All You Need to Know About the Inaugural Issue of British Vogue’s 1st Black Female Head of Nigerian Descent

British Vogue’s editorial leadership takes a historic step forward, passing from the groundbreaking tenure of Ghanaian Edward Enninful to the discerning eye of Chioma Nnadi of Nigerian descent.

Enninful, who shattered glass ceilings as the magazine’s first Black Editor-in-Chief, left a legacy of inclusivity and audacious style, paving the way for Chioma Nnadi to become the first black female Head, marking the dawn of a new era in fashion.

Nnadi, a fashion powerhouse, assumed the role with a unique perspective informed by her extensive years in fashion editorial. She joined Vogue in 2010 in New York and later worked running the American website of Vogue as well as writing for the magazine and co-hosting the Vogue podcast before taking up the reins last October as the Head of Editorial Content at British Vogue.

FKA Twigs whose real name is Tahliah Debrett Barnett is a British singer, songwriter, and dancer who became known as Twigs for the way her joints cracked.

She settled in Hackney in her early 20s becoming something of a local celebrity overnight when, in 2012, she was spotted by the photographer Matthew Stone at Hoxton Station the morning after a warehouse party. She got cast as an extra in a story for i-D. She’d end up on the magazine cover before she’d even signed to a record label.

According to the Vogue article, “as an artist, Twigs has always moved through the pop cultural universe at her own speed, often melding genres at opposite ends of the spectrum – opera with R&B, say – to form the contours of her singular sound. She’s stretched the boundaries of her physical body in every possible direction.

For her second album, Magdalene (2019), she mastered the ancient art of wushu sword fighting and ascended to the heavens on a stripper pole in the wildly popular video for “Cellophane”. Her approach to performance style has been just as mutable, defined only by her ability to shapeshift from one exquisitely dressed creature to the next.”

A Little BTS from the Cover Shoot

In a follow-up video titled “Life in Looks” after her British Vogue cover debut, she takes readers through 18 of her memorable looks from 2014. From the artwork for her debut studio album ’LP1’ to her British Vogue cover she explains every look in detail.

Watch the full interview below:

The Launch

The inaugural edition launch of Chioma’s British Vogue was a star-studded bash celebrated at the Ladbroke Hall in partnership with Pandora. It had the likes of Malala Yousafzai, Alexa Chung, Nicola Coughlan among others present.

Nnadi’s tenure holds the promise of a British Vogue that’s not just stylish, but deeply relevant and excitingly in touch with the ever-evolving world of fashion. This is a reign we are excited to witness unfold.

Read Chioma’s editor’s note here and the explore full feature here

Credit: @britishvogue