Former editor-in-chief of British Vogue Edward Enninful has said he hopes Prime Minister Andy Burnham will “push the arts more” than his predecessors, similar to how Tony Blair’s New Labour had done in the 1990s.
The 54-year-old said he believes the current generation of artists has the talent to bring about a similar cultural renaissance to three decades ago, but needs the support of Government.
Hopes for Government support
Speaking at a launch event for The 90s: Art And Fashion exhibition at the Tate Britain, which he has curated, Enninful told the Press Association: “I always hope that, we have the talent here, the artists are here, the designers are here, but I just hope that we have a Government that will just push the arts more.
“It’s a conversation that we have in all industries I’m sure, how do we get things happening again, like it did back then?
“Back then you had Kate Moss, then you had Damien Hirst, and you had Oasis – it’s almost like, I call it the big flat where fashion, music, film, I mean, Trainspotting, everything in perfect unison, and we kind of need to maybe find a way of doing that again.”
Arts as a political tool
Enninful said the arts had been a powerful tool for New Labour during the 1990s.
He added: “They really did (use the arts as a political tool)… totally. He (Blair) was a face.
“I mean, I guess they saw something was happening that was so interesting, Britain was going through a renaissance of some kind, and they were very clever to use it to sort of shine a light to the rest of the world, ‘hey, we’re leading in the arts’.
“So yeah, art really played a really, really important part in that, and I guess that’s what we’ve been trying to do ever since to get Government to say, ‘hey, you know the arts, we’re still here’.
“Somehow there was such a halo around that period.”
Exhibition details
Enninful was Vogue’s first black editor-in-chief, and became the youngest fashion editor at a major international title when he took on the role of fashion director at i-D Magazine aged 18.
Born in Ghana and raised in Ladbroke Grove, he is known for his championing of diversity in fashion, and was made an OBE in 2016 for his services to fashion.
The exhibition features work from the likes of Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Jenny Saville, Alexander McQueen, Sir Steve McQueen, and Vivienne Westwood.
The 90s: Art And Fashion exhibition will run at Tate Britain from October 8 to February 14 next year, with tickets on sale from the Tate website.
