For his final cover as the editor-in-chief of British Vogue, Edward Enninful pulled off an awe-inspiring feat of celebrity wrangling that should have even impressed his boss, Anna Wintour. Forty of the most famous women in the world (and Jameela Jamil), wearing their best black and beige looks, posed politely together for a sorority-group-picture-style cover. We’re talking Linda Evangelista, Dua Lipa, Serena Williams. Oprah is dead center where she belongs, near Jane Fonda and Salma Hayek. Somewhere, Meghan Markle is fuming.
Even though every pixel screams Photoshop composite, British Vogue’s on-set video confirms the women posed together in person in December for legendary fashion photographer Steven Meisel. Enninful described the set as the largest in his decades-long career as a stylist, and that it required a not-so-small army of hair and makeup people. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the bookers. Imagine the negotiations involved with this seating chart.
Who else could get so many women to agree to be in the same room? Enninful’s exit marks the end of an era at British Vogue. He’s the magazine’s last editor-in-chief, after all. Enninful, long seen as Wintour’s most likely successor, shocked the fashion industry last year by announcing his resignation. He said he will move to an advisory role at the publisher Condé Nast “while having the freedom to take on broader creative projects.” (And his successor, Chioma Nnadi, holds the title “head of editorial content.”) As British Vogue merges further into Anna Wintour’s global Vogue umbrella, Enninful’s final cover serves as a reminder that influential editors can move mountains. In this case, the mountain being Oprah’s schedule.