Powerful Media’s annual list of winners has announced Edward Enninful, the outgoing British Vogue Editor-in-Chief and European Editorial Director of Vogue, as the most influential Black person in the UK.
The 51-year-old described it as an honour to be number one on the list, which he said “shines a light on Black people really breaking boundaries, who are unafraid and champion what it means to be truly diverse in their own industries”.
The Powerlist recognises people across industries including business, science, technology and the arts and celebrates people of African, African Caribbean and African American heritage.
The Ghanaian-born fashion journalist announced his departure from Vogue back in June, as he will take on the new position of Editorial Advisor of British Vogue and Global Creative and Cultural Advisor of Vogue.
He was the first man and first Black person to hold the position of Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue, taking on the position in 2017 replacing Alexandra Shulman.
Throughout his tenureship, Enninful has continued to advocate and represent the LGBTQIA+ community on the pages of mass media. In 2022, he published a Vogue issue to mark 50 years of London’s Pride Festival, saying: “Let me be clear: at Vogue we want to celebrate this community, to thank and to listen to them.”
The cover featured 12 change-makers in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community including Ariana DeBose, Aweng Chuol, Cara Delevingne, Cameron Lee Phan, Cynthia Erivo, Jordan Barrett, Kai-Isaiah Jamal, Gottmik, Munroe Bergdorf, Nathan Westling, Sheerah Ravindren and Valentina Sampaio.
At the time Enninful took to Instagram and said: “This summer marks 50 years since the first official #Pride march in London. What a journey those decades have been.
“As a gay man who has lived in the UK for much of this period in history, in many respects I feel enormously lucky: lucky to have seen the gathering of more rights; lucky to have witnessed the increased normalisation of personal identities, of desires, of lives.
“Earlier this year, I felt especially lucky, on my own 50th birthday, to have married my husband, Alec, surrounded by family and friends. Love, it turns out, can win.”
View this post on Instagram
Edward, who was awarded an OBE in 2016, received the BSME Editors’ Editor of the Year Award in 2021, in recognition of extraordinary individuals for their dedication and outstanding editorial contribution to magazines.
Latest
