Steven Bartlett - Edward Enninful

1) Edward Enninful OBE, the editor of Vogue, shares about his childhood and the fear he had of his strict father and military man. Enninful talks about how his father's authoritarian style of parenting made him feel scared to show his creative and artistic side. Enninful shares that his mother was the opposite, warm and creative, which he believes is where he got his creativity. Enninful also discusses the impact this had on him, resulting in a fear of never being good enough and feeling like he had to hide his brilliance. Despite this, Enninful pursued a career in fashion, which he loved, even though he was originally expected to become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer.

2) Edward talks about his experience with racism when he moved to the UK at 13 years old and how difficult it was to leave Ghana where "everything is possible". Upon arriving in England, he and his siblings were detained for not having the right papers and faced their first experiences with racism. He attended an all-black school but remembers feeling a sense of not being liked as a black person. He also talks about feeling shy and not worthy in social situations and it wasn't until he was asked to model that things started to change for him.

3) Edward shares how he became a model at the age of 16. Enninful was stopped by Simon Foxton, who was one of the biggest fashion editors in the country, while he was on his way to college. Foxton asked him to be a model and Enninful accepted. Although his mother was supportive of his modeling, his father was not, so he kept it a secret from him. Enninful fell in love with the fashion industry from his first photo shoot and knew that he wanted to be a part of it, but he also recognized that he would not be a model in front of the camera for long.

4) Edward shares his story of dropping out of university and getting a job at ID magazine as a fashion director at 18 years old. He recalls how he told his father about his decision to leave university and pursue work, which resulted in his father throwing his things out the window. Enninful used his fear of going back home as a driving force to propel him forward in his career. He reflects on the importance of having great mentors and people around him, including Terry and Tricia Jones and Judy Blame, who supported and looked after him. Enninful emphasizes the significance of mentoring young people as he wouldn't have succeeded without the people who helped him during his career.

5) Edward discusses his journey to becoming an editor and the rejection he faced from his family. He believed that his rapid ascent in the industry was due to luck, but upon reflection, he realized that he must have had a raw talent that people wanted to hone. Enninful talks about being closely linked to his work and how it led him to becoming a workaholic, which was both exciting and unhealthy. He also mentions suffering from imposter syndrome and the impact it had on him, leading him to drinking and going out to numb his feelings.

6) Edward shares that his insecurities and imposter syndrome are what drove him to constantly strive for improvement and excellence. He explains that he always saw mistakes and areas for improvement, rather than successes, and that his imposter syndrome propelled him forward. However, he also discusses how he had to overcome feelings of loss and loneliness in his personal life that led to excessive drinking and drugs. Enninful ultimately realized he needed to make a change and became sober for the next 14 years.

7) Edward talks about the importance of self-reflection and finding moments for oneself, instead of dedicating everything to work. He stresses the need to know what one feels inside and not to do what others want them to do. Edward also emphasizes the need to have one's own tribe and how those friendships can help navigate through the industry. Edward shares his personal experiences of finding his own tribe, consisting of Naomi Campbell, Pat McGrath, Ben Scarf, and Patty Wilson, and how those friendships have been consistent in his life. He also talks about how he needed black people around him in an industry where most black people weren't present.

8) Edward discusses the importance of loyalty in his career. He explains that he was able to stay in his job at i-D magazine for many years because it was a special magazine that had become popular, and he is a loyal person who values loyalty in return. Enninful also talks about the family dynamic that he was lacking, which he found in the creative conversations with the people who came to his desk every day. He then talks about his career move to Vogue, where he worked for several years, and how he made the magazine more inclusive and diverse by featuring black and working-class women, among others, who had not been represented before.

9) Edward shares his experience creating a magazine that represents diversity and inclusivity. He explains that he wanted to create a safe place where women of all shapes, sizes, races, ages, and social-economic backgrounds could see themselves reflected and feel welcomed. He felt scared and intimidated when he first became the top editor at Vogue because he knew he would need to make changes, and he wasn't sure if the readers were ready.

10) Edward reflects on challenging the traditional concept of the magazine's editor and introducing greater diversity to the publication. He highlights how having black models on magazine covers and addressing LGBTQ+ issues has become normalized in the industry. Enninful also shares his personal experiences of fighting for his beliefs, which led to selling out Vogue's black issue, but also took a toll on his health. He suffered from a detached retina and tinnitus that affected his work and mental wellbeing.

11) Edward Enninful explains how therapy has given him the practical tools to cope with life, such as boundaries and being a better listener. He also discusses his work and the importance of sweating the small stuff to create at the level that they do. Additionally, Enninful states that he is a work in progress and that he missed out on a lot of years while working, but acknowledges that everyone has their own path in life.

12) Edward reveals that he finds inspiration in Eunice W Johnson, the editor's wife of Ebony magazine in the 1940s and 1950s, who was one of the few black women allowed at fashion shows and had to buy couture clothing with her own money to do the shows called Ebony Fashion Fair in the deep south of America. Enninful talks about how he would have loved to have been her right-hand man and fought to get access, like she did. Enninful, who fought to become the first black editor in British Vogue's history, acknowledges that he is opening doors for people in various industries, regardless of their skin color, creed or background, and recommends checking out his book, "A Visible Man."