Edward Enninful

I've learned to put a big value on having a life outside of fashion, and I think that's what's saved me, because the fashion industry can suck you in.

My memories of London Fashion Week are of starting out and not getting many tickets for fashion shows, but wanting to see them so much that I'd sneak in with my friends, people like Pat McGrath and Craig McDean.

I think fashion can tell a story about celebrating difference, can talk about how different people are, how diverse people are - and for me, that's where fashion really succeeds, when it tackles things to do with the world we live in.

When you leave your house in the morning, however you dress is the way you want the world to see you.

I didn't grow up with money; I didn't come from a rich family. But what fashion gave me was an escape into a world of creativity: if I couldn't afford that Junior Gaultier jacket, then I'd get one from the market and customise it.

I realise I am stepping into the shoes of a hugely respected editor in the shape of Alexandra Shulman, someone who has chosen to leave at the top of their game with a legacy of 25 years of success.

I don't think I'm in any way an icon, to be very honest.

If you put one model in a show or in an ad campaign, that doesn't solve the problem. We need teachers in universities. We need internships. We need people of different ethnic backgrounds in all parts of the industry. That really is the solution: you have to change it from the inside.

I feel like when it comes to the models, certain models are now like commodities in certain ways.

Social media is fine, depending on how you use it.

I've always been very fascinated by technology - the Internet, social media.

When I was really young, I had an afro and wore pressed jeans and argyle sweaters. In my teens, I moved on to ripped Levi's jeans, white T-shirts, and cowboy boots.

Coming from a family who put a lot of emphasis on academics, I always thought I was going to be a lawyer.

I'm so fascinated by the influence of social media on fashion. I've seen so many artists on Instagram, up and comers you would have never known otherwise.

The best photographers know how to light any color skin.

A lot of my friends, we all grew up sort of not very wealthy. And in England, whatever ends up being a negative, that's a positive.

I don't think everything has to be new all the time. You don't have to have the latest designer all the time to look good. Just have things you're comfortable with, have key pieces that you can sort of reinvent over and over again, and always keep things that you really love for a while.

'British Vogue' is a great magazine with a legacy of creativity and innovation.

I grew up reading 'British Vogue' - I am so honoured and humbled to be taking up the mantle of editor.

People of power have to show empathy and kindness to the young.

Social media and technology are democratising and opening up fashion and the process of fashion for all - this has good and bad sides, but that comes with any change.

You could say slowly but surely, the world is changing in a good way - equality in all forms is more and more part of the global conversation, and people are celebrating diversity and individuality.

There is nothing more classic in the realm of casual than jeans and a white tee - a look that is inherently Americana and reminiscent of the American Dream - an optimistic dream of opportunity, individuality, freedom, and the embodiment of one living their truth.

The white T-shirt is like a blank canvas - eternally versatile.

The more you style, the better you get. Don't give up. At a certain point, the magic happens.

I grew up in west London, but my dad wouldn't let me go to school there, so I went in south London.

Most of the time, working as a stylist, you're at home, working on your own, researching.

I want 'Vogue' to feel like a shop that you're not scared to walk into, one that's quite welcoming.

I'm very protective of all the vulnerable young kids that go on shoots. I can empathize. I've been there.

When I started in the nineties, a sample size was a 4 and a 6.

Diversity is very important for me.

Growing up, I loved the imagery I saw from America as it celebrated being the land of the free and home of the brave.

I love the optimistic American style that Gap celebrates and the simplicity of the basic white T-shirt that allows you to be yourself.

I used to wear a lot of Helmut Lang. Painted jeans. Cropped crombies with t-shirts. A lot of V-necks. The perfect V-neck was very important.

Kurt Cobain really made an impression on us. He just had that rebel attitude. You could tell he was super talented but didn't really care.

It was a whole new attitude: no makeup, less is more... the '90s were fun!

I take random inspiration from everywhere.

With Rihanna, it's always a collaboration, and that's why I love her so much.

I learned that fashion was about more than fancy images. That there was a business side as well.

There's a lot of research and time that goes into my shoots. I spend weeks on them, even for one picture.

When I was growing up, David Bowie was my idol. I grew up in inner-city London, and he was from Brixton, which is even more urban.

People like me thought America was the best place to be creative, to be free to create, to have the freedom to be who you are.

Never forget that it sometimes takes a foreigner's eye to capture Britain most clearly.

In my work, I have always tried to push the boundaries of what fashion can do.

I was very honoured to be awarded an OBE in 2016 for my services to diversity in the fashion industry.

When I was 18 years old, I moved into Neneh Cherry's house in Kensal Rise with Judy Blame and our friend Michael Boadi.

I think if you're really good at what you do, you can see outside the box.

I get nervous before every shoot. I'm really jealous of the people that can just rest on their laurels and say, 'I'm good; this is it.'

I am definitely allergic to wheat. Every time I eat it, I feel awful.

You never know where inspiration is going to come from.