Grace Coddington Steps Down as Creative Director of Vogue

published 20 January 2016

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This morning we awoke to a very surprising bit of news in our inboxes (thanks, BoF!): Vogue Creative Director Grace Coddington has stepped down from her position at the American magazine, effective immediately. But before you get into a frenzy (ok, we got into a frenzy), a spokesperson has revealed that she will assume the role of creative director at large, producing at least four editorial spreads a year. Phew!

The beloved stylist will begin to work on external projects under the management of Great Bowery (others on their roster include Bruce Weber and Annie Leibovitz). What to expect next? For starters, an upcoming fragrance with Comme des Garçons and possibly even an animated film based off of her “Catwalk Cats” illustration series.

Now for the question that’s surely on everyone’s minds: What does Anna Wintour think? “Anna and I always check in with each other. It grew out of those conversations,” she said. “I guess I kept going to her and saying, ‘Do you mind if I do a book, do you mind if I do a thing?’ She has always been really respectful of me, just as I am respectful of her. She saw that I wanted to branch out a little bit,” Coddington tells Business of Fashion.

The tides are certainly turning, but we’re grateful Grace Coddington will continue to play a large part in the future of fashion! Leave your thoughts about her career move in the comments, and if you haven't read her memoir yet, be sure to pick it up!

Nicole Kliest is a freelance writer and editor based in New York City who focuses on fashion, travel, food, wine, and pretty much anything else that's amusing to write about. After graduating from Pepperdine University with a bachelor's in journalism and creative writing, she started her career back in 2010 as Who What Wear's photo editor and throughout the last decade has contributed to publications including Fashionista, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, The Zoe Report, PopSugar, Fodor's Travel, and several others. She also copywrites and has worked with clients such as Frame, Sea, 3x1, Intelligentsia, and others to develop brand voices through storytelling and creative marketing. She's very passionate about the ways we can improve our sustainability efforts in the fashion industry as well as cultivating content that's diverse and inclusive of all people. When she's not checking out the latest restaurant opening in her West Village neighborhood or riding her bicycle along the West Side Highway, she can be found scheming her next trip somewhere around the world. (Up next is Vienna.)