Nicholas Coleridge is chairman of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Beginning his career as a journalist at Tatler, he moved to the Evening Standard as a columnist, and was appointed editor of Harpers & Queen (now Harper’s Bazaar) at age 29. Joining Conde Nast in 1989 he spent 26 years at the top, overseeing some of the world’s leading brands such as GQ and Vogue, operating in 32 markets and reaching over 400 million. An author of fourteen books, his renowned memoir ‘The Glossy Years’ recounts his experiences as a socialite, attending parties with Princess Diana; and his adventures as a journalist, including a brief spell in a Sri Lankan prison. In this in-depth conversation, he describes the incredible challenge the pandemic has brought to the museum sector – noting the V&A has lost 75% of its visitors, he discusses the long-term viability of maintaining the nation’s cultural heritage; reflects on the exciting day-to-day of the media industry and his experience launching the staple magazines Vanity Fair, Wired and Glamour; and fondly explains why he will forever be “an optimist for print.”