidad go through, or a reggae crew, wrapped in amazing bikini sculptures and shiny stockings. Edward, six brothers, would stay late and bring it in, everything was what a sound and show that for decades the triumphant annual event of cultural and racial diversity of Londoneren. It ‘was this world that feeds his creativity and shape the vision has helped in the British Vogue pages brought appointed from 2017 editor of “I was always othered,” says Enninful in a nostalgic walk through the Ladbroke Grove streets, a much gentrified nor bohemian part of London, where he moved with his family from Ghana at the age of 13, “you know, gay, the working class, black. So for me it was very important to normalize the limit crowded with Vogue, because if you do not see it, do not you think it’s normal. “Today is Enninful the strongest black man sitting in his field, to the crossroads of fashion and the media, two fields through a long delay change and to form scrambling for years of negligence and misconduct. As the only white Magazine editor, most influential publications of the global multi-billion dollar fashion industry, it was tipped to succeed Anna Wintour in the history ever to head each of the 26 Vogue, the iconic editor of American Vogue and artistic director for Condé Nast. The company advertising market sailed private smashed on a beautiful 19-step COVID pandemic, public controversy over the representation both in the offices and on the sides. Enninful vision for British Vogue comes at a critical time for the international publication. “I wanted to reflect what I have seen here I grow incredibly rich world of this, instead cultured to display. I wanted to be able to find in the magazine every woman” He chose the British model Adwoa Aboah out its first edition in 2017. “If other steps have, Edward enormous progress made, the importance of our visibility and entertainment stories, “he says. Covers are presented for the likes of Oprah Winfrey likes, Rihanna, Judi Dench (at 85, the oldest of the British Vogue cover star), Madonna with the footballer Marco Rashford, photographed for the September of this year of Misan in Harriman shoot the first black male photographer is a British Vogue has revealed in its 104-year history. While other publications have included the American Vogue, the frequency is reduced during the pandemic, British Vogue has remained financially stable and even 12 large expense in 2020. Under Enninful, British Vogue by a white-run turned blind man in a civilized gloss has diversified production and inclusive point of the fashion platform, shaking up the images to follow the simultaneous pain. His presence on the shelf varies more substance, more political and perhaps partly because of it, the shelf as a whole is different. No search of himself more traditional black women are vain visions. Now we are everywhere in my position, my corner store, and it’s actually not that hard; It took a black man was to give a little ‘power to give someone a gift, a voice and a view from the edge of a seat at the table. “My darkness has never been an obstacle for me,” says Enninful. However it is not a stranger in the abuse passage of systemic racism. On a Wednesday in mid-July, during the London headquarters entry of British Vogue, it was racially profiled by a security guard who told him to enter through the loading dock instead. “Just because our periods and weekends back to normal, we can not let the world back as it was,” he tweeted. This summer, in the wake of the global black lives matter protest the killing of George Floyd have solved a seismic guide to industries for checking to see who is doing what and who is not doing enough to bring real change in equality and representation. “My problem is that there are a lot of virtues signals to go,” he says. “But everyone feels now, and we must take advantage of this. This is not the time to Tiptoeing.” We meet at Ladbroke Grove in a late summer afternoon. If an interview with executives expect a historical bible of luxury fashion, tempting as thoughts below on your shoe collection Nissan or Clark or your latest unlatest to have something, but Enninful, 48, is modest, arriving in a dress navy blue loose, pale shirt and blue tones, the only tribute to his sartorial empire that no socks with his shoes. He is warm and relaxed, wearing the inclination narrow shoulders of the worker during his life; He gets up at 5:00 most days before work to meditate. These days he lives at Lancaster Gate, in the posher of Ladbroke Grove, with its long-standing Alec Maxwell director partner and his Boston Terrier, Ru Enninful, which has its own Instagram and walk was the day of a grace saving in Confinement. But the London Underground, where he started traveling Enninful fashionable, a day on the train in a pair of torn blue jeans when he was discovered by fashion designer Simon Foxton British as a possible model for i-D, the avant-garde fashion magazine. Being only 16, a shy, protected child who grew up in a Ghanaian police station and less than four years in the UK, of course, had to ask her mother. Although her own clothes fanatic, a professional seamstress and adjust rifler (Edward) through the markets of Portobello and Brixton for substances was attentive style grace hedonistic whirl of London, the enormity of the new country, and are reluctant to her son release in the mouth. You are welcome. Li wore down. “I knew I could not just from this walk that something special away from it was” never had the talent for modeling had, he says with characteristic humility. “I was terrible. I hated the castings, objectify everything. But I loved the process and art of creating an image.” It soon moved to the other side of the lens, the image of support sprouts installation and concepts and narratives, a particular approach to this pretty styling impressed ID him as the youngest fashion director only rented to 18, a position he held for the next 20 years. Without the courtesy designer clothes after hand, you would adjust fetzte, dyeing and bargain for the right look, skills Developed at home in the sewing room. “I realized that I could say a lot with fashion,” he says, “it’s not just clothes, but a story to tell time, we might have about people’s experiences in life. And the freedom to portray the world as you see it. “what was innate Enninful-this mix of professional creativity with the perception of difference than normal, as the subject and the audience was relatively unique in an industry dominated by white colonial notions of beauty and Mainstream dominated. Somali supermodel Iman Legendary recalls a shoot 2014 W Magazine in which she, Naomi Campbell and Rihanna were expressed by Enninful, the then director of publishing style, Balmain wear, designed by Olivier Rousteing. “So Edward, no one appeared in traditional fashion magazines a portrait only three black women would be imported, and others, who wore clothing from a person of color to the mass,” he says. “It ‘an editor appointment and a reformer at heart, forced to sadly needed to advance social change.” He shows me his various old haunts and homes, to the top floor studio where he used tooth styling haul bags up the stairs, the Lisboa and O’Porto streets coffee Golborne or “Little Morocco,” he -Where seat would spend hours chewing the fat with people like make-up artist Pat McGrath, Kate Moss, Nick Kamen and photographer David Sims. Name-drops fall from the lips of how insignificant diamond designers, photographers, celebrities but sailed his dominion in a seemingly unusual way among the goalkeepers way. Winfrey says of him: “I never with the people in this world anyone who has been in all of my relationships experienced more kind and generous spirit. I mean, it just does not happen.” You shoot for the August 2018 British Vogue left cover Winfrey feeling “Empress-like”, and she attributes his understanding to be black female beauty was raised by a black mother. “Edward understands that images are politically to say who and what counts,” he adds. Enninful Father Crosby, one of the key was the Ghanaian army, part of UN operations in Lebanon, Egypt, and had thought his bright, hardworking son would eventually grow out of her fascination with clothes and a lawyer. But it would have been three months in a degree of English Literature at Goldsmiths College, University of London, studied Hardy, Austen and the usual classics, they may think to be a writer, or even a Enninful lawyer quit the position to take on i-D. His father does not speak with him for about 15 years, in the next century to Grace he suffered a stroke and went into a long illness. “Now that I’m older, I realize that he just wanted to protect us. He came to understand that I follow my heart and to forge my way” writes his parents for his strong work ethically “where you instilled by a very early age of blacks parents to work twice as hard to have “, and his Ghanaian heritage for his eye for color. His approach to fashion as a narrative is the “Children’s would like to play with my mother” to create characters for clothes, styling. “I can not just clothes from the runway shootout,” he says. “There must always be a sign, and the character has an inner life.” For three years before the death of Grace, her father lived only on the Grand Union Canal and is very proud of his son, and in particular the Order of the British Empire lent of Queen Elizabeth II in 2016 for his services to the diversity in fashion. The queen is the way the top of the list of dreams Enninful Vogue cover. British Vogue Enninful inherited from the former chief editor Alexandra Shulman three years ago was very different from today’s game. During his 25 years in office, only 12 cover 306 present black women, and left a work force almost completely white. Now publishers are 25% people of color-is “I needed some lieutenants in place,” he says, and the like are called shuffling more than Condé Nast in New York. Enninful is reluctant Shulman “is their time, I mean I represented” as fogging further, arguing and the decline in the comments headquarters of the United States. Enninful increase is particularly useful for people such as Andre Leon Talley, a former editor at large of American Vogue, where she worked as an editor Enninful. Talley describes the new British Vogue as “extraordinary” and rejoiced at Enninful appointment. “Speak to the unsung heroes, especially outside of the privileged white world Vogue originally represented. He has changed, it should be for a fashion magazine.” “I’m a janitor,” says Enninful his role in the house electric in a nice club niche bars sit. “There was Vogue before I came, and it will still exist when I go, but I knew I had to go there and do what I really believed. And ‘our responsibility as a narrator or carrier image to try to destroy the status quo.” Ironically but he does not see himself as an activist, but as someone who is not afraid to solve political problems and educate others, while remaining fixed inside the Vogue lens. “They said that black girls do not sell on the cover,” he says. “People thought, diversity of low market, but we have shown that it is only good for business.” Digital Traffic 51% of British Vogue hired by Enninful. Previously change the theme Black 2008 Vogue Italy, the only pre-black models and black women and sold in the United States and in the British patent in just 72 hours. Since the incident with the security guard in July-the Enninful was revealed not isolated and had previously done (the perpetrators, a third employee was dismissed from the office) -building diversity of employees and recording training were added. Enninful would like financial support in place facilities for management of the center to see “because sometimes we forget that the culture of a place does not mean that you can go from one student to the top.” In 2013, he tweeted, were laid while his white colleagues on another incident in which he was sitting in the second row in a high fashion show in Paris. “I did racially profile all the time,” he says, is soon stopped again for his first experience of walking and wanted as a teenager, “petrified” on him. “When I was younger, I would have been violated and withdrawn, but now I’m going to let you know that this is not OK, people tend to think that if you are successful, but avoided, but it can happen every day, The difference now I have to talk to the platform and show it off. the only way to systemic racism is broken, you do it together. “Activism, intrinsic. Fashion is altruism, as much as the history and crafts, as much as the desire to capture the beauty. For Enninful, there is no limit to the possible radicalism through his line of work. Instead of the moral fiber of the message that appears unattainable elements obscure style (the £ 350 £ 2,275 cubic zirconia ring jacket) to think the invitation is open to view, style instead goes to him, maybe even invite you to something similar within the limits of reality, brutal, less accumulation increases existence. “Luxury easily recognizable”, he calls it, and although it is hard to imagine exactly how it could cause a jacket £ 2,275, without its customization abilities, and magical thinking, I am inclined to accept the idea, in part because I see soul singer Celeste they believe in a dress £ 1,450 in the September and I could try. Everything is possible. “I still feel like I’m on top,” he says with palpable optimism. “I feel the fire of something new” Cady Long / New York and Madeleine Roache / London Evans is the author of ordinary people -With reporting that miracles and 26a Cover: Styling: Susan Bender; Suit, sweaters, shoes Burberry
Photo copyright Addy Campbell for TIME