‘Size zero as the perfect size doesn’t exist anymore’, says British Vogue editor-in-chief

British Vogue editor-in-chief admits fashion industry isn’t perfect and is changing ‘slowly’

Edward Enninful during London Fashion Week in 2015 (Getty)

The fashion industry has made large strides towards inclusivity in recent years but, as British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful says, there’s still much to do.

Speaking on the River Cafe Table 4 podcast, Enninful, 49, said: “When you look at, at least, my Vogue anyway, everybody’s welcome. All shapes, all sizes, all colours.

“That strict thing of not being able to be a certain size, ‘being size zero is the perfect size,’ that doesn’t exist anymore.”

He said that the industry has come a long way from the stick-thin standards of the nineties.

He added: “There’s a misconception that fashion people don’t eat, but that’s not true.”

Enninful continued by saying that “even the idea of being a model has changed”. He said: “You can be short, you can be curvy, you can be disabled.”

During the podcast, Enninful admitted that while the fashion industry is “not perfect” and it’s changing “slowly”, the Black Lives Matter movement forced brands to take accountability and “hire people from diverse backgrounds behind the scenes”.

He continued: “Conversations that are being had now never would have been had about 10 years ago.”

Enninful began his role as editor-in-chief of British Vogue in 2017, taking over from Alexandra Shulman who led the magazine for 25 years prior.

In an interview with the FT last year, Enninful spoke of the diversification of the fashion industry. He said:  “It’s not enough putting an image on your Instagram feed, or showing a picture in a magazine or shoot. The infrastructure behind the scenes has to change.”