Nicholas Coleridge

Coleridge was born in London, the son of David Coleridge, who was chairman of Lloyd's of London in the late 1980s.[http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/QandA.aspx?id=4663&catID=0 Nicholas Coleridge Q&A at Orion Publishing Group] He is the eldest of three brothers, and educated at Ashdown House,{{cite news |last1=Fox |first1=Thomas |title=Sussex boarding school where Boris Johnson and Marvel star attended |url=https://www.sussexlive.co.uk/news/sussex-news/boris-johnson-damian-lewis-school-7386511 |work=Sussex Live |date=30 July 2022 |language=en}} Eton College{{Cite web|url=http://www.etoncollege.com/FamousOEs.aspx|title = Our History}} and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied theology and history of art.{{cite news|newspaper =The Independent|date=12 January 1998|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/interview-welcome-to-the-glossy-world-of-a-chap-always-in-vogue-1138279.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/interview-welcome-to-the-glossy-world-of-a-chap-always-in-vogue-1138279.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Interview}}

As an Eton schoolboy he won the Jeremy Thorpe prize for debating with his schoolfriend Craig Brown; the prize was later renamed when Thorpe's reputation fell under a shadow.{{cite book |last1=Coleridge |first1=Nicholas |title=The Glossy Years |publisher=Penguin Fig Tree |pages=368}}

He has been chairman of The Victoria and Albert Museum, chairman and president of Conde Nast, co-chair of The Platinum Jubilee Pageant{{cite web |title=The Platinum Jubilee Pageant |website=The Royal Family |url=https://www.royal.uk/platinum-jubilee-pageant}} for the late Queen Elizabeth II, chairman of the PPA – the Professional Publishers' Association – and two-term chairman of the British Fashion Council for four years, overseeing London Fashion Week for the Department of Trade and Industry. In 2002, as chairman of the British Fashion Council, he suggested that the then Sunday Times fashion editor, Colin McDowell, was habitually too negative about British fashion designers.{{cite news |last1=Cartner-Morley |first1=Jess |date=18 February 2002 |title=A fractious start to London fashion week |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/feb/18/jesscartnermorleyonfashion.expertopinions |accessdate=17 September 2019 |work=The Guardian |language=en}} This drew criticism from McDowell, who accused Coleridge of jingoism.

From 1989 to 2019, he was successively editorial director of Condé Nast Britain, managing director, Condé Nast Britain (1991–2017), vice president, Condé Nast International and president, Condé Nast International, the division of Condé Nast which publishes 139 magazines in 27 international markets, and over 100 websites. He was described by Campaign magazine in 2012 as “magazines' most compelling advocate for almost two decades”.Alastair Reid [http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/analysis/1117291/ "All About ... Magazine industry consolidation"], Campaign, 16 February 2012 Coleridge initiated Condé Nast's Vogue College of Fashion and Design in 2013, a degree-awarding academic institution in London's Soho. From 2017 to 2019, he was chairman of Condé Nast Britain.

He was the chairman of the Victoria and Albert museum (2015–23). During his tenure, the museum opened its Exhibition Road courtyard, the Blavatnik Hall and Sainsbury Gallery, V&A Dundee in Scotland, Young V&A in Bethnal Green and initiated the two new museums on the Olympic Park - V&A Storehouse and V&A East.{{cite book |last1=Coleridge |first1=Nicholas |title=The Glossy Years |date=12 November 2019 |publisher=Penguin Fig Tree |isbn=9780241342879 |pages=368}}

From 2008-2024 he was successively vice chairman and chairman (2013–2024) of HM The King's Campaign For Wool, a global endeavour established to promote the sheep and wool industries, as well as sustainability and biodiversity.{{cite news |title=Peter Ackroyd MBE to succeed Campaign for Wool chairman Sir Nicholas Coleridge CBE |url=https://www.campaignforwool.org/peter-ackroyd-mbe-to-succeed-campaign-for-wool-chairman-sir-nicholas-coleridge-cbe/ |work=Campaign For Wool |date=6 January 2025 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Campaign for Wool announces new chairman {{!}} Farm News {{!}} Farmers Guardian |url=https://www.farmersguardian.com/news/4390873/campaign-wool-announces-chairman |work=www.farmersguardian.com |date=21 December 2024 |language=en}}

He was founding chairman of Fashion Rocks, the fashion and rock music extravaganza showcasing the world's eighteen top fashion designers including Dior, Chanel, Prada and Ralph Lauren paired with eighteen top rock stars including Beyoncé, Robbie Williams, Bryan Ferry and David Bowie.{{cite web |title=Fashion Rocks |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion_Rocks |website=Wikipedia |language=en |date=19 August 2024}}

He has been a member of the council of the Royal College of Art, and a member of the trading board of the Prince's Trust. He was a director of PressBof,{{Cite web |url=http://www.pcc.org.uk/about/whoswho/pressbof.html |title=Press Complaints Commission >> About the PCC >> Who's Who >> PressBof |access-date=8 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016080014/http://www.pcc.org.uk/about/whoswho/pressbof.html |archive-date=16 October 2013 |url-status=dead }} the parent organisation of the Press Complaints Commission, 2007–2014. He is an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple, an ambassador for the Landmark Trust{{cite web |title=Nicholas Coleridge CBE |url=https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/about-us/our-people/landmark-ambassadors/nicholas-coleridge-cbe/ |website=www.landmarktrust.org.uk}} and a patron of the Elephant Family.{{cite web |title=Supporters |url=https://elephant-family.org/about-us/supporters/ |website=Elephant Family}}

As a journalist, he has been an contributor to The Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph, The Spectator and the Financial Times. In 1976, between school and university, he was a cub reporter on the Falmouth Packet newspaper in Cornwall.{{cite news |last1=Sharman |first1=David |title=Ex-editor John Marquis writes history of Falmouth Packet - Journalism News from HoldtheFrontPage |url=https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2022/news/ex-editor-writes-history-of-the-most-famous-little-paper-in-the-world/ |work=HoldtheFrontPage}} From 1979 to 1982 he was associate editor of the Tatler, working for then editor Tina Brown;{{cite web |last1=Coleridge |first1=Nicholas |title=The Glossy Years |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/307783/the-glossy-years-by-coleridge-nicholas/9780241342893 |language=en |date=16 July 2020}} from 1982 to 1985 he was a columnist at the Evening Standard. While on assignment making a television documentary about Tamil terrorism in Sri Lanka in 1984, he was arrested and jailed for ten days in Welikada prison, Colombo,{{cite web |last1=Coleridge |first1=Nicholas |title=The Glossy Years |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/307783/the-glossy-years-by-coleridge-nicholas/9780241342893 |language=en |date=16 July 2020}} where he embarked upon writing a collection of short stories, How I Met My Wife. From 1986–1989 he was editor-in-chief of Harpers & Queen magazine, a Hearst title, before joining Condé Nast.{{cite web |last1=Coleridge |first1=Nicholas |title=The Glossy Years |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/307783/the-glossy-years-by-coleridge-nicholas/9780241342893 |language=en |date=16 July 2020}}

He has written fourteen books,{{Cite web |title=Nicholas Coleridge |url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nicholas-Coleridge/e/B001IQUO7O |website=Amazon UK}} both fiction and non-fiction, based either upon his professional life (The Fashion Conspiracy,{{cite book |title=The Fashion Conspiracy: A Remarkable Journey Through the Empires of Fashion: Amazon.co.uk: Nicholas Coleridge: 9780749300609: Books |id={{ASIN|0749300604|country=uk}} }} Paper Tigers,{{cite book |last1=Coleridge |first1=Nicholas |title=Paper Tigers |id={{ASIN|0749307277|country=uk}} }} With Friends Like These{{cite book |last1=Coleridge |first1=Nicholas |title=With Friends Like These: Amazon.co.uk: Nicholas Coleridge: 9780752807300: Books |id={{ASIN|0752807307|country=uk}} }}) or epic novels (Godchildren,{{cite book |last1=Coleridge |first1=Nicholas |title=Godchildren: Amazon.co.uk: Nicholas Coleridge: 9780752811635: Books |id={{ASIN|0752811630|country=uk}} }} A Much Married Man,{{cite book |last1=Coleridge |first1=Nicholas |title=A Much Married Man |id={{ASIN|0752879634|country=uk}} }} Deadly Sins,{{cite book |last1=Coleridge |first1=Nicholas |title=Deadly Sins |id={{ASIN|0752886193|country=uk}} }} The Adventuress{{cite web |title=The Adventuress |url=https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/titles/nicholas-coleridge/the-adventuress/9781409109211/ |date=19 July 2018}}.) The Fashion Conspiracy was the UK Number 1 bestseller. His memoirs, The Glossy Years: Magazines, Museums and Selective Memoirs{{cite web |last1=Coleridge |first1=Nicholas |title=The Glossy Years |website=Amazon UK |url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Glossy-Years-Magazines-Museums-Selective-ebook/dp/B07MXNVC8B/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2CF69XEHOR322&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.gvRgzn77NVPvZatytIJRBmL1B4FOCzvyscdGrgubro4dvz1_r3veWtSB_eaIMhUZ.UCfr1ygBRxP75Nc7SjLla4F1JM7G8f8SQTnx9e4BsOs&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+glossy+years+nicholas+coleridge&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1737458449&s=audible&sprefix=the+glossy+years+nicholas+coleridge%2Caudible%2C86&sr=1-1-catcorr}} were published in 2019.

He is married to Georgia Metcalfe, an author and healer, and they have four children. They live in Chelsea, London, and in Worcestershire. The December 2007 issue of Condé Nast's World of Interiors magazine contains a feature on his country house, the 1709 Wolverton Hall in Worcestershire. In 2020, he commissioned a 46 foot Folly{{cite web |last1=Aslet |first1=Clive |title=The rather wise folly at Wolverton Hall: 'There isn't a detail that I don't think is extraordinarily deft and beautiful' |url=https://www.countrylife.co.uk/architecture/the-rather-wise-folly-at-wolverton-hall-there-isnt-a-detail-that-i-dont-think-is-extraordinarily-deft-and-beautiful-217120 |website=Country Life |language=en |date=26 July 2020}} by the architect Quinlan Terry{{cite web |last1=Terry |first1=Quinlan |title=Quinlan Terry {{!}} Classical Building Design & Architect Services |url=https://qtarchitects.com/ |website=Quinlan Terry Architects |language=en}} in a Georgian/Tudor/Jacobean style, which won a Georgian Group award in 2021.{{cite news |title=Architectural Awards 2021 {{!}} The Georgian Group |url=https://georgiangroup.org.uk/2021/10/06/architectural-awards-2021/ |work=georgiangroup.org.uk}}

He was the 1982 British Press Awards Young Journalist of the Year, as a columnist at the Evening Standard, and was given the Mark Boxer Lifetime Achievement Award{{cite news |title=67. Nicholas Coleridge |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/jul/14/mediatop100200863 |work=The Guardian |date=13 July 2008}} for magazine journalism by the British Society of Magazine Editors in 2001. In 2013, he was awarded the Marcus Morris Lifetime Achievement Award for publishing by the Professional Publishers Association (PPA). In June 2017, he was inducted into the Professional Publishers Association's Hall of Fame by Lord Heseltine. In May 2018 he was awarded the lifetime "Outstanding Contribution to British Media" Prize at the British Media Awards.{{cite news |title=Nicholas Coleridge wins Outstanding Contribution to British Media |url=https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/nicholas-coleridge-wins-outstanding-contribution-british-media/1464981 |work=www.campaignlive.co.uk |language=en}}

Coleridge was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours{{London Gazette|issue=59090 |date=13 June 2009 |page=7 |supp=y }} and was knighted in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to museums, publishing and the creative industries.{{London Gazette|issue=63714|supp=y|page=B2|date=1 June 2022}}{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-61650704 | title=Queen's Jubilee birthday honours: BEM for church service streamer | work=BBC News | date=June 2022 }}{{cite web | url=https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/human-interest/queen-honours-invaluable-qualities-c-7023751 | title=Queen honours 'invaluable' qualities | date=June 2022 }} He was appointed a deputy lieutenant for Worcestershire in 2022.{{cite news |last1=Coleridge |first1=Nicholas |title=Vice Lord-Lieutenant and Deputy Lieutenants {{!}} Worcestershire County Council |url=https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/lieutenancy/vice-lord-lieutenant-and-deputy-lieutenants |work=www.worcestershire.gov.uk}} In September 2023, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Literature and Honorary Fellowship by the University of Worcester,{{cite news |title=Graduation Celebrations Mark the Achievements of More Than 3,000 Students - University Of Worcester |url=https://www.worcester.ac.uk/about/news/2023-graduation-celebrations-mark-the-achievements-of-more-than-3000-students |work=www.worcester.ac.uk}} and an Honorary Doctorate of Arts by the University of Buckingham.{{cite news |title=Honorary Graduates 2023 |url=https://www.buckingham.ac.uk/graduation/honorary-graduates/2023 |work=University of Buckingham |language=en}}

A portrait of Coleridge by photographer William Teakle is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London.{{cite web |title=Nicholas David Coleridge - Person - National Portrait Gallery |url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp58450 |website=National Portrait Gallery, London |access-date=8 February 2021}}

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Category:1957 births

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Nicholas

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