Grace Coddington steps down from US Vogue

Former model and legendary stylist Grace Coddington has resigned from her role as creative director of American Vogue. Business of Fashion announced the news, saying that she will now be taking on a “growing number of external projects alongside her styling duties at the magazine”.

While she is stepping down from the position, it is understood that Coddington will remain on the magazine’s masthead. “After more than 25 years at American Vogue, Grace Coddington will assume the role of creative director at large and take on additional projects outside the magazine,” a spokesperson for American Vogue told BoF. “She will work on several Vogue fashion shoots throughout the year.”

"Vogue has been in my life always"

“I really love Vogue, it’s been in my life always, they discovered me as a model at 19,” the 74-year-old stylist told the publication. “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.”

It is understood that Coddington will be represented by agency Great Bowery. “I suddenly realised that I needed some help from outside,” she said of her decision to sign to Great Bowery. “I didn’t want to be pigeonholed into just styling a shoot, I wanted to do something beyond. I approached them and they were willing to help me on all sorts of aspects. They’re thinking up ideas for me, which is fun.

Whilst Coddington has been a key figure in the fashion world since she was discovered as a model in the 60s, she found fame in 2009’s behind the scenes documentary The September Issue.

Coddington is the subject of a biopic expected to be released later this year. In October last year Coddington confirmed to Fashionista that the film on her life is indeed going ahead, supported by production company A24 who bought the rights to her 2012 memoir.