Grace Coddington photographed in 1962 for a Town magazine article titled "Count My Blessings/A List of Prized Possessions."
The image was accompanied by a poem by English novelist and playwright Adrian (Sunbeam) Mitchell.
My mirror is my Self best, best friend, as frank as friend can be. It does not borrow, does not lend and never flatters me. Come to my side, Montgomery, and it will tell us true, if ever you will marry me and I will marry you. Stand at my side, look in the glass hung on the bamboo wall. Montgomery! Alas, alas! There's nothing there at all.
Grace Coddington was born and grew up in Anglesey, Wales, which is many miles from any designer stores. Her only link to the fashion world was three-month-old copies of Vogue. Around the age of 17, images of Coddington were submitted to Vogue's Young Model contest, which she won, starting her career. After a car accident, Coddington moved from modelling into a Junior Editor position at British Vogue in 1979 before moving to New York to work for Calvin Klein in 1986. In 1988, Coddington became Creative Director for American Vogue, a position she retired from in 2016.
© 2025
