Edward Enninful warns fashion is sliding into anti-diversity as ‘being super-thin is the norm’

Highlights:

• Former British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful says “anti-woke” rhetoric is influencing fashion.
  
• He warns the industry is reverting to European and super-thin beauty standards.
  
• Enninful has launched a new inclusive media venture, EE72, with Julia Roberts on its debut cover.
  
• He dismisses rumours of a fallout with Anna Wintour, saying she supported his departure from Vogue.
  
• He also commented on recent advertising controversies, including Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle campaign.
  

Fashion industry ‘in flux’

Edward Enninful, the former editor-in-chief of British Vogue, has warned that fashion risks going backwards on diversity, with super-thin and European looks once again dominating as the beauty norm.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Radical with Amol Rajan during London Fashion Week, he said that “anti-woke” and anti-diversity sentiment was “having a moment.”

“I think we’re potentially going back to an industry that’s just sort of, ‘one type is the norm, being European is the norm, being super-thin is the norm’,” he said.

Launch of EE72

Enninful, who left British Vogue in 2023, has launched a new media platform called EE72, describing it as “inclusive.” Its first quarterly print edition highlights the beauty of women over 50 and features Julia Roberts, 57, on the cover.

The title takes its name from Enninful’s year of birth, 1972. He said he felt it was “the perfect time” to return to the industry, which he described as “in flux” and still facing “a lot of work to be done.”

Champion of diversity

Born in Ghana, Enninful came to London as an asylum seeker. He became fashion director of i-D magazine at 18 before being appointed as the first Black editor-in-chief of British Vogue. He used the role to champion broader representation, saying he wanted to reflect “the world we live in today.”

Asked if he believed an “anti-woke moment” was taking place, he agreed, saying: “Woke is a dirty word. We see what’s happening in the world politically. So anything that’s not deemed as normal or the norm is seen as wrong.”

Departure from Vogue

Enninful also addressed speculation about his relationship with Dame Anna Wintour, who is stepping down as editor-in-chief of American Vogue after 37 years.

He dismissed claims of a falling out, explaining: “When I took the job, I gave myself five years and I did six. Anna asked me to give them a year’s notice so they could find my replacement, who turned out to be Chioma Nnadi. So it was my decision to leave.”

He said Wintour had been “very supportive,” adding: “Anna and I, we text each other all the time. You’re going to see us together.”

Advertising controversy

Enninful also gave his view on a recent American Eagle campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, where the strapline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” drew criticism.

Some suggested the wordplay implied a racially exclusive beauty standard, while others said the outrage was exaggerated. Enninful commented: “I thought people really read into it probably deeper than I would have… But then on the other hand, I guess if you have a blonde woman sitting there talking about her jeans, it will trigger some people.”

He concluded that the reaction reflected how “the population is quite divided.”