Grace Coddington steps down, but not away, from Vogue

By Erika Palmer 01/20/16 at 09:38 AM

Photo: Arthur Elgort / WSJ Magazine

If you didn’t already know Grace Coddington’s name after seeing her on the American Vogue masthead for almost 30 years, you surely did after seeing 2009’s documentary, The September Issue, or reading her books - most famously the 400-page “Grace: Thirty Years of Fashion at Vogue”. More recently she ordered up Uberkitties to the Vogue’s office last October!

Coddington, now age 74, has a long history with the Vogue Magazine chain. She won a Vogue model contest while still in her teens, launching her modeling career with the magazine. A few years later a car accident ended her modeling career, but that didn’t stop Grace Coddington – just two years later she started work as Junior Editor, then Photo Editor, with British Vogue, where she remained for 19 years. She has been with American Vogue since 2008.

She announced today that she would be stepping down as Creative Director at Vogue, effective immediately. Fear not however, though she is stepping down from her Creative Director position, she will keep ties with Vogue as Creative Director at Large, which will enable her to still do several stories a year with Vogue, but work on projects outside of the magazine as well.

“It’s just another approach. I’m certainly not going into retirement. I don’t want to sit around.” Coddington told Business of Fashion after her announcement. Her future plans include penning another book about her time with Vogue which will be available this fall, and creating a perfume with Comme des Garçons, due to be released in April.

There are no current plans to replace her at the magazine, and she will continue to have an office and assistant at the Vogue office.

Good luck with your new adventures Ms. Coddington!