Grace Coddington – ‘for me it was always Vogue’

 

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If you were fortunate enough to see the documentary film, The September Issue, which presented an inside view of planning the famed September issues of American Vogue magazine, then you would be familiar with the extraordinary talent and exceptional charm of Grace Coddington.

Grace Coddington on West 12th Street in New York. Credit Greg Kessler for the New York Times

Grace Coddington on West 12th Street in New York. Credit Greg Kessler for the New York Times

Born in Wales on April 20, 1941, as a young girl Grace became enthralled with fashion and style either through the films shown at the local cinema or the pages of the Vogue magazines she so earnestly sort.   ‘I bought it for the fantasy of looking at beautiful clothes and I liked getting lost in its pages’.

Grace Coddington in 1954, aged 13 Photo: Courtesy Grace Coddington

Grace Coddington in 1954, aged 13 Photo: Courtesy Grace Coddington

But it was the photographs themselves that captured her most.  ‘They transported me to all sorts of exotic places – places where you could wear that kind of thing.’

Around her 17th year, Grace won the Young Model section of a competition conducted by British Vogue and so began her modelling career.

Grace's first model card

Grace’s first model card

By 1960 Grace was featuring in British Vogue and by 1962 had done covers for both Vogue  and Harpers Bazaar.

Vogue cover

This expanded by 1967 to include French Elle (thousand’s issue) and Queen.  At around this time, Grace was appearing in hair shows for Vidal Sassoon, whose geometric cuts were becoming famous.  He created an avant garde style especially for Grace which was then called the Five Point Cut.

Grace - The Five Point Cut by Vidal Sassoon

Grace – The Five Point Cut by Vidal Sassoon

 

Grace - The Five Point Cut Profile styled by Vidal Sassoon

Grace – The Five Point Cut Profile styled by Vidal Sassoon

 

Grace Coddington - The Five Point Cut fashioned by Vidal Sasoon

Grace  – The Five Point Cut fashioned by Vidal Sassoon

A car accident interrupted her modelling career leaving her with facial and head injuries.  With the assistance of plastic surgery and employing admirable pluck, Grace sallied forward to continue modelling in both London and Paris until becoming fashion editor at British Vogue in 1968, a position she held for nineteen years.

Grace in the pool - Photographer:  Helmut Newton

Grace in the pool – Photographer: Helmut Newton

Enticed to New York as design director for Calvin Klein in 1986, after two years she was invited to become the creative director of American Vogue, a position which she still maintains.

Lady Gaga September Vogue 2

Lady Gaga September Vogue 2012 Photographers: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott

Grace’s exceptional creative talent takes the shoots she directs from the ordinary to the extraordinary.   She brings a power of precision to everything she does.

Kate Moss model  Photographer Tim Walker for Vogue

Kate Moss model Photographer Tim Walker for Vogue

Romantic and quixotic, at times allegorical she weaves the dream with her own unique ability often imbuing humour and wit as she creates sheer escapism.

Alice through the looking glass:  Photographer Annie Liebowitz for Vogue

Alice through the looking glass: Photographer Annie Liebowitz for Vogue

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Alice in Wonderland series Photographer Annie Liebowitz for Vogue

 

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Kate Moss for Vogue Photographer Tim Walker

 

Beautiful and opulent shoot of Kate Moss at The Ritz in Paris, photographed by Tim Walker and styled by Grace Coddington for Vogue US April 2012 issue.

Beautiful and opulent shoot of Kate Moss at The Ritz in Paris, photographed by Tim Walker and styled by Grace Coddington for Vogue US April 2012 issue.

Versailles second - Lacroix

Gown by Lacroix October Vogue 2007 Photographer: David Simms

Her personal style is pared back and tailored with no nonsense good taste.  Red lipstick and understated jewellery complete her confident look.  But it’s perhaps her striking red hair and the way in which she fashions it that reveals the passionate romantic who dwells beneath.

Grace Coddington

Her memoir,  Grace, was published in November 2012 and is great read, peppered with her sharp wit and personally illustrated.  This is the work of woman who enables us to lose ourselves in the magic of her visual story telling.

CAT POWER  Coddington in the living room of her New York City apartment, surrounded by a few of her photographs and collectibles. The cat cushions were a gift, two from designer Nicolas Ghesquière and the m

CAT POWER Coddington in the living room of her New York City apartment, surrounded by a few of her photographs and collectibles.

To enjoy more of Grace Coddington and her extraordinary body of work, view the video clip below.

Brilliant and inspiring, she has no equal.

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