Edward Enninful Departing British Vogue as EIC, Promoted to New Global Role within Condé Nast

[caioherrero]

Exactly! So sick of the constant inclusion of world politics being shoved down our throats..which has no business in fashion magazines.

I don’t think so. He was fired guys, this is not a promotion…

 

[fenty]

all these roles for what?! Bring back the EIC role

 

[Lola701]

all these roles for what?! Bring back the EIC role

For EIC to comeback, we may need more people buying magazines.

Unfortunately, cost have to be cut. Today people requires more content, more engagement and the titles have to follow. There’s an appetite for magazines and definitely an engagement through social media that doesn’t translate in sales.

Give it to Edward! He has made the most of his position at UK Vogue and marketed his story to his advantage.
And he probably put everything in the table to acquire this pompous new job. He will serve the Vogue brand perfectly with a huge salary compared to the actual responsibilities he will hold and at the same time continue to work as a consultant HYPER LUXE for the top brands in the game.

That’s how you do it in the perfect world of corporation.

 

[A.D.C.]

I'm going to assume that he had a five year contract which had come up for renegotiation. Conde probably offered to renew it at a pay cut and Edward didn't accept. He knows the Vogue brand is his "value" however so they came up with this solution instead.

 

[tigerrouge]

Whatever moves are being made on the chessboard, it's unlikely to improve the magazine that arrives at my door every month.

Although I wouldn't be surprised if the next piece of news is that UK Vogue will no longer be monthly and will go down to ten or six issues a year.

 

[vogue28]

My money is on Vanessa Kingori or Sarah Harris as Enninful’s replacement.

 

[aracic]

I'm just going to look forward to (what I hope will be) a Meisel's model extravaganza for his last issue, because it will probably mark the end of his editorial days... although I hope I'm wrong.

As for the future of British Vogue, or Vogue in general, I remain hopeless. I already lost any semblance of interest in the magazine and this piece of news does nothing but further prove that nothing good awaits us in the magazine department for the foreseeable future. RIP

 

[NYLA22]

As others have suggested, this is only framed as a "promotion." What it really is, is Edward leaving his role to take on more lucrative freelance projects. He has outgrown Vogue and can make more money elsewhere.

 

[mepps]

Lol at all the coping comments.
This silly new job title is not a promotion. He was let go from the most important job of his life,
and they're keeping him on as a glorified freelance consultant. Also, he's not getting anywhere near American Vogue.
I hope his last cover is a strong one tho.

 

[VBE]

I think people need to fasten their seatbelts. The fashion industry is on its last leg and from what I’m hearing, nothing is selling.

 

[mteb123]

Lol at all the coping comments.
This silly new job title is not a promotion. He was let go from the most important job of his life,
and they're keeping him on as a glorified freelance consultant. Also, he's not getting anywhere near American Vogue.
I hope his last cover is a strong one tho.

Can definitely see this being the case!!
I think he would’ve gotten American vogue by now if it was going to happen, could be wrong only time will tell!!

Could Katie Grand take over possibly?! She could be a contender!!

 

[Scotty]

They ruined Vogue Paris for this?

 

[blueorchid]

Could Katie Grand take over possibly?! She could be a contender!!

I think that ship has sailed.

 

[FashionFanatico]

you can say whatever about Edward, but he was always very smart to plan his next move.
his goals were always obvious: get more power, money and fame. He's the perfect carpetbagger.

For this he used all the tricks and connections like Anna did before.
Both of them are not that much interested in Fashion (anymore), it's just a beautiful pastime and a powerful vehicle to get a certain kind of status in the industry - and to cash in.

it's all quite Machiavellian in many ways. And he's so open about it how to play the game by his own rules that - business-wise - i must applaud him of his immediacy to stepping up his game - even personally i don't like these kind of calculating advantage seeking actions.

 

[FashionFanatico]

it's good news for us and him.

He played all his (i was first!) cards as EIC at UK Vogue.
there is nothing he can impress anymore - because he as every action-seeker has his limits.

honestly i am a bit tired of all the Meisel comments here. It's 2023 and i can't remember one of his covers for UK Vogue that stood the test of time to be a classic.

Everything was just a recycling from a better past.

 

[MON]

This is what you call a graceful exit. He was given a pseudo-exit under the guise of a "promotion" which we all know is nothing but a glorified part-time job.

I wonder if UK Vogue will suffer the same fate as Vogue Paris and Italia where the EIC role was abolished and replaced by a "Head of Editorial Content" post.

Also, I can't with all of these "Anna replacement" discussions. With all that's happening, how sure are we that there will even be a replacement and not another "Head"?

This "move" from the person who most of the people considered as the "successor" is a tell-tale sign of what's coming -- a glim future for the magazine that even the supposed "successor" wanted no part of.

 

[Benn98]

you can say whatever about Edward, but he was always very smart to plan his next move.
his goals were always obvious: get more power, money and fame. He's the perfect carpetbagger.

For this he used all the tricks and connections like Anna did before.
Both of them are not that much interested in Fashion (anymore), it's just a beautiful pastime and a powerful vehicle to get a certain kind of status in the industry - and to cash in.

it's all quite Machiavellian in many ways. And he's so open about it how to play the game by his own rules that - business-wise - i must applaud him of his immediacy to stepping up his game - even personally i don't like these kind of calculating advantage seeking actions.

I think there's a difference. Anna probably does care for fashion. Her own brand and universe of fashion, at least. And she made sure to link everything she did to American Vogue which is what made her indispensable. The Met Gala (arts), the CFDA fund (fashion), Fashion Night Out (retail, which failed in America but is still running in Australia) etc etc. If it was only money, she would've given up the EIC position a long time ago because she's past the stage where she needs it to sign a deal.

Edward, by giving up on the UK Vogue position, is probably only after the power and money? I don't know his next move. But he could very easily have replicated her model in the UK which would've strengthened the already strong grip he has on the magazine. For instance, London is an art capital. Although we have many proper fairs already, a Vogue art fair would've been stunning. A Vogue Chelsea Flower Show too. And this should have been steered by him too. So the idea was not to just ask for more money from CN, but to rather bring in new income channels, make sure you and only you drive it, and then ask for more money.

Via The Guardian

Vogue editor Anna Wintour planning London’s answer to Met Gala

Stormzy, Naomi Campbell and Sadiq Khan among those expected at ticketed fashion show raising funds for city’s arts scene

In a perfect storm of fashion catwalk and West End theatrics, Vogue’s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, is planning a philanthropic arts extravaganza that she hopes will take over the world “in the way the Met Gala did” – while raising money for London’s struggling arts scene.

Featuring Naomi Campbell, Stormzy and Michaela Coel, alongside the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the actor Sir Ian McKellen, the evening event will take place at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and include a red carpet outside, a catwalk show within, and live performances overseen by director Stephen Daldry.

The show, which is otherwise under wraps, will last under an hour. But unlike most fashion shows, it will be ticketed and open to the public, with all proceeds going to performing arts organisations in the capital, including the National Theatre, Royal Opera House and Rambert dance company.


Wintour said she had been prompted to donate profits after hearing of budget cuts last November. “I read with dismay about the amount of cuts that were happening around the performing arts,” she told the Guardian. “The creative talent in London is unparalleled, so anything we can do to support all those creatively brilliant people, we’ll do,” she said.

The editor-in-chief of British Vogue, Edward Enninful, agreed, citing “the post-Covid recovery and long term health of the arts” as a catalyst in a statement to the Guardian.
Wintour is considered the most powerful woman in fashion, and has form when it comes to arts philanthropy. In May she oversaw the Met Gala’s black tie annual fundraiser. The event, which also marks the opening of the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute exhibition, tends to drum up more coverage for its red carpet surprises and five-figure ticket prices. But the Costume Institute is the only one of the Met’s curatorial departments that has to fund itself.

Wintour said that philanthropy was not “the only solution – but it is a solution, certainly”.

British Vogue’s features director, Giles Hattersley, said: “Ultimately, a solution would be at a political level, but Vogue has an enormous power in this space.”

While both described Khan’s input as pivotal, Rishi Sunak is not involved. “We haven’t had that conversation so far,” Hattersley said.

The Vogue event will be held in September before London fashion week. London’s fashion scene has suffered since the pandemic, with banner names including Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney and Victoria Beckham moving their shows to Paris, creating a noticeably truncated London schedule.

“Obviously that was on our minds, too,” Wintour said. “We wanted to put a spotlight on the fashion shows. We are incredibly supportive of the talent in London.”

But, she insisted, this was as much about theatre and tourism as it was fashion. “It’s why so many people go to London,” she added. Mark Guiducci, US Vogue’s creative editorial director, added that this was the purpose of the magazine: “Fashion doesn’t exist in a vacuum,” he said. “It needs a cultural context, and that’s what Vogue does.'

Wintour said she wanted the event to be inclusive and open to all, and some tickets – which start at £150 – would be given for free to students. “We’re inviting students, we are trying to make it as welcoming as we can.” It will also be livestreamed.

The show follows last September’s inaugural version, which took over a cobbled street in New York’s Meatpacking District, and opened with Serena Williams in a floor-length silver gown.

“We made the decision that as we were emerging from Covid that we wanted to do something that was not only supporting the fashion industry, but also the restaurant industry, the arts – life in general,” Wintour said. Like London, it was a response to the financial impact of the pandemic on the city’s wider culture, “and not just fashion”.

“I think, post-Covid, everyone just loves a live event,” said Wintour, who has been global chief content officer for Condé Nast since 2020. “It is important to us to be seen as global.” To that end, it will be livestreamed around the world, and next year, the plan is to take it to a major European city – most likely Milan or Paris – before moving to an Asian capital.

As a British-born journalist and editor living abroad, Wintour said she had a particular fondness for London theatre, and came back “as often as I can”. Asked if she will ever return to London, she said: “Mark [Guiducci] has already moved to London – and I’m not far behind.”

 

[Drusilla_]

I'd mourn this if his Vogue UK had been an improvement on the last dull couple of years of Alexandra's 25-year tenure but it wasn't - forget the 'activist' bs and the fashion, even the layouts sucked.

I suppose Vogue UK is going in the 'reprints only' bin with the once-great Vogue Italia, Vogue Paris and even Vogue Nippon, Vogue Australia and Vogue Korea which managed to deliver some amazing covers and editorials in the 00s.

 

[Zorka]

Drama, drama, drama...

 

[carbon-made]

I think people need to fasten their seatbelts. The fashion industry is on its last leg and from what I’m hearing, nothing is selling.

I think what you say is interesting as I am feeling this too.
I'd love if you could expand on this a bit more: what do you think is gonna happen in the next 2/3 years fashion wise? and specifically for fashion publications?

I feel the news of Edward departing Vogue UK, aside from his specific circumstances, is in line of what is happening with the big glossy publications.
Fashion journalism is essentially dead - and even as a vehicle for beautiful imagery, magazines are struggling to compete and are sadly becoming irrelevant.
We can only expect (at least from Conde Nast) more homogenised blatant promotion pieces disguised as "content", with very little respect for each country's individual taste and sensibilities.