She is a fashion icon, stylist and has been creative director of American Vogue since 1988. The fiery redhead Grace Coddington, outlines in her memoir a portrait of 50 years in the fashion industry, in which she looks back on her life through the use of self-drawn illustrations, her famous fashion reports and archive images. Once a shy girl from North Wales, who became a model working in London and Paris, went on to be a fashion editor in New York.
Stylistically, the book isn’t going to win any prizes (but perhaps it’s the Dutch version?) but I read it during my flight to America all in one go. It’s hard to imagine, but at the beginning of my career as a stylist and fashion editor (moi, just a little younger) my experience was that the models had to bring their own shoes and have a light and dark coloured bra and underpants to use on photo shoots. In some cases, they even had to do their own hair and makeup. Yes, people; those were the days …
In the last pages of Grace’s memoirs, there’s a chapter entitled ‘Then and Now,’ in which she writes:
“Who are all these people? Sometimes I think I’m the last remaining person who comes to the shows FOR THE PLEASURE OF SEEING THE CLOTHES. There’s more that’s filmed and tweeted or stupid questions are asked and everyone’s got an opinion”.
Yes, Grace, fashion and the world around it have changed. Much of the creativity that could be found has given way to commerce. And it’s also true nowadays, that anyone that likes to shop can hang out a shingle and call themselves a ‘personal shopper’. A girl wearing a bracelet sometimes dares to readily call herself a stylist, and if you wear designer clothes with the help of a personal shopper, you are lauded as a style icon.
Read this memoir! It’s a valuable book, where the modern fashion world is seen from a historical perspective. It’s written with a healthy dose of self-deprecation, it’s funny, poignant, and above all, entertaining. Creative and passionate professionals such as Grace, have the gift of making our lives a little better; they can tell stories that touch us with their images and emotions.
She is a fashion icon, stylist and has been creative director of American Vogue since 1988. The down-to-earth redhead Grace Coddington sketches in her memoir a portrait of 50 years in the fashion industry in which she looks back on her life with self-drawn illustrations, her famous fashion reports and archive images. Once she was a shy girl from North Wales, who became a model and worked in London and Paris before becoming a fashion editor in New York.
Stylistically, the book isn’t going to win any prizes (or the Dutch translation is clumsy?), but I read it during my flight to America all in one go. It’s hard to imagine, but at the beginning of my career as a stylist and fashion editor (me just a tad younger) I experienced that models had to bring their own shoes and that they had to carry a light and a dark colored bra and underpants to a shoot. In some cases, they even had to do their own hair and makeup. Yes people, those were the days...
The last pages of Grace’s memoirs end with a chapter about Then and Now. She writes:
Who are all these people who come to those presentations and shows? Am I the only one here TO LOOK AT THE CLOTHES and not to be SEEN MYSELF? There’s just filming and tweeting, stupid questions are answered and everyone is allowed to have an opinion.
Yes Grace, fashion and the world around it have changed. Much of the creativity of the past has had to make way for commerce. And it’s true that any hobbyist who enjoys buying clothes can nowadays declare themselves a personal shopper. A girl who can wear a bracelet sometimes dares to quickly call herself a stylist and if you wear designer clothes with the help of that personal shopper, you are soon elevated to style icon.
So read this memoir! It’s a valuable reflection in which the modern fashion world is placed in historical perspective. It’s written with healthy self-mockery, funny, sharp but above all entertaining. Creative and passionate professionals like Grace have the gift of making our lives a little more beautiful; they can tell stories with images and evoke emotions.
GRACE A memoir Grace Coddington Publisher Atlas Contact
