Londoner's Diary: Enninful signs new Vogue with signature élan

In today's Diary: Edward Enninful's one time special offer / Brompton Oratory's water woes / Rachel Riley takes on the keyboard warriors / George Soros copies Aaron Banks / Joan Collins makes up at The Ivy
Special offer: Edward Enninful
Dave Benett/Getty Images
12 February 2018

Edward Enninful’s February Vogue cover, adorned with blondes, met a lukewarm reaction, but The Londoner never doubted the editor would bounce back. The forthcoming edition promises high glitz from his gilded posse.

This Friday, Vogue will offer 80 readers the chance to snaffle a special boxed edition of the March issue from Condé Nast’s Hanover Square HQ.

The £60 edition is sure to create a mêlée of handbags and manbags at dawn as eager readers battle it out for one of the numbered Versace “Tribute” boxes, which include a subscription. Within there’s also an Enninful touch: an illustrious signature on the inside cover.

But who’s been wielding the pen? The cover stars, Gigi and Bella Hadid, as well as fashion designer Donatella Versace, and, of course, Enninful himself.

This autographed copy wheeze is fast becoming Enninful’s, err, signature move. In November he offered readers a chance to get his first-ever Vogue signed and in a hardback edition. As the Londoner has reported before, Enninful’s a big fan of personalisation. Sent initialised stationery by luxury brand Smythson, he asked for it to be redone so that it included his OBE.

The Vogue editor’s latest ruse, the “Tribute” box, is just as exclusive. Inside one of the 80 copies is a single golden ticket — for a trip to the Milan Fashion Week to see Versace’s show.

It seems that Enninful’s glamorous novelties and signature tricks have, quite literally, put him in Vogue.

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Few things are more irritating in modern life than the trend for obfuscating simple things with complex or technical language. Think “tactical contact” for when a police car rams a fleeing vehicle intentionally. But this craze is not modern at all. In The Times today Alun Withey, of the University of Exeter, points out the Victorians were even worse than we are. For a servant, read manciple, for swimming teacher, try professor of the natatorial art. Three cheers, says this diary columnist. Or should that be a nugae blaterator?

Lent starts early as drought hits Oratory

Jesus may have fasted for 40 days but he didn’t go without water. The inhabitants of Brompton Oratory have had no such luxury. Its provost, Father Julian Large, posted on Facebook: “Fourth day without water to Oratory House or Church.” Surely utility suppliers would come to the rescue? “Thames Water employees disappeared yesterday leaving a gaping hole in the pavement and forgot to tell us they are not coming back. Twenty-three inhabitants and not a drop of water coming in. Help!” The church has plenty of red for the Eucharist, now if only they could find someone who can turn wine to water…

Quote of the day

Mary Beard: (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)
Getty Images

"Civilisation is arguing about what it is to be civilised." Mary Beard, who will host the new series of Civilisations, says the current climate is an opportune moment

Bright young things party in SW7

Party people: Lottie Moss (Photo by GOR/GC Images)
GC Images

THE MADE in Chelsea crowd went all Victorian this weekend, descending on Albert’s in South Kensington. The show’s female stars gathered for promoter Valentine Sozbilir’s 21st birthday and there wasn’t a covered table leg in sight. Georgia Toffolo, fresh from escorting Stanley Johnson to the Conservatives’ Black and White Ball, quaffed the champers, while Tiffany Watson and Frankie Gaff worked their way through the cocktail menu. Lottie Moss stole the show in a white crocheted two-piece as they partied into the small hours. Just think what the butler saw.

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HAS GEORGE Soros been taking cues from an unlikely source? After a Telegraph front page accused him of undermining Brexit, Soros has donated an extra £100,000 to a pro EU campaign group. Déjà vu? In 2014 Arron Banks said he was switching from the Tories to Ukip and donated £100,000. But when William Hague claimed he had never heard of him, Banks increased his donation to £1 million. Out of the two, though, Soros might have just a little more money to give.

No countdown for Riley

Not just a pretty face: Rachel Riley (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)
WireImage

When Formula 1 Grid Girls were banned because of their overtly sexual outfits, some people began asking whether another competitive sport ought to review its show women: Countdown.

The teatime words and maths game show employs the visually pleasing Rachel Riley as the lady with the cards. But the Essex-born maths whizz says she’s going nowhere.

“There are tweets by keyboard warriors saying: ‘Oh, so does this mean Rachel Riley’s going?’” she told the Londoner at the launch of Helen Warner’s new novel, The Story of Our Lives, at Waterstones in Piccadilly. “What they don’t realise is the difference between just doing your job and getting to wear what you want or being hired into a role just to be looked at.”

The Oxford-educated maths graduate took over from Carol Vorderman in 2009 aged 22. But Rachel believes it is possible to have brains and beauty: “That shouldn’t be a surprise: the two are not mutually exclusive.”

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Entrepreneurs of the day: Russian nuclear scientists who were caught using the country’s most powerful supercomputer to mine bitcoin.

Tweet of the day

Stephen Bush reacts to the news that Donald Trump wants to visit the Churchill War Rooms after seeing The Darkest Hour

Joan mends a minor dynastic rift​

It was reported that they fell out over his tell-all book, Unaccompanied Minor, which spilt the beans on life as the son of superstar actress Joan Collins. But by the looks of things the two are closer than ever, with Dame Joan cuddled up to her son Alexander “Sacha” Newley at the Ivy in Covent Garden.

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