British Vogue‘s editor-in-chief Edward Enninful is leaving his role to take on a broader remit influencing the international Vogue brand.
Enninful appeared to indicate the editor-in-chief title at British Vogue is being abolished with his departure. The role will allow the outgoing editor to take on commitments outside of the Condé Nast stable.
In a memo to Vogue’s European editorial chiefs, Enninful said that from next year he will take on the new position of editorial advisor of British Vogue and global creative and cultural advisor of Vogue.
He said he “will continue to contribute to the creative and cultural success of the Vogue brand globally while 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 [Wintour], and will initially report to me until we have onboarded them.”
Condé Nast introduced a global content strategy at Vogue, GQ, Conde Nast Traveller, Wired and Architectural Digest in 2021, meaning many of the brands now have one international editorial leader overseeing their various editions.
Enninful became editor-in-chief of British Vogue in 2017, the first man or black person to do so. He additionally became European editorial director at the end of 2020.
Until this move, Enninful’s trajectory had in many ways tracked with that of fellow Brit Wintour, something that was widely noted in fashion and media circles and made Enninful a favourite to be the next editor of Vogue in the US.
But this new role, with its emphasis on Enninful’s ability to pursue “outside interests”, per the Vogue Business article that broke the news, may end the symmetry. Wintour – who has shown no intention of departing the editor’s chair any time soon – took over Vogue in the US immediately after her two years editing British Vogue.
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