First of all, congratulations to talented Style Director Mr. Edward Enninful! Enninful was honored last Wednesday at the 49th annual Frederick Douglass Awards hosted by the New York Urban League. Legendary supermodel and longtime gal pal Naomi Campbell was there to present Enninful with his award. During his acceptance speech, he had some very insightful things to say about his own “lucky” career and the state of diversity within the fashion world.
Photos Courtsey of Edward Enniful via Instagram 2014.
Enninful attributed much of his success to being "lucky" enough to have had the opportunities to work with fashion heavyweights like Vogue’s Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington, and W’s Stefano Tonchi.
“But what if we lived in a world where luck had nothing to do with it?" Enninful asked, "where high-quality education was provided to every student no matter the color of their skin or where they grew up? I can tell you, without diversity, creativity remains stagnant.”
"...without diversity, creativity remains stagnant." -- Don't you just love that? Moments like these are what make me feel so incredibly enthusiastic about the future of this industry I adore. As a young woman, of color, who not only works in fashion but has a desire to make considerable contributions to the field, I can’t help but be extraordinarily inspired by Edward Enninful’s work, life, and legacy. Yes, he has worked with all of the greats and was the right hand to Queen Wintour for a period of time, but he has also created his own identity that will forever stand firm in fashion. He and Naomi are responsible for breaking many barriers and leading to outstanding progression, but I truly see their work as only the beginning, and if you ask me that is the best part. Because of the brilliant talents of these individuals and others like them, they are paving the way for young talents to emerge from places that are often overlooked and show this industry what they’ve got. I encourage my readers, or whoever stumbles upon this post, to be inspired to go on and be the next Edward, the next Naomi, or the next you.
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