But Chioma Nnadi would be the title’s “head of editorial content”, and their first

Chioma Nnadi in a “paid partnership with Giorgio Armani”, shared on her Instagram page. Photo: nnadibynature/Instagram

In an announcement that industry observers say is Anna Wintour “consolidating power”, Condé Nast has revealed that British Vogue’s new “head of editorial content” (aka editor-in-chief) would be the London-born journalist Chioma Nnadi, who has been Vogue online’s editor since 2020 (she joined Vogue in 2010). It is not clear if “head of editorial content” is better at describing the job or a way to bestow less power to the person essentially filling the post of editor. The reveal moments ago puts a brake on the considerable conjecture—right up to the latest edition of Vogue World in London—about who would replace out-going editor Edward Enninful. When he was appointed back in 2017, he was considered to have etched his place in the very white history of Vogue as not only the magazine’s first male editor, but also the first Black editor.

In reporting that recalls Mr Enninful’s appointment six years ago, most news stories now have highlighted Ms Nnadi as “the first black woman” to secure the coveted role. After her appointment, she told The Guardian, “As a Black woman, but also as a biracial woman, how I view the world is also how I see it—through a lens that is influenced by my background, by where I live, and by having parents from different cultures and having to move between these culture.” It is hard to say exactly what she meant when she chose to distinguish herself as a “Black woman” first, rather than an accomplished journalist. It seems that for Vogue, especially the British edition, Black editors are crucial to its media influence and reach, just as Black creative directors at luxury brands are vital to their commercial power and allure.

The Black perspective, after Mr Enninful brought it into focus for British Vogue, is important, if not more so than before. Ms Wintour makes every decision when it comes to her cherished publication, and it is said that Ms Nnadi was “handpicked” by possibly Condé Nast’s longest-serving editorial staffer to continue to imbue the title with a Black voice or, as Ms Nnadi told The Guardian recently, carry on the “cultural conversation”. Despite what has been described as a successful tenure, Mr Enninful is said to be dissatisfied and that there is a “rift” between Ms Wintour and he. Former British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman wrote in The Mail+ that that’s a “transatlantic power battle”. The choice of Ms Nnadi could mean that Ms Wintour would have a more compliant lieutenant, even a Vogue that would not upstage her own that she edits in New York.

The Guardian suggested that Ms Nnadi “is likely to work alongside Wintour”. It is not expected that she would operate against the latter, or adopt an oppositional attitude towards the culture of Vogue—one synonymous with she who would not retire. Ms Nnadi’s digital edition of Vogue is not exactly Highsnobiety or, for a less street-centric comparison, The Cut. Between Ms Wintour and her latest appointee, there seems to be palpable mutual admiration. The British paper quoted the former calling Ms Nnadi a “beloved colleague” who will focus on “music and culture” as well as fashion (which, strangely, does not seem to be priority). In return, the grateful Ms Nnadi lauded her boss for “bringing Vogue into the future”. She added, like a PR pro, “working under Anna, you get a sense of what’s going to be next. I haven’t checked my email but she’s probably on to the next thing already.”

Ms Nnadi was raised by a Nigerian father and a Swiss-German mother in Central London. She went to Manchester University and graduated in English and French literature. Her career in journalism began, at first, at the daily The Evening Standard, then the magazines Trace and The Fader. In 2010, she moved to New York to join Vogue (it is not known if she was under Ms Wintour’s supervision at the time) and worked her way to be the fashion news editor. Ten years later, she was made editor of vogue.com. Accompany that appointment, Ms Wintour said in a statement, “we know her as someone who intuitively understands fashion and brings to it a genuine love of discovery.” Following the appointment of British Vogue’s new head of editorial content, Ms Wintour issued another testimonial gush, saying “Chioma is beloved among her colleagues at Vogue, and is an editor and writer with an impeccable reputation—both here and in the fashion industry at large.”

Even when Alexandra Shulman had suggested that Edward Enninful was “always playing second fiddle” to Anna Wintour, Chioma Nnadi seemed unfazed. Both women are possibly on chummier terms than Mr Enninful and Ms Wintour ever were. “Beloved” has not, as far as we remember, been used in the description of the male editor as a colleague. Ms Nnadi probably played her cards better than anyone else, certainly better than the guys. If you look at Ms Nnadi’s IG posts, you will see that her taste in clothes (she eagerly said on IG, when she wore a bright pink frock, that she felt “like a literal barbie princess angel”) are not quite what Ms Wintour appreciates. Perhaps that’s what British Vogue needs. In a 2015 interview with the news platform True Africa, Ms Nnadi was asked what she considered an interesting story in vogue.com. She replied: “We recently filmed an up-and-coming model named Bhumika Arora. She’s gorgeous, she’s Indian and she’s living in New York. She told us she was celebrating Diwali. So we thought, well, why don’t we do a video of her at Diwali in Queens, New York.” Extraordinary.