British Vogue’s first male and black editor LEAVING his role

British Vogue’s editor-in-chief Edward Enninful has announced he is leaving his role, amid rumours of a rift with Anna Wintour.

The 51-year-old, who is the first male and first black editor of British Vogue, told magazine staff yesterday that he will be taking on a new global role at publisher Conde Nast.

It comes amid rumours that there has been a power struggle between Mr Enninful and Vogue’s overall editor-in-chief Dame Anna ever since he took up his post in 2017 – which Vogue has denied.

In an internal email sent yesterday, he said: ‘I am excited to share that from next year I will be stepping into the newly appointed position of editorial advisor of British Vogue and global creative and cultural advisor of Vogue.’

Mr Enninful made radical changes to British Vogue and under his control the magazine featured its first transgender cover model.

Mr Enninful (pictured with Meghan), 51, will be taking on a new global role at the publisher Conde Nast

He also oversaw the magazine’s first male cover star – Oscar-nominated actor Timothee Chalamet, while disability activist Sinead Burke became the first visibly disabled person on the cover.

But there has been widespread speculation since Mr Enninful took up the editorship in 2017 that he would soon come to replace Dame Anna as Vogue’s overarching editor-in-chief.

Known as ‘Nuclear Wintour’, she has built a reputation for being a fearsome and demanding titan of the industry. Insiders at Vogue have described Mr Enninful as the only ‘real threat’ to her power. Rumours circulated that the pair ‘don’t talk’, with a source in 2018 telling Femail: ‘I don’t think she ever felt he was qualified for that role.

‘After all that’s gone on the animosity between them is growing.’ 

Tonight a Conde Nast spokesman told the Mail that Mr Enninful’s role is ‘expanding’ and will carry increased global responsibilities with Vogue, and is not a result of any rift between him and Dame Anna.

They described any speculation of such a rift as ‘unfounded’ and ‘inaccurate’.

Born in Ghana and raised as a teenager in London, Mr Enninful became the youngest-ever fashion director of an international publication when he was hired by i-D magazine aged just 18.

He became a contributing fashion editor for American Vogue in 2006 before moving on to Conde Nast’s W magazine in 2011 and finally British Vogue in 2017. 

A Conde Nast source said Mr Enninful’s new role ‘increased’ his responsibilities and is a ‘continuation of his long-standing relationship with Conde Nast, which stems over 25 years’.

‘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.’