When Edward Enninful was scouted on the tube travelling through London in 1988, it changed his life. The Ghanaian teenager, newly arrived in Britain, was drawn into the capital’s creative scene of the 90s – as a model, then stylist and, by 18, the fashion director of i-D magazine.
“It was the height of the YBA [Young British Artists] movement – Jay Jopling, Tracey Emin. I met Kate [Moss] at a casting,” he recalls. “Then Naomi [Campbell] for a cover, and I knew we’d be great friends. We all hung out across disciplines. Friday rolled into Saturday into Sunday. I miss that rawness.”
If Enninful sounds nostalgic, he’s not the only one. Lately, wistful romanticisation of the 90s has reached fever pitch. But in the intervening decades Enninful believes something has shifted. “I feel like we’re less tolerant now than we were in the 90s,” he says. “It’s not even just this country – it’s everywhere.”
The regression is hard to ignore: the rise of the far right, the backlash against “wokeness”, and the reassertion of Eurocentric beauty standards. In place of the optimism of Tony Blair, today Nigel Farage looms as a potential prime minister.
Continue Reading on The Guardian
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.