Ghanaian Edward Enninful has been hired as the new editor at British Vogue

British Vogue has confirmed Edward Enninful as its first male editor.

Enninful, who has previously worked for Italian and American Vogue, will take over from Alexandra Shulman, who announced her departure in January.

Condé Nast International's Jonathan Newhouse said Enninful was "an influential figure in the communities of fashion, Hollywood and music".

He is currently the fashion and creative director at W Magazine, where he has worked since 2011.

The 45-year-old will start his new role on 1 August.

After the news was announced, designer Marc Jacobs tweeted: "Congratulations to our longtime friend @Edward_Enninful, the new editor of British Vogue! We can't wait to see what you do! ❤️"

Enninful is friends with Marc Jacobs (pictured) and Pharrell

  What do we know about Edward Enninful?

• Born in Ghana, he moved to the UK and started his fashion career aged 16 when he was spotted by a model scout in London.

• He began working alongside the founders of i-D magazine, and was promoted to fashion director aged just 19, a position he held for more than two decades.

• He is well connected. Very well. His Twitter profile features him with Michelle Obama.

• He was appointed OBE in the Queen's 2016 Birthday Honours for services to diversity in the fashion industry.

• He is good mates with Pharrell.

• Some of the biggest names in fashion have worked with him, including Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior, Dolce and Gabbana, Mulberry, Valentino, Calvin Klein, Fendi, Gucci, Hugo Boss and Missoni.

• Condé Nast praised Enninful's work at Italian Vogue under its late editor, Franca Sozzani, as having "attained landmark status in recent cultural history".

Enninful with models Bella Hadid and Maria Borges last year

Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council, told the BBC: "Anything that promotes diversity and gender equality in the industry is incredibly important, but there's no doubt that Edward's been appointed because of his talent."

"He brings a very distinct point of view in terms of the imagery that he has been associated with, and I think that's going to be really exciting to see how that is translated into the pages of Vogue."