Edward Enninful has stepped down from his role of editor-in-chief at British Vogue.
The 51-year-old had held the role for six years and had , including a Braille edition for people with sight loss, and from Selma Blair to Sinéad Burke.
Now the revered editor is to take up a newly-created role as editorial advisor at British Vogue, and global creator and .
The role, seemingly created just for Edward, will begin next year, after being launched by the Vogue editor Dame Anna Wintour, and chief executive of Conde Nast Roger Lynch.
Edward confirmed the news to staff this week in a memo, where he said he was ‘excited’ to be ‘stepping into the newly appointed position of Editorial Advisor at British Vogue and Global Creative and Cultural Advisor, Vogue, where I will continue to contribute to the creative and cultural success of the Vogue brand globally whilst having the freedom to take on broader creative projects.
‘To optimise my increased global responsibilities, and to give British Vogue the new focus it will deserve, we saw the opportunity to hire, in concert with our global editorial structure, a Head of Editorial Content for British Vogue.
‘The position will partner very closely with you all and Anna, and will initially report to me until we have onboarded them,’ the memo, seen by PA, said.
He went on: ‘For now everything remains the same, and I’m so excited about what the future holds for us. I would like to thank Roger and Anna for their continued support.’
Ghanian-British Edward took over as editor-in-chief in August 2017, and in doing so became the first Black man to hold the top position at the magazine.
He went on to be promoted in December 2020 and became the European editorial director of Vogue.
In April, British Vogue made history by including iconic disabled models on the cover, which inside showcased 19who are, from fashion, sport, the arts, and activism, representing some of the 16 million disabled people living in the United Kingdom.
As said, the issue ‘highlights how the fashion industry can be more inclusive, and adapt to better support the Disabled community’.
Edward himself said within the issue that it was ‘was a necessary and overdue education for all – and taught us many lessons we will carry forward into the future.’
Last year British Vogue made history in a different way after it honoured Queen Elizabeth II with her first ever cover.
To celebrate the monarch’s Platinum Jubilee, the magazine released a special issue that featured an image from the early years of her reign wearing a crown and necklace.
