From one of fashion's most important changemakers, a memoir of breaking barriers.
When Edward Enninful became the first Black editor in chief of British Vogue, few at the heights of the elitist world of fashion wanted to confront how they failed to represent the world we live in. But, Edward, a champion of inclusion throughout his life, rapidly changed that.
Edward grew up in Ghana in a world of beauty, riotous color, and strong Black women. Nurtured by his mother, a dressmaker of fabulous garments with a flair for drama, he learned in her atelier what it meant for a woman to see herself as truly beautiful. But, at the threat of violence, his family fled the country, becoming refugees in London. There, Edward found himself facing a more insidious and institutionalized danger: a culture of diminished opportunities and thwarted hopes, a country where he would be judged harshly for the color of his skin.
Discovered by a fashion editor on the Underground when he was sixteen, Edward was soon in the middle of the heady, wild, and vibrant fashion scene of Eighties London. A Black, gay, working-class refugee, he was constantly othered, but he found a home in fashion. These were the days of punks, post-punks, and the Buffalo movement, when you might run into Galliano, Boy George, and Madonna in a dingy club listening to groove and Afrobeat. Here, Edward found the freedom to share with people the world as he saw it, and to tell the story of the times we're in.
As Edward ascended, his leadership became a model for how to celebrate diversity and inclusion. Whether it's putting first responders, octogenarians, or civil rights activists on the cover of Vogue, or championing designers and photographers of color, he has helped every woman see themselves in the pages of his magazines. And he's just getting started. Written with the style, grace, and heart that have earned the plaudits of Oprah, Rihanna, and Beyoncé, this memoir is the story of a visionary who has changed how we understand beauty.
