Edward Enninful
“I can tell you, without diversity, creativity remains stagnant.”
Who Am I?
Edward Kobina Enninful OBE was born in Ghana in 1972. Following political unrest in his country in 1985, his family emigrated to England. Growing up, he wanted to become a lawyer and set his sights on doing well at university. His mother was a seamstress who sewed amazingly vivid and patterned clothing for her friends, and her creations greatly inspired Edward.
His fashion career started when he was only 16, following an encounter with stylist Simon Foxton on a train. This led to Edward starting to work as a model, taking on photography projects for magazines.
What Am I Known For?
He worked extremely hard, and by 17, Edward was assisting i-D Magazine’s Fashion Director alongside studying for a degree at Goldsmiths University of London. A year later, he became the Fashion Director himself – the youngest ever of an international magazine, aged only 18!
Since then, Edward has gone from strength to strength as a key figure and influencer in the fashion industry. Using his creativity, he successfully revived W-Magazine following its struggles in the late 2000s.
In 2017, he became the first Black editor at British Vogue, where he created a “Black Issue”, featuring only Black models like Naomi Campbell, Jourdan Dunn, and Alek Wek, to celebrate and showcase Black women in art, politics, and entertainment.
As Editor-In-Chief, he championed inclusion and diversity, believing that the key to effectively engaging is by supporting and investing in the next generation of diverse talent.
How About You?
Edward Enninful used creativity to help transform a failing magazine. How have you used creativity in a project?
Edward Enninful used perseverance to rise up through the fashion industry. What have you used perseverance to achieve?
Other Amazing People (you can find them on the website)
Check out Coco Chanel, whose creativity led to her starting an iconic fashion brand. Her story can be found on our website.
Other Useful Resources (available on the website)
If you are interested in exploring other inspirational Black people from the UK, please check out our Amazing Black Britons resource.
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Image courtesy of @edward_enninful via Instagram