Rihanna: Singer is transformed by Edward Enninful for British Vogue's September issue

In one of her most high-fashion editorials to date, Vogue Editor, Edward Enninful, presents Rihanna as we have never seen her before.

It seems this year's Vogue September issues are awash with black excellence. First, Beyonce has been given complete creative control of US Vogue's September issue and now, singer Rihanna, is transformed for British Vogue's September issue and it's one of the most iconic covers yet.

Since Edward Enninful took the helm of British Vogue, he has transformed it into a publication that has its finger firmly on the pulse of all issues from gender to body image and race. He has brought his unique stamp onto the already stale format and each of his covers has challenged everything the fashion industry stands for.
When Edward joined the Vogue family, it was at a time when British Vogue in particular had been called out for severely lacking in diversity. Edward's appointment was the shake up that Vogue so desperately needed and by putting one of the biggest black talents on the most important cover of the year, Edward has made a powerful statement about the role of minorities in the future of fashion.

Shot by lauded fashion photographer, Nick Knight, the avant-garde cover features Rihanna in arguably her most high-fashion shoot to date. Edward Enninful has done away with the sexy narrative that Rihanna usually pushes and transformed the Bajan songstress into a mad hatter-esque character and it's one of the most iconic editorials we have ever seen.

In his editor's letter, Edward writes:
So here it is, Vogue’s big fashion special, our definitive 400-page guide to everything you’ll want to buy, wear, admire and be inspired by as a new season dawns. As you know, September issues are important in the fashion world, our largest and most lavish of the year and a real statement about what the coming months will bring. With this one being my first as editor-in-chief, I was determined it would be something special.
I am so grateful to the talented photographers who made all this possible. For the first time in some years, David Sims returns to the pages of Vogue to shoot the best of the season’s new oversized pieces. David is someone I’ve known since 1990. What I adore about his work is that it’s always British, always irreverent and always chic with a touch of the avant-garde. Nick Knight– one of the original masters – has also been busy too, shooting, among other things, our cover story with me. He never gets fazed by anything you throw at him. I’ll say, “Let’s do flowers in the hair”, “Let’s do thin eyebrows” – and he remains perfectly cool. Meanwhile, Charlotte Wales brings her unique point of view on women to bear in The Age of Opulence, showing how beautiful – and beautifully dressed – you can be at any size.
Ultimately, September is all about the hits of the season – giving you, the Vogue reader, the authority to make the most informed style choices for the months ahead. As for the cover? I always knew it had to be Rihanna. A fearless music-industry icon and businesswoman, when it comes to that potent mix of fashion and celebrity, nobody does it quite like her. No matter how haute the styling goes, or experimental the mood, you never lose her in the imagery. She is always Rihanna. There’s a lesson for us all in that. Whichever way you choose to dress the new season, take a leaf out of her book and be yourself.

Time's Have Changed

The cover is a stark contrast to last year's September issue which featured 5, predominantly white supermodels including Kate Moss, Stella Tennant and Edie Campbell. It was ex-Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman's last hurrah and it was symptomatic of the diversity problem that had trailed Vogue for so long.
Vogue is the fashion industry's style bible and to see both the US and UK editions leading the way by promoting powerful black women in their most prominent issues, shows that the tides are changing in the notoriously prejudiced fashion industry.
We are here for this new wave of inclusion and long may it reign so that the fashion industry we so love can represent every single one of us.