Edward Enninful, an acclaimed magazine fashion director who immigrated from Africa to London as a child, will become Editor of British Vogue effective August 1.

Since 2011 Enninful has been Creative and Fashion Director of the American magazine W, where he has worked with the world’s best fashion photographers to produce groundbreaking, highly admired work. His experience as a fashion editor dates back to 1991 when he was named Fashion Director of the avant-garde British title i-D at the age of 19, a position he held for more than 20 years. In the years between 1998 and 2011 he contributed extensively to American Vogue and Italian Vogue. In an internal announcement, Newhouse cited his work at Italian Vogue under its late editor, Franca Sozzani, as having “attained landmark status in recent cultural history.”

The announcement describes Enninful as “an influential figure in the communities of fashion, Hollywood and music which shape the cultural zeitgeist.” He was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth last year, and in 2014 was named fashion creator of the year by the British Fashion Council.

Born in Ghana 45 years ago, one of six children, Enninful was brought to London as a child and grew up in the city’s Ladbroke Grove area. He became interested in fashion as a teenager when he was scouted as a fashion model. He displayed a talent for fashion styling as a teenager, which led the then Editor of I-D, Terry Jones, to appoint Enninful as the magazine’s fashion director, the youngest in the industry. He attended Goldsmith’s, University of London, well known for its art programmes, but left before graduation in order to plunge full-time into a fashion editing career.

Enninful is known to be an adept practitioner of video, whose recent video entitled “I Am An Immigrant,” featuring fashion industry professionals, went viral. He is widely followed on social media.

“By virtue of his talent and experience, Edward is supremely prepared to assume the responsibility of British Vogue, ” stated Newhouse in the internal announcement.