Chioma Nnadi at Vogue: All hail the era of the Black female fashion editor

A 73-year-old white woman may still call the shots at Vogue but the appointment this week of Chioma Nnadi as the British edition’s new editor underlines a significant vibe shift in fashion, writes Melanie Rickey

Left to right: Andrea Thompson, Nikki Ogunnaike, Chioma Nnadi, Samira Nasra and Kenya Hunt (iStock/Getty)

As news of her appointment as the lead at British Vogue made headlines, Chioma Nnadi was in New York, hosting a podcast on Vogue.com, the site she currently edits, in her typically relatable style.

“It’s surreal,” the 44-year-old Londoner says of her new job on The Run-Through podcast. “One headline said ‘The Devil Wears Sambas’ and I do,” she says, referring to the iconic Adidas sneaker that is part of her fashion uniform. “Today I’m wearing a vintage Comme des Garcons top I bought on The Real Real. I’ve always loved vintage. I still love going to Portobello [market] on a Friday when I’m in London. I haven’t lived there in 20 years. It will be like discovering it anew.”

Nnadi, who moves back to London to begin her job on 9 October and has admitted she’ll be staying with family until she finds a more permanent base, is picking up the reins from editor-in-chief Edward Enninful, 51, who exits in January 2024 after wrapping up his March edition. However, in a confusing twist, Nnadi’s new role is not editor-in-chief, rather it is the altogether more down-to-earth position of “head of editorial content”.