The fashion industry sees a huge shake-up today, with the announcement that Grace Coddington is stepping down from her role of Creative Director at American Vogue.
Vogue's publishing house Conde Nast confirmed the news, telling *Business of Fashion *she will become “creative editor at large,” doing “several” stories a year for the magazine while exploring outside opportunities.
Grace has held the position of Creative Director at Vogue for over 25 years, assuming her title the same year Anna Wintour became Editor In Chief in 1988.
Grace became an accidental celebrity after appearing in the iconic 2009 movie The September Issue - the calm, enigmatic right-hand woman to fashion's most famous editor, she was one of the best things about the movie. She inspired audiences with her ability to push fashion to its limits, eschewing practicality to make fantasies a reality.
While her side-step from the magazine signals a huge shift for the industry, Grace has insisted this isn't the last we'll see of her, and that she definitely isn't retiring.
She told BoF of the decision “I really love Vogue, it’s been in my life always, they discovered me as a model at 19. I’m not running away from Vogue, because it has opened so many doors. But it will be nice to collaborate, and nice to go out [and] give talks to people. It’s just another approach. I’m certainly not going into retirement. I don’t want to sit around.”
Indeed, the 74-year-old has no lack of projects in the pipeline. As well as styling four stories a year for Vogue, she will be working on a perfume with Comme des Garçons, and is also returning to the big screen (much to the delight of September Issue fans) in self-titled movie, Grace, based on her 2012 memoir. She's also got a follow-up to her 2002 book, Grace: Thirty Years Of Fashion At Vogue, in the pipeline.