If you’ve opened an issue of Vogue Magazine in the past 28 years, you have observed the talent of Grace Coddington, Vogue’s creative director and the woman behind the captivating editorials that make up the magazine. Now, at age 74, Coddington is stepping down from her esteemed position.

Since her start as fashion director in 1988, Coddington has become known for her romantic, dreamy fashion spreads that reference art and culture. Her whimsical style gave the magazine the aspirational image it has today. As Editor in Chief Anna Wintour’s go-to, Coddington is well respected within Vogue and the rest of the industry, which might be why the fashion world went into a frenzy when she decided to scale back her position at Vogue last Wednesday.

Although her age might beg you to think otherwise, Coddington is not going into retirement just yet. She is keeping ties with Vogue as creative director-at-large, which is a way to scale back her work with the magazine while still keeping a role there. And just because she is working less at Vogue doesn’t mean she is working less overall. She is beginning several new projects, including a perfume and potentially an animated film, and she is now being represented by creative agency Great Bowery.

While Coddington’s exit from her position will be a big change at Vogue, it is reflective of other shuffling that has been occurring within the fashion industry recently. Within the past few months, there have been several fashion labels that switched up their own creative directors. The former creative director of Dior, Raf Simons, left the label in October and has yet to be replaced. In the same week, Alber Elbaz was removed from his position of creative director of Lanvin. With so much shifting occurring within prominent fashion labels, it might be time for the ultimate fashion bible to do some changing of its own.

There is no question as to whether Coddington’s work at Vogue will be missed. She is considered an icon for all she has accomplished for the magazine. However, there may be some good to come from her departure. The fashion industry thrives on newness, but relies on the tendency to make something old seem new. With one person in the same position for so long, it can be hard to incorporate new perspectives into the product.

While it is unclear whether Vogue will hire someone new as a creative director now, Coddington’s exit opens up the potential for some reevaluation and new directions. Although someone with ample experience will likely fill the role, everyone can move upward to leave new spaces in the lower positions. It is important to have people of all generations on staff; otherwise, the top editors will trickle out with no one with enough experience to pick up where they left off.

That in itself is another question that Coddington leaves: without her full-time expertise, will the magazine pick up where it left off with her, or will it pursue a new vision? A creative director has an incredible amount of influence; the look of the magazine and all its pages dictates its audience, quality and sales. Coddington had a particular style, which became Vogue’s style after her decades of leading it. If the magazine wants to keep up the image it has now, it will need to find someone who is able to emulate the grace and whim that Coddington spread throughout the pages.

Vogue is a critical part of the fashion industry, and Coddington is a critical part of Vogue’s history. Now, it is up to the staff and the future staff to take what she has done and make it new again.

Published on January 25, 2016 at 8:43 pm