By Aditya Vij, MA Fashion Journalism, LCF
“No one wants to be perceived as a bitch”
Vanessa Kingori, Publishing Director of British Vogue is a charming lady with a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’, almost palpable. She walked into the RHS space at the London College of Fashion, at 6ft tall, looking robustly personified. Her energy was infectious, least to say. As she prepared to sit down comfortably and talk, her intelligence slowly descended in the room via her lightly husky voice. One of the major themes of her talk was her personal journey and how she became the first ever ‘female’ publisher in the history of British Vogue, and also the first ‘black’ one. Not to forget she was the youngest to helm this role too. Three major accomplishments, little known to people.
Born in Kenya and moving to London as an immigrant, her professional journey began with Evening Standard as an ‘acting group head’. Moving on from there, she entered Esquire. After three years, she swiftly took up the role of a publisher at GQ style. This gave her a background and deep understanding of the platform as after this, she became the publisher head of all British GQ platforms in 2015. “I feel lucky with every break”, she chuckled in a modest way.
Her journey has been a strenuous one but it could be argued that she got lucky, especially with her role as a GQ publisher since no one wanted to do it. She really focused and stressed upon being yourself. On this, she said, “create your own lane without having any pressure”. This also reflected in her clothing as well. Self expression is one of her main beliefs and her idea is that you don’t have to wear ‘suits’ to make a statement. “I deliberately don’t wear suits. I want to signal something different”.
She really has a strong sense of style and it truly defines her, especially in terms of working in a high-profile business setting. Breaking into a brief laughter, she said, “My style is exactly the way I am in real life”. This led the conversation into the most anticipated part of the evening, the revel of her own belonging, which she brought as part of the talk. Her ‘Jimmy Choo’ sandals were magnificently classic. They spoke highly of her chic taste, especially in accessories. She excitingly spoke on them and said, “I really value a pair of kickass heels as your whole posture changes when you wear them”. Interestingly, she had a weird relationship with them when she was younger as she never really adored them as much as she does today. “High heels are generally associated with presenting yourself with men”. 
Speaking modestly, she talked about how she had a certain nervousness while entering Vogue. She explains, “The power of Vogue means you can normalize things and create challengingly creative content”. This also includes diversity, which always takes a front seat in whatever she pursues. Growing up, she desperately wanted to be average. She said, “My height was the final straw”. But contrary to this belief, she said one should never amend themselves according to the world. “When you feel your worst, you should always dress your best”.
Hoarding is one aspect which she absolutely loathes. “I am the worst hoarder. Clothes have a life. I can’t just throw things away”. After a quick chirpy moment, she developed a more serious tone on the topic of being a work ‘bitch’, saying, “It is consistently important to remind people why they are here. People don’t mind working hard, they just want to be respected”. Ending the talk with a tranquilly cheery sigh, she spoke and emphasized on loving what you do and time as a core aspect to develop business relationships. “Be mindful of other people’s time. If you want others to spare their time, make yourself useful”.