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Edward Enninful: The fearless editor who became one of fashion’s most influential voices

Sean O’Grady looks at the trailblazing career of the ‘British Vogue’ editor – born in Ghana and raised in west London – who has set himself a mission to promote diversity, equality and respect

Sunday 09 August 2020 16:47 BST
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Enninful says has always felt ‘different’ as a black and gay man
Enninful says has always felt ‘different’ as a black and gay man

There is a school of thought, well represented in high government circles, that rejects the notion of “systemic racism” in British society. Instead, the argument runs, racism is very much a thing of the past. If you apply yourself, go out and take the opportunities available you can do well, even if you’re not from a traditionally privileged background. You can get to be home secretary or chancellor of the exchequer.

Or, indeed, editor-in-chief of British Vogue, as Edward Enninful, appointed in 2017, born in Ghana in 1972, and who emigrated to Britain in 1985, well demonstrates. (The family got out when they found themselves on the wrong side of one of Ghana’s frequent coups d’etat – political refugees, asylum seekers, as it happens). Yet while Enninful fits the ideal set by the likes of Munira Mirza and Priti Patel, he’s in no doubt about the endemic racism that wrecks the lives of others – and still touches his.

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