Vanessa Kingori appointed British Vogue publisher

Ms Vanessa Kingori, a Briton of Kenyan origin has been named the new publishing director of British Vogue. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • She was the first woman to head the male dominated magazine as well as the first and only black Publisher.
  • Kingori studied Management and Sociology at Royal Holloway, University of London.

A Briton of Kenyan origin has been appointed publishing director of one of the most prestigious and oldest fashion magazines in the world.

Ms Vanessa Kingori, a British citizen of Kenyan and Caribbean origin, was Tuesday announced the Publishing Director of British Vogue.

Ms Kingori, who has achieved what many in the fashion world would only dream of, has worked for one of the world’s most esteemed magazine publishing house- Condé Nast UK for 8 years which has seen her meteoric rise to the helm on one of the largest magazines in the world.

Condé Nast owns 20 of the world’s renown media brands such as GQ, Wired, Vogue, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker among others.

GQ MAGAZINE

Prior to her appointment, she was promoted to the position of Publisher of British GQ magazine in March 2015, an appointment has made her a history-maker on many fronts.

As the Publisher of British GQ magazine, she was the first woman to head the male dominated magazine as well as the first and only black Publisher in Condé Nast’s 100-year history.

Ms Kingori was the youngest publisher within the Condé Nast publishing stable. Her career in the luxury brands industry has also seen her sit at the helm of other high-society publications such as EsquireMagazine in the UK where she served as the Fashion Manager.

Ms Kingori’s impressive portfolio has afforded her a seat at the Mayor of London’s Brexit Expert Advisory Panel. As a member of this prominent panel, she will be among the team of experts who will provide advice and guidance to the Mayor of London as Britain gears up to leave the European Union.

QUEEN

In 2016, Ms Kingori was listed among the Most Influential Black Britons in the UK and was awarded an MBE on the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honors List. An MBE or Member of the order of the British Empire is an honour awarded to an individual for an outstanding achievement of service to the community.

In a previous interview, Ms Kingori said she and her sister were raised by their mother, a single parent working long hours as a nurse in the National Health Service (NHS).

Ms Kingori studied Management and Sociology at Royal Holloway, University of London before joining the fashion world.

She previously worked for the Evening Standard’s ES magazine before joining Esquire Magazine in the UK and later Condé Nast.

Although she does not speak much of her Kenyan father, Ms Kingori, in a fashion blog, once alluded to him saying he is a scientist. “I am a product of the city’s melting pot. Pre the globalised world we now know, where else but in London would my mother – a beautiful; wide-eyed; small-island Caribbean nurse – meet my father – a well spoken; immaculately suited; worldly; Kenyan scientist?”

Ms Kingori takes over from Mr Stephen Quinn, who is set to retire at the end of the year.