Saturday 5 June 2010

THE JOY OF GRACE

Upon the arrival of my July issue of British Vogue, I was pleased to discover several pages dedicated to the genius of Grace Coddington.
Before the documentary 'The September Issue', creative director of Vogue, Grace Coddington, was a relative unknown to those outside the fashion bubble. Since the film's release in 2007 she has become an instant celebrity.
I have always been an admirer of Grace, warming to her British humour and wit, and she is one of my career idols. Coddington is the yin to Wintour's yang and gives us fashion students/interns/dreamers a sense of hope that 'being bitch' is not always necessary. Saying that, Coddington is a hard worker and a perfectionist and knows her stuff - she most certainly hasn't achieved her position and notoriety by chance.
I read the article with a sense of pride in this lady. Alongside Anna Wintour, she holds one of the most powerful positions in the fashion industry. She is one of those rather eccentric heroes of British fashion who I would class alongside Vivienne Westwood and Zandra Rhodes. Those women who have a sense of originality and purpose beyond any realm of constraint and contemplation.
Here are some of my favourite quotes from the article, given by some of Coddington's contemporaries and Coddington herself;

"Grace's vision is unique. Both her passion and dedication to fashion seem to grow every year, and her interpretation of it is always witty and fresh." MUCCIA PRADA

"I wish I was slim like Anna. But I'm not. I mean, I try. I recently started going to the gym, you know - I wake up in the morning, I ache all over. And black makes me look thinner. So, much to Anna's dismay, I wear black." GRACE CODDINGTON

"Grace is the most fearless and creative woman in fashion" KAREN ELSON

"She did all the firsts. She was the first person to use a model with no make-up....with freckles, or bird's nest hair. She was the first person to do a shoot like a documentary. The first person to shoot in China. And the USSR. Nobody else had done it." LUCINDA CHAMBERS

"Every girl loves her. She's the nice mom on set. And she's the only editor I've ever met who gets down on the floor and ties your shoes." COCO ROCHA

"Grace's judgement on fashion is unparalleled. And one thing I have learnt after many years of working with her is to trust her instincts implicitly. She's always right." ANNA WINTOUR