Edward Enninful, editor in chief of the British Vogue and European editorial director at Vogue, and Max Mara creative director Ian Griffiths, are among six individuals who will receive honorary doctorates from the Royal College of Art.
Jony Ive, chancellor of the RCA, will present the honors to them across three convocation ceremonies which are being held over three days in September, alongside more than 2,000 students graduating from the RCA in the fields of design, communication, architecture and the arts and humanities.
Related Articles
Enninful, who will take on the new position of global creative and cultural adviser at Vogue, and will also become editorial adviser at British Vogue after he steps down from his current position next year, said he is “honored to receive this doctorate from the Royal College of Art, an institution which has given so much to the creative community.”
You May Also Like
“Education is a privilege to be part of; it offers a robust and rewarding foundation for life and I am forever blown away by the talents of the people who pass through the doors here. To be welcomed into the RCA’s history forevermore is a very special moment,” he added.
Griffiths, who will travel to London to receive the honor on Sept. 19, right ahead of the Max Mara spring 2024 show in Milan, said: “To be recognized by an institution like the Royal College of Art which is world famous for its leading position in art and design is a very great honor.”
Very nearly it didn’t happen because my success at the RCA all came from a project I did for MaxMara which won me my job here where I’ve been for 37 years. I nearly didn’t submit my project because the night before my black marker pen ran out. My flatmate came back from clubbing and she happened to have one, and that’s how I started my career at Max Mara.
“So I have the Royal College to thank for everything, and in particular, I have to pay tribute to Anne Tyrrell, my tutor at the RCA who’s no longer with us, unfortunately. From the beginning, she really believed in my ability and pushed me to greater and greater heights,” added Griffiths.
The other four honorary doctorates will go to Wayne McGregor, choreographer, director and the Royal Ballet resident choreographer, Dava Newman, director of MIT Media Lab, animator and filmmaker Vera Neubauer, and Lou Yongqi, dean at the College of Design and Innovation at China’s Tongji University.
The RCA will also award four honorary fellowships to Terry Irwin, director of the Transition Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, Eddie Opara and Natasha Je, partners at Pentagram, and Helen Protheroe, executive director of global partnerships and philanthropy at Allen Institute.
These awards are the highest recognition the school can bestow upon an individual to celebrate their exceptional accomplishments, the RCA said in a statement.