Behind the scenes of British Vogue and Edward Enninful's final cover: Video reveals how 40 of the world's leading ladies flew to New York at their own expense for iconic shoot

British Vogue have revealed the incredible logistics involved behind outgoing editor Edward Enninful’s epic final cover shoot.

Edward, 51, the first male and first black editor of the publication, announced in June that he would be stepping down to take on a new global role at publisher Conde Nast.

And to ensure his final cover would be one to remember, he gathered the likes of Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss, Gigi Hadid, Salma Hayek, Oprah and Miley Cyrus in one room to pose for the snap.

A behind the scenes video shared on the magazine’s Instagram account shows the 40 legends assembling in a New York studio ready for Steven Meisel to snap the cover.

British Vogue have revealed the incredible logistics involved behind outgoing editor Edward Enninful ‘s epic final cover shoot

After sending out his requests to his 40 cover stars, Edward confessed he held his breath hoping they’d agree, before the celebrities flew in (at their own expense) to NYC for the shoot

It was important to Edward to have all the women in one room and not rely on photoshop, but it meant a jaw-dropping amount of preparation for the editor and his team.

Edward revealed how he wrote personal notes to each woman asking them to participate while his team estimate they send out 1,000 WhatsApp messages to organise the huge shoot.

After sending out his requests to his 40 cover stars, Edward confessed he held his breath hoping they’d agree, before the celebrities flew in (at their own expense) from London, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles and beyond to arrive in December for the New York-based shoot.

He recalled: ‘They materialised as if from a dream.

‘When 8am rolled around the models, the movie icons, the musicians, the moguls, the sporting legends and media stars began to arrive. Mother and daughter Kaia Gerber and Cindy Crawford carpooled.

‘Ditto Salma Hayek Pinault and Linda Evangelista, given Salma stayed at Linda’s house the night before.

‘Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus squeaked in by the skin of their popstar schedules. And everyone made sure things ran smoothly so Gigi Hadid could make it home on time to her toddler.’

To ensure his final cover would be one to remember, he gathered the likes of Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss, Gigi Hadid , Salma Hayek , Oprah and Miley Cyrus in one room to pose for the snap

40 legendary British Vogue cover stars came together to shoot Edward Enninful’s final edition: 1. Anok Yai, 2. Kaia Gerber, 3. Naomi Campbell, 4. Dua Lipa, 5. Maya Jama, 6. Kate Moss, 7. Cynthia Erivo, 8. Simone Ashley, 9. Lila Moss, 10. Ariana Debose, 11. Jameela Jamil 12. Oprah, 13. Salma Hayek, 14. Christy Turlington, 15. Selma Blair, 16. Miley Cyrus, 17. Iman, 18. Linda Evangelista, 19. Jane Fonda, 20. Cara Delevingne, 21. Gugu Mbatha-Raw, 22. Gigi Hadid, 23. Adwoa Aboah, 24. Victoria Beckham, 25. Paloma Elsesser, 26. Gemma Chan, 27. Jodie Comer, 28. Precious Lee, 29. Amber Valletta, 30. Adut Akech, 31. Cindy Crawford, 32. Karen Elson, 33. Irina Shayk, 34. Laverne Cox, 35. Anya Taylor-Joy, 36. Serena Williams, 37. Rina Sawayama, 38. Karlie Kloss, 39. Vittoria Ceretti, 40. Jourdan Dunn

The whole process was completed at lightning speed with fittings done and dusted in two days and the actual shoot only taking 15 minutes after photographer Meisel had intricately mapped out his scene with stand-ins.

Revealing how he came to choosing the icons, Edward penned for Vogue: ‘When it came to my last issue, I knew the cover would be dedicated to women. Of course!

‘It was clear to all of us on the team that no one woman could or should encapsulate these past few years for the magazine.’

‘What we needed was a group, to lean into the power of the collective to bring to life what I hope has been a daring, disruptive and evolutionary period in Vogue’s history.’