Monday, September 6, 2010

American Icons Artist Statement
Draft #4: Grace Coddington

Imagine: Your modeling career you have worked so hard on starting has just hit its peak when

you are struck in a serious car crash resulting in the loss of most of your left eyelid. This quickly
crushes all of your fantastic dreams to "make it big as a model. This unfortunate event ended
her career as a model and for most people, would have resulted in the beginning of a continuous

spiral downward and a lack of persistence to continue on with their lives. This, however, did
not apply to Grace Coddington for she applied great resilience to the situation and managed to

pick herself back up and land a job as the creative director of New York's number one fashion

magazine, Vogue.

As an inspiring fashion industry member, I was immediately drawn to fashion icons that you

would think of first. People such as Twiggy, Anna Wintour, Audrey Hepburn, and even Lady

Gaga as a more modern choice. Then, as the time was quickly passing me by, I was frantically
skimming through my Vogue magazine searching for anyone who I could relate to enough to

be my icon. I finally tripped over the name, Grace Coddington. Grace Coddington is the head

creative director of Vogue Magazine. This means that she is the one who oversees the photo

shoots making sure that everything goes as planned and that the picture comes out perfectly.

This job, however, was not, and has not been smooth sailing for Grace Coddington. Her boss/

coworker is Anna Wintour who has been nicknamed as, "Nuclear Wintour" and it has been

said was the inspiration behind the film, The Devil Wears Prada for her reportedly aloof and

demanding personality. Luckily, Anna has been a friend of Grace's for a while, but is still

someone who is difficult to work with. This requires Grace to demonstrate leadership

skills and apply them when working with her stubborn boss in order to be able to get

any kind of progress accomplished in the work space while still incorporating her own

creative views and opinions.

I have always been intrigued by fashion my whole life, but I especially enjoy the fashion

ads in magazines. Whenever I would get a fashion magazine in the mail, I would spend

the majority of my time reading the first section of the magazines, slowly going over and

flagging my favorite ads. It was a different fairytale on each page for me to inspect. I

would try my hand at making my own ads by cutting out a dress and pasting it on a white

piece of paper and drawing the rest of the shoot. I have had many "speed bumps" (as I

like to call them) in my life, which I have had to pick myself up from and continue on

even stronger with my life like Grace. Finally, I have always been a leader my whole life and

enjoy taking on leadership roles. Although I am not completely certain of my career path, as of

right now, Grace Coddington's career position is my dream job and I hope to one day follow in

the footsteps of all the well-known fashion icons from Twiggy to Grace to hopefully me one day.

Though its no fatal crash, I encounter speed bumps that may slow me down, but it’s not

the end of the road for me.


1. "Anna Wintour." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 06 Sept. 2010. .

2. "Fall Fashion Grace Coddington." New York Magazine -- NYC Guide to Restaurants, Fashion, Nightlife,
Shopping, Politics, Movies. Web. 06 Sept. 2010. .

American Icons Artist Statement
Draft #3: Grace Coddington

Imagine: Your modeling career you have worked so hard on starting has just hit its peek when you are struck in a serious car crash resulting in the loss of most of your left eyelid. This quickly crushes all of your fantastic dreams to "make it big as a model. This unfortunate event ended her career as a model and for most people, would have resulted in the beginning of a continuous spiral downward and a lack of persistence to continue on with their lives. This, however, did not apply to Grace for she applied great resilience to the situation and managed to pick herself back up and land a job as the creative director of New York's number one fashion magazine, Vogue.

As an inspiring fashion industry member, I was immediately drawn to fashion icons that you would think of first. People such as Twiggy, Anna Wintour, Audrey Hepburn, and even Lady Gaga as a more modern choice. Then, as the time was quickly passing me by, I was frantically skimming through my Vogue magazine searching for anyone who I could relate to enough to be my icon. I finally tripped over the name, Grace Coddington. Grace Coddington is the head creative director of Vogue Magazine. This means that she is the one who oversees the photo shoots making sure that everything goes as planned and that the picture comes out perfectly.

This job, however, was not, and has not been smooth sailing for Grace Coddington. Her boss/coworker is Anna Wintour who has been nicknamed as, "Nuclear Wintour" and it has been said was the inspiration behind the film, The Devil Wears Prada for her reportedly aloof and demanding personality. Luckily, Anna has been a friend of Grace's for a while, but is still someone who is difficult to work with. This requires Grace to demonstrate leadership skills and apply them when working with her stubborn boss in order to be able to get any kind of progress accomplished in the work space while still incorporating her own creative views and opinions.

I have always been intrigued by fashion my whole life, but I especially enjoy the fashion ads in magazines. Whenever I would get a fashion magazine in the mail, I would spend the majority of my time reading the first section of the magazines, slowly going over and flagging my favorite ads. It was a different fairytale on each page for me to inspect. I would try my hand at making my own ads by cutting out a dress and pasting it on a white piece of paper and drawing the rest of the shoot. I have had many "speed bumps" (as I like to call them) in my life, which I have had to pick myself up from and continue on even stronger with my life like Grace. Finally, I have always been a leader my whole life and enjoy taking on leadership roles. Although I am not completely certain of my career path, as of right now, Grace Coddington's career position is my dream job and I hope to one day follow in the footsteps of all the well-known fashion icons from Twiggy to Grace to hopefully me one day.

Now envision yourself as one of the most successful fashion icons in the world influencing many people across the globe despite everything you have been through.

1. "Anna Wintour." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 06 Sept. 2010. .

2. "Fall Fashion Grace Coddington." New York Magazine -- NYC Guide to Restaurants, Fashion, Nightlife, Shopping, Politics, Movies. Web. 06 Sept. 2010. .



American Icons Artist Statement
Draft #2: Grace Coddington

As an inspiring fashion industry member, I was immediately drawn to fashion icons who you would think of first. People such as Twiggy, Anna Wintour, Audrey Hepburn, and even Lady Gaga as a more modern choice. Then, as the time was quickly passing me by, I was frantically skimming through my Vogue magazine searching for anyone who I could relate to enough to be my icon. I finally tripped over the name, Grace Coddington. Grace Coddington is the head creative director of Vogue Magazine. This means that she is the one who oversees the photo shoots making sure that everything goes as planned and that the picture comes out perfectly.

Not only was her job a perfect fit, but as I read about her and her life/career, I found that she was also in a car accident when she was only 20 years old. This resulted in the loss of her eyelid which had to be surgically replaced with skin from another area of her body. This unfortunate event ended her career as a model and for most people, would have resulted in the beginning of a continuous spiral downward and a lack of persistence to continue on with their lives. This, however, did not apply to Grace for she applied great resilience to the situation and managed to pick herself back up and land a job as the creative director of New York's number one fashion magazine, Vogue.

This job, however, was not, and has not been smooth sailing for Grace Coddington. Her boss/coworker is Anna Wintour who has been nicknamed as, "Nuclear Wintour" and it has been said was the inspiration behind the film, The Devil Wears Prada for her reportedly aloof and demanding personality. Luckily, Anna has been a friend of Grace's for a while, but is still someone who is difficult to work with. This requires Grace to demonstrate leadership skills and apply them when working with her stubborn boss in order to be able to get any kind of progress accomplished in the work space while still incorporating her own creative views and opinions.

I have always been intrigued by fashion my whole life, but I especially enjoy the fashion ads in magazines. Whenever I would get a fashion magazine in the mail, I would spend the majority of my time reading the first section of the magazines, slowly going over and flagging my favorite ads. It was a different fairytale on each page for me to inspect. I would try my hand at making my own ads by cutting out a dress and pasting it on a white piece of paper and drawing the rest of the shoot. I have had many "speed bumps" (as I like to call them) in my life, which I have had to pick myself up from and continue on even stronger with my life like Grace. Finally, I have always been a leader my whole life and enjoy taking on leadership roles. Although I am not completely certain of my career path, as of right now, Grace Coddington's career position is my dream job and I hope to one day follow in the footsteps of all the well known fashion icons from Twiggy to Grace to hopefully me one day.

1. "Anna Wintour." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 06 Sept. 2010. .

2. "Fall Fashion Grace Coddington." New York Magazine -- NYC Guide to Restaurants, Fashion, Nightlife, Shopping, Politics, Movies. Web. 06 Sept. 2010. .

American Icons Artist Statement
Draft #1: Grace Coddington

As an inspiring fashion industry member, I was immediately drawn to fashion icons who you would think of first. People such as Twiggy, Anna Wintour, even Lady Gaga as a more modern choice. Then, as the time was quickly passing me by, I was frantically skimming through my Vogue magazine searching for anyone who I could relate to enough to be my icon. I finally tripped over the name, Grace Coddington. Grace Coddington is the head creative director of Vogue Magazine. This means that she is the one who oversees the photo shoots making sure that everything goes as planned and that the picture comes out perfectly.

Not only was her job a perfect fit, but as I read about her and her life/career, I found that she was also in a car accident when she was only 20 years old. This resulted in the loss of her eyelid which had to be surgically replaced with skin from another area of her body. This unfortunate event ended her career as a model and for most people, would have resulted in the beginning of a continuous spiral downward and a lack of persistence to continue on with their lives. This, however, did not apply to Grace for she applied great resilience to the situation and managed to pick herself back up and land a job as the creative director of New York's number one fashion magazine, Vogue.

This job, however, was not, and has not been smooth sailing for Grace Coddington. Her boss/coworker is Anna Wintour who has been nicknamed as, "Nuclear Wintour" and it has been said was the inspiration behind the film, The Devil Wears Prada for her reportedly aloof and demanding personality. Luckily, Anna has been a friend of Grace's for a while, but is still someone who is difficult to work with. This requires Grace to demonstrate leadership skills and apply them when working with her stubborn boss in order to be able to get any kind of progress accomplished in the work space while still incorporating her own creative views and opinions.

I have always been intrigued by fashion my whole life, but I especially enjoy the fashion ads in magazines. As a younger girl, my favorite part of the month was always getting my Vogue or Teen Vogue magazine in the mail. I would spend the majority of my time reading the first section of the magazines, slowly going over and flagging my favorite ads. It was a different fairytale on each page for me to inspect and I would try my hand at making my own ads by cutting out a dress and pasting it on a white piece of paper and drawing the rest of the shoot. I have also had many "speed bumps" (as I like to call them) in my life, which I have had to pick myself up from and continue on even stronger with my life like Grace. Finally, I have always been a leader my whole life and enjoy taking on leadership roles. Although I am not completely certain of my career path, as of right now, Grace Coddington's career position is my dream job and I hope to one day follow in her footsteps.

1. "Anna Wintour." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 06 Sept. 2010. .

2. "Fall Fashion Grace Coddington." New York Magazine -- NYC Guide to Restaurants, Fashion, Nightlife, Shopping, Politics, Movies. Web. 06 Sept. 2010. .

No comments:

Post a Comment