Fashion Awards 2023: Edward Enninful to Receive BFC Trailblazer Award

Edward Enninful, British Vogue’s editor-in-chief and Vogue’s European editorial director, will receive the trailblazer award at Fashion Awards 2023.

The British Fashion Council (BFC) announced on its official website Tuesday that Enninful is set to be honored at this year’s ceremony on Dec. 4 at Royal Albert Hall in London for his impactful contributions to the fashion industry and “trailblazing career as a stylist, editor, and creative director.”

“We are thrilled to honor Edward Enninful with the Trailblazer Award for his immense contributions to the fashion industry,” Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council, said in a statement. “Enninful is a highly influential figure, with his ground-breaking work and collaborations transcending fashion and profoundly impacting wider culture.”

Rush acknowledged Enninful’s unwavering advocacy for diversity and inclusion across all his endeavors and how he has shaped a fresh perspective for fashion media in the U.K. and internationally during his tenure as British Vogue’s editor-in-chief.

Enninful, a British citizen born in Ghana, boasts a long list of career milestones and successes.

After getting his start in the business as a model and styling assistant, he made history at 18 by becoming the youngest person to be appointed as an editor at a major international fashion publication when he was named fashion director at the British magazine i-D. He held this position for over two decades.

Enninful’s fashion stories were hailed by the BFC for pushing boundaries and combining “provocative elegance” and “a radical narrative.” This unique storytelling approach extended to his work at American Vogue and Vogue Italia, where he served as contributing editor, according to the BFC.

In 2011, he took on the role of fashion and style director at W magazine. During his time there, he earned an OBE, or officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, for his contributions to the promotion of diversity in the fashion industry.

According to The Gazette, the OBE is awarded to individuals who have made major contributions at a local level, or whose work has gained a national profile.

Enninful was named the first Black editor-in-chief of British Vogue in 2017. Currently, he holds the position of European editorial director of Vogue.

Next year, he will be stepping down as editor-in-chief after six years to take on new roles as editorial adviser of British Vogue and global creative and cultural adviser of Vogue, Sky News reported.

The Fashion Awards, organized by the BFC, serves as the key fundraiser for the BFC Foundation. Every year, the event commemorates the crucial role that fashion plays at the intersection of culture and entertainment.

The Trailblazer Award, created in 2018, recognizes and pays tribute to the pioneering fashion innovators and creative thinkers of the fashion industry.

Past recipients of the Trailblazer Award include Alessandro Michele, Kim Jones, and Sarah Burton.