Offline to Inspired: Notes from Grace Coddington

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Welcome back to the Purpose Day Podcast. I'm LeBrandon. This pod is inspired
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by my book, Purpose Day, and it's a space where we explore what it really means
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to live with intention and discover the moments that shape who we're meant to be.
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At the end of January, I went to a creator happy hour hosted by Social Docket.
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During the panel, someone asked, how do you get out of a creative rut?
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Almost every panelist answered, get offline. What's funny is I had come to the same conclusion.
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For the new year, I'd intentionally decreased my online consumption and I replaced
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that time with audiobooks, reading, and being more consistent with my fitness.
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The first two books I read this year had been sitting with me for a while.
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I finally finished Grace Coddington's memoir, Grace, which had been in both
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my Kindle and Audible library for years.
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Grace Coddington is one of the most influential fashion stylists in modern history.
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She joined British Vogue in the 1960s as a model, transitioned to fashion editor
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after a car accident, and eventually became creative director at American Vogue in 1988.
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Listen to this clip from the September issue as Grace reflects on her career.
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I never dreamt to be a model or never, never dreamt to be a fashion editor,
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but I just love the pages and the pictures.
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In my early years as a fashion editor, I worked with Norman Parkinson,
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who was a really big photographer.
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And he taught me to always keep your eyes open, And, you know,
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never go to sleep in the car or anything like that.
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Keep watching because whatever you see out the window or wherever, it can inspire you.
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After finishing Grace's memoir, I looked at my bookshelf and remembered that
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my best friend had gifted me her massive photo book called Grace,
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30 Years of Fashion at Vogue.
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It chronicles her work from 1972 to 2002 and was reissued in 2015 after the
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September issue documentary made her a breakout star.
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When I opened the book, Grace's intro letter, which is inserted into the first
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few pages, came flying out.
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In the letter, she reflects on how honoring the past is important,
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but copying it is a failure of imagination.
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Turning through the pages of Grace's iconic fashion photographs helped me remember
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that content creation is part of my purpose, and it's also a pressure-free creative escape.
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Let's get into four notes we can all take from Grace. The first note is that
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creativity flourishes in community.
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While listening to Grace talk about decades of fashion stories, one thing was clear.
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Grace didn't build 30 years of iconic fashion imagery in isolation.
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She curated relationships.
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She trusted collaborators. She nurtured creative ecosystems.
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She spoke about community.
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The designers, photographers, models, and staff who help bring her visions to life.
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You can't always do it alone.
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And I think sometimes when we feel stuck creatively, it's because we're trying
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to carry everything ourselves.
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The second note, try new things because you can always pivot.
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We know that Grace became a fashion editor after her car accident,
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but there's another set of pivots that stood out to me.
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She left British Vogue in 1987 to become the design director at Calvin Klein.
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And by her own account, not to mention the fashion press, it wasn't her best
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season and the role was not a good fit.
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So when the opportunity arose to return to Vogue, this time American Vogue,
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she pivoted again. And that pivot changed fashion history.
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Sometimes we try something and we hate it or we're not good at it.
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Instead of seeing this as failure, we should see it as growth,
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clarity, and alignment on where we should spend our time.
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Purpose doesn't mean every move will be perfect.
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We have to stay open to trying new things and be willing to adjust as needed.
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Thank you.
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My third note from Grace, lean into spontaneity.
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One of my favorite stories from her photo book involves the model Stella Tennant.
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After a long shoot in the Hamptons on a hot August day, Stella casually said,
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I could just jump in the pool right now.
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She was still wearing the tweed suit they were shooting. And the photographer,
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Arthur Elgort, shouted, wait!
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Everyone grabbed cameras and they captured a perfect dive.
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This photo is my favorite from Grace's photo book. I can't believe it was unplanned,
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but sometimes that's where the magic happens.
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My final note from Grace, purpose requires confidence in your own voice.
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You know I love Andre Leontali. After reading both Andre's memoir and Grace's
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and reflecting on the September issue, it's clear their relationship was complex.
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They were powerful colleagues, both deeply trusted by Anna Wintour,
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both shaping fashion culture.
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Grace often referred to Andre as someone whose ideas Anna valued highly.
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He was a navigator, someone Anna relied on strategically.
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And over time, Grace had to build her own direct influence and trust with Anna as well.
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In this clip from the editor's eye, Anna's respect for Grace is undeniable.
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She comes from a very small town in Wales.
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Going up, she used to adore, though.
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I mean, I don't think that anyone but Grace can create the kind of photography essays that we do.
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Well, it's the mishaps that make it fun and, you know, brings you to the surprise.
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I mean, you know, God forbid that a shoot would be perfect. Grace wouldn't have
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anything to complain about.
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Before we close, here's your purpose practice.
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Take one hour offline, revisit something that inspired you years ago,
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a book, a documentary, a photo archive,
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a sermon, a song, and ask yourself, what did I love about creating before I
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knew anyone was watching?
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Then create one thing just for the joy of it all.
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Thank you for spending this time with me on the Purpose Day podcast.
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Subscribe, share, and come back next time as we continue exploring the many
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ways purpose shows up in our lives.
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I'm LeBrandon, and I'll talk to you soon.