There’s that moment just before something is launched; a collective intake of breath, held for a split second before the reveal is made. That is what the fashion world has been doing in the lead up to the release of the latest edition of British Vogue, the first from newly appointed editor-in-chief Edward Enninful.

Enninful’s first cover girl is the British model and feminist activist Adwoa Aboah, who is also the founder of the online platform Gurls Talk. Enninful chose the photographer Steven Meisel to shoot the cover series, having worked together with him on many of Italian Vogue’s most iconic and bold covers. The cover sets out Enninful’s plan to be both fashionably and politically minded, ensuring that the content and the contributors are as diverse as one another, from ethnicity to age to gender.

The previous editor of the publication, Alexandra Shulman, had reigned supreme for more than 25 years, recently seeing the magazine through its centenary year. She had come under fire in her final months, from none other than supermodel Naomi Campbell, for the all-staff, all-white photo that featured in the opening pages of Shulman’s last issue at the helm.

Campbell was appointed as a Vogue Contributing Editor back in July alongside Aboah, Pat McGrath, Kate Moss, Grace Coddington and Steve McQueen, among others.

Although the cover feels like a retro nod to the editions of old, the message Enninful is sending is decidedly contemporary. Foregoing traditional cover lines, the names listed read like a who’s who of key players within the UK at the moment, from politics to the arts and fashion. It celebrates great Britons, from the newly departed Burberry CEO Christopher Bailey, to London’s mayor Sadiq Khan and the author Zadie Smith, who’s essay on the Queen being “lower middle class” may raise a fair few eyebrows at the palace.

The December issue will be on sale from Friday 10th November. Visit British Vogue’s website to find out more.