Vogue chief in miracle escape after cliff plunge
NICHOLAS COLERIDGE, the much-loved boss of Condé Nast International – which publishes fashion magazine Vogue and high society bible Tatler – has narrowly escaped death after his Land Rover careered down a cliff during a Christmas holiday.
Nicholas was on a dream trip to Ethiopia with his wife Georgia and their four children when the accident happened.
They had spent Christmas Eve visiting the stunning rock churches in the holy city of Lalibela, and afterwards decided to take a trip to the town’s famous Torpedo bar.
But during the journey, their driver misjudged the kerb, causing their car to crash over the side of a cliff. The vehicle rolled over but, miraculously, it came to a halt after crashing into a shepherd’s hut about 20ft below.
Nicholas tells me: ‘We weren’t hurt but it was quite a thing.
‘Fortunately, we managed to escape out of one of the windows, clambering out of the wreckage on all fours. It was like the scene in James Bond when Jaws climbs out of the window of a crashed train.’
Nicholas, who will be celebrating his 60th birthday in March with a star-studded party at the V&A in London, added: ‘It was a steep cliff and the car only stopped rolling because happily we came to rest against a shepherd’s hut.
‘There was about a minute when we feared the worst.
‘But we emerged, dusted ourselves off and headed to the bril- liant Torpedo for a stiff gin and tonic. And I must point out that it was a complete one-off and Ethiopia is the most amazing – and very safe – place to visit. ‘More people should go on holiday there because it is spectacular and we had the most wonderful time.’
Coming from the boss of Condé Nast Traveller magazine, that is quite some accolade.