British Vogue’s first braille edition released to ‘delight’ of editor

British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful said the fashion and publishing ‘industries have a great deal to do still’ on inclusivity.

Edd Dracott
Friday 12 May 2023 08:03 BST
British Vogue has released its first braille editions for blind and partially sighted people (Jonathan Hordle/PA)
British Vogue has released its first braille editions for blind and partially sighted people (Jonathan Hordle/PA) (PA Archive)

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British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful has said he is “delighted” by the response to his magazine’s first braille editions for blind and partially sighted people.

The May issue of the fashion publication, which first launched in 1916, has been made available in a physical braille edition as well as a recorded audio description.

“For the first time in @britishvogue’s history, I am pleased to share that the magazine is now available in Braille, for blind and partially sighted people,” Enninful posted on Instagram.

“The Vogue team and I are delighted by the response to the May issue, but what the process of making it taught us is that what’s most important are tangible and lasting changes.

“Vogue and the fashion and publishing industries have a great deal to do still but it makes me very happy to see the arrival of these first Braille issues today.”

The May issue of the magazine is focused on inclusivity and features “a vanguard of Disabled talent”, including cover star Sinead Burke, an Irish writer and disability activist who has achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism.

Created with accessibility consultancy company Tilting The Lens and its chief executive Sinead Burke, the edition also features actress Selma Blair, models Aaron Rose Philip and Ellie Goldstein and American sign language interpreter and performer Justina Miles as its separate cover stars.

Inside, 19 disabled people from the worlds of fashion, sport, culture and activism are featured through interviews, a personal essay and more.

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