Edward Enninful Warns Fashion Industry Is Reverting on Diversity
Former British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful has cautioned that the fashion industry is slipping back into old beauty standards, prioritising thinness and Eurocentric ideals while sidelining diversity.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Radical with Amol Rajan during London Fashion Week, Enninful said the rise of “anti-woke” sentiment is fuelling this regression. “I think we’re potentially going back to an industry where one type is the norm — being European, being super-thin,” he noted.
Enninful, who left British Vogue in 2023 after six years, has since launched EE72, a new inclusive media platform named after his birth year. Its debut print issue celebrates women over 50, featuring Julia Roberts, 57, on the cover. The project, he explained, aims to highlight beauty that is often overlooked.
Industry watchdogs have recently warned of a resurgence in the “super-skinny” trend after several adverts were banned for using models deemed unhealthily thin. Enninful described fashion as “an industry in flux” but said this was the right time to return with a platform dedicated to inclusivity.
Reflecting on his Vogue years, he dismissed rumours of a rift with American Vogue’s Dame Anna Wintour, saying their relationship remains supportive. He explained that leaving was his decision and that Wintour encouraged his move towards building something new.
Enninful also weighed in on the controversy surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s jeans campaign for American Eagle, which some critics accused of promoting a racially exclusive beauty standard. He felt the backlash was exaggerated but acknowledged how cultural divisions make such ads polarising.
Born in Ghana and raised in the UK after seeking asylum, Enninful became the first Black editor-in-chief of British Vogue, where he championed diversity and representation. Today, he insists fashion must decide what it truly stands for: “It’s not woke to think that someone curvy is beautiful, or that someone from another country is beautiful.”