Vogue’s new editor faces conflict of interest row

NEW Vogue supremo Edward Enninful has not yet got his feet under the glossy table in the editor’s Mayfair office, but he’s already facing awkward questions on potential conflicts of interest.

The 45-year-old has a lucrative sideline as a commercial fashion stylist, with two of his companies amassing shareholder funds totalling nearly £2 million at the latest count. With his sister Akua, he owns Maxim Fashion Agents, which they set up in 2005 to style shoots for top labels such as Gucci and Dior, and which aims to ‘nurture the next generation of creative artists in the industry’.

So, if Vogue were to use a photoshoot to recommend a new outfit or trumpet a designer, it would likely raise questions about whether Enninful, now the most powerful figure in the industry, has a financial stake.

A Vogue spokesman yesterday

declined to comment but, following my inquiries, a senior executive at the fashion bible got in touch to say Enninful had agreed to ‘stop all his freelance stylist activity’. The anonymous source declined to say if his companies would be closed down.

This raises the possibility that Enninful’s sister, for example, could continue to run Maxim.

In 2002, Enninful had established Teddy Ltd to channel his income from such activities. Business has been booming: latest accounts show shareholder funds of £775,000 at the end of the year to April 2016, up from £539,200 the previous year.

The Vogue editorship comes with a generous salary, but Conde Nast won’t be able to match Enninful’s vast outside earning potential.

The Ghanaian-born stylist was a surprise appointment, not only as British Vogue’s first male editor, but because he beat off competition from strong contenders, including deputy editor Emily Sheffield, who happens to be Samantha Cameron’s sister.