Over 30 years she created some of US Vogue’s most exciting and influential photo spreads, but now Grace Coddington has stepped aside. Is this a turning point for the industry?
Acamel, a biplane and a monster truck convene in the Californian desert. A trio of dalmatians flank Naomi Campbell in a white convertible. Nine models lounge in haute couture in an enchanted forest. A handsome spaceman washes up in his capsule on a hazy beach.
Often described as the most influential fashion editor of the past 30 years, US Vogue creative director Grace Coddington has produced some of fashion’s most memorable imagery. Her pictures might be jolly and decadent or moody and mysterious, but they always tell a story – and a sweeping, vivid yarn at that.
On Wednesday, Coddington announced that she was stepping down from her role. It sounded, at first, like a subtle shift – the 74-year-old would become creative director-at-large, working on several shoots a year – but the industry’s reaction was seismic. New York Times fashion critic Vanessa Friedman described her decision as “the tectonic plates shifting”, arguing that the old guard of fashion might finally be making way for a new, more digitally aware culture.
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