What does power look like now? As we assembled Vogue’s inaugural list of the most influential women working in Britain for the July issue, it became clear that this question is more complicated than ever to answer. How telling, for example, that while there have never been more women in cabinet, 2018 did not feel like a year to shine a light on the ever-shifting sands of power in the old establishment. It is no longer enough simply to hold a great office of state, it seems. Power and influence now take many forms. It does, however, still require an eye-watering level of achievement, regardless of age (the oldest entry, Baroness Hale, is 73; the youngest, Dua Lipa, is 22). It also demands the ability to inspire, and the clout to change the conversation. Drawing from the worlds of politics, fashion, the arts, media and sport, we have had to make notable omissions. For some, authority remains too precarious (Theresa May), for others it is eternal (the Queen). So these are the women of this year: the Vogue 25, an extraordinary cast of leaders defining – and redefining – the way we live now.
SINEAD BURKEWriter and academic
At 3ft 5in tall, Sinéad Burke, who was born with achondroplasia, is acutely aware of the limits of design – and how to shift them. In 2018, the author and campaigner became a sensation, sitting front row at London Fashion Week and being photographed in Burberry and Dior for magazine covers, while her TED talk Why Design Should Include Everyone racked up 1.2 million views online. Her mission is clear: to educate designers on how to be fully inclusive in fashion and beyond.
LETITIA WRIGHTActress
Born in Guyana and raised in Tottenham, 24-year-old Letitia Wright has been steadily working in film and TV since 2011, picking up roles in the likes of Top Boy, Black Mirror and Doctor Who. But this is the year she earned the title of Britain’s next household name, thanks to breakout parts in culture-shifting box-office triumph Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. Her honesty when discussing her struggle with depression and speaking about her faith makes her the perfect pin-up for now.
ORLA DOHERTYTV producer and environmentalist
In November last year, Orla Doherty delivered a lesson in the art of soft power. On a Sunday night, as more than 10 million people watched the finale of the BBC’s Blue Planet II, an alarming picture emerged of the sheer scale of damage that plastic was causing to our oceans. The episode – produced by Doherty, a specialist in deep-sea filming – had an instant effect on public consciousness. With campaigns for reusable coffee cups and against plastic straws, she and her team are shifting our behaviour.
GRACE LADOJAMusic executive
When Skepta won the Mercury Prize for his album Konnichiwa, it was thanks in no small part to his manager: fast-rising music executive Grace Ladoja, otherwise known as the Godmother of Grime. In 2018, in a move unimaginable a few years ago, Buckingham Palace recognised her services to music in the New Year’s Honours List – proof of her crucial role in Britain’s burgeoning DIY music scene, and her talent for shaking up the status quo.
NATALIE KINGHAMBuying director at Matchesfashion.com
Put simply, Natalie Kingham shapes our fashion desires. If one person can be relied upon to spot tomorrow’s big name, it’s her – she has the sharpest eye in the industry for emerging talent. Last year, she launched the Innovators, a retail hub that allows the brightest young designers (such as Matty Bovan and Charles Jeffrey) to showcase their pieces, and the progressive shopper to invest in them. With the opening of a new Matches in Mayfair, her influence is only set to rise.
PRIYANKA JOSHIBiochemist
Priyanka Joshi had barely completed her PhD when Forbes named her one of the most important young faces in science. A research fellow at Downing College, Cambridge, the 29-year-old sits at the cutting edge of Alzheimer’s research, and has been praised for her groundbreaking work building a “library” of drug-like molecules to target irregular proteins that cause degenerative brain diseases. With dementia now the leading cause of death for women in England and Wales, her early breakthroughs and research could not be more vital.
VICKY FEATHERSTONEArtistic director of the Royal Court
Artistic director of the Royal Court since 2013, Vicky Featherstone is lauded for her commitment to new writing (The Ferryman, which swept the Oliviers in April) and attracting star names to her stages (Carey Mulligan already this year). But it was the 51-year-old’s rapid response to allegations of systematic sexual abuse in the theatre world – listening to 150 testimonies over five hours – and subsequent publication of a code of conduct, which has become an industry benchmark, that make her the most influential woman in theatre.
**JK ROWLING ** Author
It’s more than 20 years since JK Rowling brought Harry Potter into our lives, but his – and her – power over us remain undimmed. While audiences flock to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway, this autumn brings the film sequel to Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (part one took £85 million at the British box office). No surprise that 52-year-old Rowling is now the world’s highest-paid author. A generation belongs to her.
KAREN BLACKETTAdvertising director
Karen Blackett often jokes that she influences the majority of purchases we make in Britain. In January, she certainly became the most powerful person in British advertising when she was named country manager of WPP, the advertising and PR giant, overseeing a £2 billion turnover while managing a staff of 17,000. Blackett’s influence over consumer habits is unparalleled, while her experiences as a single mother (one raised by working-class, Barbados-born parents) motivates her to ensure advertising speaks to all.
HANNAH ANDERSONCo-founder of Social Chain
Hannah Anderson is the greatest social-media influencer you’ve never heard of. As co-founder of Manchester-based company Social Chain, the 26-year-old is behind some of the most successful social-media marketing strategies for the world’s biggest brands, including Apple and Amazon. Her pitch-perfect memes and hashtags – such as #findit for Nike, which reached more than 20 million consumers – make her key to unlocking a millennial audience.
DUA LIPASinger
The past 12 months have seen 22-year-old Dua Lipa go from lesser-known pop singer to stadium-filling star. The most streamed female artist in Britain last year, Lipa made Brits history in February, when she became the first woman to receive five nominations in one night. She’s a culture definer, too. Her hit “New Rules”, an anthem of female empowerment, laid out a blueprint for modern sex lives and has, to date, had more than a billion views on YouTube.
ANTONIA ROMEOPermanent secretary at the Department for International Trade
As head of the DIT – set up in the wake of Britain’s vote to leave the EU – Antonia Romeo, 43, has a lot resting on her shoulders. The high-flyer is in charge of envisaging what trade will look like in a post-Brexit world. Luckily, Romeo is as formidable as the job is. Previously, she was Britain’s first female consul general in New York, as well as director-general of economic and commercial affairs in the US, where she did stellar work promoting British fashion and culture.
CAROLE CADWALLADR, AMELIA GENTLEMAN, KATHARINE VINERJournalists
Mark Zuckerberg sitting sheepishly in front of a United States Senate Committee will go down as a defining image of 2018. Who put him there? Carole Cadwalladr, the British journalist who spent two years doggedly researching the astonishing Cambridge Analytica story for The Observer. In April, its sister paper The Guardian, edited by Katharine Viner, published intrepid reporter Amelia Gentleman’s revelations about the Windrush scandal. At a time when old media is routinely written off, these women proved the power that traditional investigative journalism still holds.
CAROLYN MCCALLChief executive of ITV
In January, after seven years as the CEO of Easyjet – a role that earned her a DBE for services to aviation and a personal fortune of £30 million – Carolyn McCall became the first female CEO of ITV. It made McCall, who also sits on the board of Burberry, one of the most powerful figures in broadcasting, determining the face and future of Britain’s most watched commercial TV channel. From Simon Cowell’s contract to the fate of Ant and Dec, the buck stops with her.
RUTH DAVIDSONLeader of the Scottish Conservative Party
When it comes to politics, we’ve learnt to expect the unexpected. Few could have foreseen that Ruth Davidson, the 39-year-old gay leader of the Scottish Conservatives, would be considered a future leader of the Conservatives full stop. And yet, in a sea of old-guard Tories, Davidson is a beacon, thanks to her relatable personality and progressive ideas – not to mention her spectacular gains for her party in the last Scottish elections. She continues to claim otherwise, but it could be a case of not if, but when, she takes Theresa May’s place.
Read more: Ruth Davidson: What Makes A Good Politician
MARIA BALSHAWDirector of Tate
Twelve months into her tenure as director of arguably the best-known group of art galleries in the world, Maria Balshaw’s impact can already be felt. This year she has overseen one of the most ambitious shows in Tate Modern’s history – the blockbuster Picasso 1932 – and launched an important new initiative to attract more young people to exhibitions. It’s no understatement, then, to call 48-year-old Balshaw the most powerful woman in art.
EDIE CAMPBELLModel
At the end of 2017, as the #metoo movement started to permeate the fashion industry, 27-year-old Edie Campbell gave a masterclass in how a person can use their privilege for good. The former Model of the Year’s widely read open letter to the fashion industry, criticising its promotion of a toxic “artist-genius” culture, was a key catalyst in bringing about much-needed reform to working practices, and gave cover for scores of younger models to speak out, too.
AMAL CLOONEYHuman-rights lawyer
As one of the world’s most respected human-rights lawyers, and one half of Hollywood’s foremost power couple, 40-year-old Amal Clooney inhabits a uniquely influential position. While some corners of the press may fixate on her fashion choices –– she co-chaired the Met Gala last month – her international profile also means the causes she champions – the plight of the Yazidi women kidnapped by Isis; the detained Reuters journalists in Burma – are afforded greater media exposure, a fact Clooney uses to positive ends.
YANA PEELCEO of the Serpentine Galleries
Ever since she arrived in London from Canada, Yana Peel has been one of the art world’s most effective manoeuvrers. After setting up the Outset Contemporary Art Fund, which connects artists with patrons, 44-year-old Peel was appointed to the Serpentine board. For the past two years she has been at the gallery’s helm, applying her extraordinary vision, knowledge and networking skills as she builds on its reputation as one of Britain’s leading agenda-setting arts institutions.
BRENDA HALEPresident of the Supreme Court
At every juncture in her groundbreaking career, Baroness Hale has made history: as the first woman appointed to the Law Commission in 1984 to first female Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 20 years later. At 73, she continues to inspire, with her appointment last year as the first female president of the Supreme Court, the highest court of appeal in Britain. An icon of the establishment.
STELLA MCCARTNEYFashion designer
“Sustainability” might be fashion’s freshest buzzword, but Stella McCartney has been championing conscious consumption for years. This March, she bought back the 50 per cent share of her label from luxury conglomerate Kering to take full control of her business. McCartney can now lay claim to running one of the most forward-thinking and powerful independent houses in fashion.
ADWOA ABOAHModel
In December 2017, Adwoa Aboah appeared on the cover of Vogue, heralding a new era for the magazine under editor-in-chief Edward Enninful. The same month, Aboah took home the award for Model of the Year at the Fashion Awards, recognition not just for the dozens of magazine covers, catwalk appearances and campaigns she was accumulating as fashion’s most in-demand model, but how, with her platform Gurls Talk, she has reinvented what it means to be a supermodel in 2018.
Read more: Adwoa Aboah Heads Home To Ghana With Burberry
COLLETTE ROCHEChief operating officer of Manchester United
In April, Manchester United appointed Collette Roche to its executive board, making her the most senior female figure in its history. Now COO of the wealthiest club in the world, Roche, a former executive director of Manchester Airports Group and, fittingly, a Northern Powerhouse board member, is primed to become one of the most powerful women in sport. Welcome news as Man U sets out to launch its first-ever professional women’s team.
SUE Y NABIBeauty innovator
Algerian-born, London-based Sue Y Nabi’s reputation is uncontested. Having spent 20 years at L’Oréal, as global president of L’Oréal Paris and Lancôme respectively, she is one of the original champions of industry diversity, reinventing the You’re Worth It campaigns by securing spokespeople such as Jane Fonda. Nabi holds a degree in engineering and has put all of her beauty know-how into Orveda – a vegan, genderless, Ayurvedic anti-ageing skincare brand that is redefining the market.
THE DUCHESS OF SUSSEXNew member of the Royal family
From a teenager posing outside the palace gates to a grown-up actress marrying one of the princes within them, Meghan Markle’s story (and wardrobe) captured the public imagination like no other this year. Almost overnight, the 36-year-old has become one of the most recognisable women in the world. But her influence stretches far beyond the ceaseless coverage of her style – as a bi-racial campaigning feminist from America, she is helping to forge a new 21st-century identity for the monarchy.
Read more: The Meaning Of Meghan
The July issue of British Vogue is on newsstands on June 8. Buy the issue or subscribe here.