Grace Coddington On How Fashion Has Changed and ‘The September Issue’

Grace Coddington has been working in fashion for longer than most of us have been alive. She started working as a junior editor at British Vogue back in 1968 and before that, she was modeling. Grace served as the Creative Director at American Vogue for nearly three decades and since stepping back from that role, has continued to work on shoots across many major publications.  Grace, now in her late eighties, joined Chloe in the studio for a conversation about her latest work Grace: Now, a massive yellow art book that compiles her favorite fashion shoots from the last decade. The spreads come from thirteen photographers, many of whom are Vogue regulars including Rafael Pavarotti, Annie Leibovitz, and Steven Meisel. In order to narrow down her selection, she printed out hundreds of images, laid them out on boards, and made a dummy book a la Vogue way: “I learned from the best.” When asked if her favorite shoots regularly fluctuate, Grace replied “One always loves the last one one did.” In the opening pages of the book, there is a handwritten tribute to her late friend, the fashion journalist Michael Roberts, noting this is her first major project without him in her career. “Michael was someone who could complete my sentences,” she told Chloe, “I'd known him since the early '70s, so he knew my life very well. He could write and he was a visual person too. I wanted to do it in my handwriting because I felt that I was talking to him. I adored him.” Reflecting on the 2009 ‘The September Issue’ documentary, she thinks of it now as a distinct shift in fashion and her life. “Fashion has changed a lot since then,” she explained, “Fashion shows were getting bigger and bigger and what you saw was grander and grander. Clothes got much bigger.” Everything except the magazines Chloe offered. “I don't feel it's about more anymore. It seems obscene to be excessive, with all the things happening in the world.” Grace has often referenced Beatrix Miller’s description of creating narratives in fashion photography as “enhanced reality”. Chloe observed that unlike her previous work, this book of shoots feels more like reportage than fantasy. “I love that you noticed that because that was my intention,” Grace said, noting that shift was intentional, “It’s interesting to see the about turn from complete fantasy like Alice in Wonderland and all those stories I did with Annie. I’m not interested in the [clothes] you can’t actually wear. Maybe we’re not about fantasy anymore, sadly. Life is very real at the moment.” Her pivot away from the fantastical doesn’t mean she isn’t still inspired. Still loves to go extreme on big hair. She’s going to fewer shows these days, but she still keeps up with the designers—especially Prada, who she said hits the button every time. The Run-Through with Vogue is your go-to podcast where fashion meets culture. Hosted by Chloe Malle, Head of Editorial Content, Vogue U.S.; Chioma Nnadi, Head of British Vogue; and Nicole Phelps, Director of Vogue Runway, each episode features the latest fashion news and exclusive designer and celebrity interviews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nicole Phelps and Luke Leitch have touched down in Paris and are eager to attend the many shows that comprise fashion week in the City of Light. But before they check out shows from the likes of Julie Kegels, Matières Fécales, Rick Owens, or the latest collaboration between John Galliano and Zara, the pair of reviewers sat down to talk about the highlights and critical moments that emerged during Milan Fashion Week.  They started by talking about the Diesel show, which ended Glenn Martens six year run at the brand, before he devotes himself fully to Maison Margiela. “Martens has always been very inclusive, very sex positive,” Luke observed, “it’s quite punk.” The sex positive energy at the show manifested in a young couple making out at the show. “I really felt my age and like a slightly disapproving old dowager,” he laughed.  There was the Prada collection devoted exclusively to the skirt as a central garment. Mrs. Prada has given several interviews (including on our very podcast) about seeing the skirt as similar to a tee in its capacity to be a canvas for expression. The skirts were paired with these barely there bras, possibly as a styling point against the skirt to accentuate it all the more.  Luke wrote about the Emporio Armani presentation (not a runway show), which was the last to be overseen by Leo Dell’Orco and Silvana Armani before Dario Vitale helms the brand. The show was about time. Luke at first interpreted this with some heaviness, but it became clear that the intent was about the accrual that time allows and the layers that are added in an innovative interregnum moment. “There was the addition and the encrustation of salt crystals on garments and bags, which is not something I'd wanna wear in this Parisian rain because I'd be melting,” Luke noted, but it was beautiful nonetheless.  Nicole and Luke were both “Sanderistas”—great fans of Simone Belloti’s Jil Sander collection. Maria Grazia Chiuri's second ready-to-wear collection for Fendi also made a splash. “She didn’t make it very easy for us to see the collection,” Nicole commented, which arguably is a metaphor for fashion at large. Meryll Rogge’s Marni has been finding her footing and community. “You can really feel—call them Gen Z, call them what you will—but young people coalescing around her,” Nicole said, “the way she's collaging references and whipping them all together in her own way really speaks to how people who are 30 or so, are looking at the '90s or the early 2000s.” Demna had a big moment at Gucci following his divisive February show, and he showed in his beautifully realized store. “It was a fabulous vehicle for saying Gucci is not necessarily just for one person or just for one style,” Luke noted. Demna imagined a whole universe of people coming to his store which included the horse girl, the glamour puss, and the punk prep school kids. Paris Fashion Week, here we come. Allez! The Run-Through with Vogue is your go-to podcast where fashion meets culture. Hosted by Chloe Malle, Head of Editorial Content, Vogue U.S.; Chioma Nnadi, Head of British Vogue; and Nicole Phelps, Director of Vogue Runway, each episode features the latest fashion news and exclusive designer and celebrity interviews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

October cover star Mikey Madison joins Chloe at her hotel room in Milan ahead of Vogue World to discuss her role as Frances Haugen in Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning, out October 7. The film is a follow-up to 2010's The Social Network, focusing primarily on the whistleblower and the journalist who exposed the rot in Facebook's infrastructure. Madison does not physically resemble Frances Haugen, so she had to embody the character in other ways. " For this one, I feel like it's more of an intellectual transformation that I needed to try and pull off. There was a lot of restraint involved in this character and how she processes emotions, and so that was something that was intriguing to me. Also, a little bit scary in a way." Aside from the film, Madison spends most of her time baking and with her family and pets. She recently acquired two donkeys and spends as much time as she can giving them cuddles and grooming them. "There was one point where I was like, 'I wonder, is this too crazy and unhinged and too many horse, pony, Chihuahua things? And, like, are people gonna think that I'm crazy?' And then I was like, "You know what? This is me." The Run-Through with Vogue is your go-to podcast where fashion meets culture. Hosted by Chloe Malle, Head of Editorial Content, Vogue U.S.; Chioma Nnadi, Head of British Vogue; and Nicole Phelps, Director of Vogue Runway, each episode features the latest fashion news and exclusive designer and celebrity interviews. Special thanks to Nothing Tech. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today’s episode of the Run-Through podcast, presented by Prada, Chloe sat down with the two co-creative directors of Prada: Mrs. Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons in their first ever joint podcast interview. They covered everything from the Prada show earlier this week that prominently featured skirts to their respective design philosophies, favorite soups, and everything in between.  They started with the latest collection which debuted hours before Vogue World Milano. Mrs. Prada spoke about the parallels between t-shirts and skirts in the sense that “usually in a T-shirt you put your ideas” but you are less constrained with the skirt being further from the face.  Then, they went back to the beginning. "I became a fashion designer because I didn't find anything to wear,” Mrs. Prada explained sincerely, “I don’t dedicate a lot of time to dressing.” She dresses swiftly and usually wears skirts. Simons countered that by stating that while that might technically be true, "It never looks like a fast decision to me. It always looks very sophisticated."  Already, the Prada of Mrs. Prada and Simons has left an indelible mark but their legacy is still in the making. In reflection, Mrs. Prada commented that “if I have to say what my contribution was to fashion, it was reality. Fashion is only about glamour and beauty and actually life is so much the opposite.” Reality is a grounding principle in this moment of societal upheaval with politics and artificial intelligence throwing so much into turmoil. When asked about what she makes of the present fascination with vintage and style of the previous decades, she had some wisdom. “ I think that in this moment people are very interested in the past because the present and the future are so scary. No one is able to envision a future.  People are scared and want to be bound to something, otherwise you are lost. It's an instinct of survival, probably.” Mrs. Prada has long had an affinity for the word useful. She sees it as her obligation to make useful clothing and to design with utility at the forefront. “At the end of the day, I work for a commercial company that has to sell, so I am not an artist. In our field, you have to try to be useful and creativity for the sake of creativity if it’s useless is really not good.” Towards the end of their conversation, Chloe asked Mrs. Prada if she was familiar with the concept of a meme. “Anything you people ask me now, I have no idea” was her response. But Chloe proceeded to explain to her the recently circulating meme of her skeptical facial expression reacting to the robots at Vogue World. “You were a hero!” Chloe exclaimed. The Run-Through with Vogue is your go-to podcast where fashion meets culture. Hosted by Chloe Malle, Head of Editorial Content, Vogue U.S.; Chioma Nnadi, Head of British Vogue; and Nicole Phelps, Director of Vogue Runway, each episode features the latest fashion news and exclusive designer and celebrity interviews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mere minutes after Vogue World Milano wrapped, Chloe, Nicole, and Head of Editorial Content at Vogue Italia Francesca Ragazzi gathered in a nearby ristorante to recap what they just witnessed. After a long day following the Prada and Diesel runway shows, the pageant continued at the Galleria, bringing together Italian designers from across time. The clothes, the models, the dancing, the singing—not a detail was missed in celebrating the best of Italian fashion and craftsmanship! As Chloe pointed out, Francesca has functionally been working as the Mayor of Milan for the past few years in preparation for this massive event. In order to book the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, she had to speak to every stakeholder, every restauranteur, and every shop owner to make this magical evening come to fruition. “It’s all about being curious about their stories. I could write a book,” Francesca told them, “Believe me—the secrets and the mysterious things…”  While this event truly took years to plan, some of the crucial details only came together in the last couple of days before the show. She spoke about going street casting with Anna for some of the roles. “We plan too much, Chloe! It was curated chaos, we say.”  The group then identified their highlights from the show. For Nicole, seeing the designers sitting in the front row was a standout moment. “It was really fun to watch everyone watching their designs in the show. And it's a unique situation for them, because usually when they put on a show it's all their own clothes, and this time it was all mixed.” Chloe was a big fan of the song and dance, and in particular the La Scala choir, Alicia Keys, and Roberto Bolle’s performance. Fran couldn’t help but express utter gratitude for the many teams of people that worked together to make tonight’s event happen. “I've never seen such harmony and teamwork,” she noted.  The Run-Through with Vogue is your go-to podcast where fashion meets culture. Hosted by Chloe Malle, Head of Editorial Content, Vogue U.S.; Chioma Nnadi, Head of British Vogue; and Nicole Phelps, Director of Vogue Runway, each episode features the latest fashion news and exclusive designer and celebrity interviews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dakota Johnson’s iconic bangs are usually maintained by her hairstylist Mark Townsend, but this week she showed up to The Run-Through podcast with ones she cut herself. “They're a little lopsided. One side's a bit longer. But we'll fix it later,” she told Chloe.  Johnson’s reason for the self-inflicted cut is from the need to do something tactile herself. “Sometimes if I've had a cocktail, I'm like, "This is a good idea." And then other times it's, it's, it's telling of having some sort of existential crisis. Before I was going on this press tour, I was kind of like, I haven't been very public, and it's hard to be under a microscope and scrutinized. Like everything is watched, and now everyone is a spy, and everyone is the press.” Coming from a long line of famous blondes (her mom is famously Melanie Grittith, her grandmother is Tippi Hedron, and her dad is Don Johnson), Johnson grew up practically on set. Her first role was the 1999 comedy-drama Crazy in Alabama directed by her stepfather Antonio Banderas and she starred alongside her mom and her younger sister Stella. She didn’t pick up acting again until she was cast in David Fincher’s The Social Network eleven years later. Now she will star in the new horror film Verity opposite Anne Hathaway out October 2 and she’s excited about Three Incestuous Sisters which she recently wrapped in Rome that is still anticipating a release date. Johnson’s life outside of work often consists of reading books with her book club TeaTime, watching movies that she can’t help but judge under a critical lens, and also trolling her friends. “I think Jennifer [Lawrence] and I could be the ultimate internet trolls if we, A, had the time and, B, the interest.”  The Run-Through with Vogue is your go-to podcast where fashion meets culture. Hosted by Chloe Malle, Head of Editorial Content, Vogue U.S.; Chioma Nnadi, Head of British Vogue; and Nicole Phelps, Director of Vogue Runway, each episode features the latest fashion news and exclusive designer and celebrity interviews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In an intimate conversation with Chioma Nnadi, Vogue’s October Cover star Micheal B. Jordan dissected this unique moment where everything he’s dreamed of seems to be finally coming to fruition. First up: his first Vogue cover photographed in a lush green garden in London by Luis Alberto Rodriguez.  “We felt like a garden was like the, you know, symbolic for the things that I was growing and things that I was building around and tending to,” Jordan said.  Brick by brick Jordan has added a bonafide Netflix hit animated movie, a highly anticipated new film and- the crowning jewel many actors dream of- an Oscar to his garden. After Jordan’s Oscar win he received a call from fellow winner Jamie Foxx alongside his daughter (and a group of her friends!)  “He's always one of my biggest supporters and also encouraging me to stay locked in and stay on my path”  Up next on Jordan’s path: a reimagination of the 1968 film The Thomas Crown Affair, set to come out March 2027. When Chioma asked what will make this film different from the original and most recent 1999 remake he said ”there's a whole generation that's not familiar with Thomas Crown, so I looked at this as a way to make this like a origin story and an introduction to who Thomas Crown is.” This will mark his sophomore directorial film and he carries the weight of responsibility for what it means to not just himself, but other Black filmmakers who aspire to be multifaceted. It will also be a reunion for him and Ruth E. Carter, who recently worked with Ryan Coogler and Jordan on costuming Sinners. Jordan says that for the Crown Affair, he wants the outfits to feel “timeless.” No stranger to the red carpet, Jordan likes being pushed out of his comfort zone, especially by longtime stylist James Bolden. He’s a self described fashion “addict,” a trait that likely began in his teenage upbringing as a twelve year old actor from Newark, New Jersey.  He’s come a long way from the Omavi jeans and 4X white tee that were staples of his youth, but the Timbs remain (as seen on his Vogue cover). With more than half his life spent in the limelight, Jordan told Chioma that as he turns 40 next year it might be time to finally work less and enjoy more.  “Honestly, I'm gonna enjoy not having a plan and not  having a schedule…I haven't been able to do that in quite some time.” The Run-Through with Vogue is your go-to podcast where fashion meets culture. Hosted by Chloe Malle, Head of Editorial Content, Vogue U.S.; Chioma Nnadi, Head of British Vogue; and Nicole Phelps, Director of Vogue Runway, each episode features the latest fashion news and exclusive designer and celebrity interviews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The day before sitting down with Chloe Malle and Nicole Phelps on Vogue's The Run-Through podcast, Paloma Elsesser hosted a backyard barbecue for 35 people at her Brooklyn home, complete with a trio of homemade mocktails and a grill helmed by her little brother. That same thoughtfulness carries into her sixth year judging the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, a role she says she was the first model ever invited to take on. Elsesser described pushing the panel toward conversations about inclusivity across age, gender expression, and body type alongside the harder commercial questions about scaling a business. She likes to pair a practical question with an emotional one. “I remember my business manager asked me this question about money. Instead of ‘Let's get you rich,’ it's like, ‘What do you want this money to do for you? What world do you want it to create for you?’ And it shifted my perspective about the work that we do.” Elsesser said. Elsesser also discussed fronting Vogue's shopping newspaper this season, styling the story herself with her longtime friend and stylist Allie. “I think now that we're kind of phasing out of the quiet luxury era, which was fine and beautiful and really authentic to some people,” she said. “But I also feel like it sanitized a lot of people's personal identities, and so I'm happy to represent for the kooky crazies.” Her own uniform mixes hard and soft references in equal measure, an instinct she traced back to years of scouring archive sales for pieces that actually fit. Unable to find trousers cut for her body early in her career, she built a signature look around Dickies and Chanel flats, a mix of workwear toughness and ballet-flat polish that still anchors how she dresses today. Nearly a decade into her runway career, Elsesser said designers have grown more comfortable working with a range of body types, but she's grown tired of the reflexive stretch-knit dress or jacket offered to curvy models by default. “I don't really like the word lazy, because I don't think designers are lazy. But I think that there's a fear. And then it's kind of like ping-ponging what fashion is comfortable putting us in.” Her closing philosophy, offered as advice for navigating fashion month and the discourse that comes with it: “The number one central tenet to anything that I try and live and encourage, is to  think critically, not be critical.” Plus, we take you along for a studio visit with CVFF finalist Miss Claire Sullivan! The Run-Through with Vogue is your go-to podcast where fashion meets culture. Hosted by Chloe Malle, Head of Editorial Content, Vogue U.S.; Chioma Nnadi, Head of British Vogue; and Nicole Phelps, Director of Vogue Runway, each episode features the latest fashion news and exclusive designer and celebrity interviews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nicole Phelps sat down with Henry Zankov, the new artistic director of Diane von Furstenberg just days before his back-to-back shows for DVF and his own label, Zankov. Zankov's relationship with DVF goes back to 2014, when he joined the brand as a knitwear designer. Working alongside Diane von Furstenberg herself has been a formative experience, he said, crediting her with helping him fully embrace color, which is a signature of both DVF and his own label. Beyond the shows, Zankov has his eye on a fragrance collaboration down the line, and he's open to designing menswear eventually, though he's not rushing it. His past collaborators include Selima Salaun of Selima Optique and musician Troy Sivan, who became a fan after buying one of Zankov's blankets during the pandemic. The Run-Through with Vogue is your go-to podcast where fashion meets culture. Hosted by Chloe Malle, Head of Editorial Content, Vogue U.S.; Chioma Nnadi, Head of British Vogue; and Nicole Phelps, Director of Vogue Runway, each episode features the latest fashion news and exclusive designer and celebrity interviews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Late last year, Annie Leibovitz went on Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ podcast Wiser Than Me. The premise of the show is that Louis-Dreyfus speaks to women who are older than her about their life experiences and wisdom gained along the way. Early on in their conversation, the longtime Vogue photographer floated the idea of photographing Julia, “It’s strange to me,” Leibovitz told her, “I haven’t photographed you.” At that moment, they set out to amend things. A little less than a year later, Leibovitz’s images of Louis-Dreyfus graced the pages of Chloe’s first September issue.“That was a life dream for me to work with her,” Louis-Dreyfus said to Chloe on today’s episode of The Run-Through, “It’s scary to have your picture taken, but I didn't have that anxiety [with her]. I felt confident in her.”  She has had a storied career and has decided it isn’t too late to try something new—this fall she is making her Broadway debut in Other Desert Cities, the 2011 play by Jon Robin Baitz about a well-to-do conservative family that gets together in Palm Springs for Christmas Eve. Louis-Dreyfus will play Polly, the matriarch of the family, who she says she has developed based on many “Pollys” she grew up around. As for her maintenance routine, she plans to do a combination of interval training, walking and running, pilates, and drinking electrolytes. In addition to her upcoming Broadway debut, she and Chloe spoke about the loss of her family’s home of 32 years in the Palisades fire. “That is definitely, short of losing people that I love in my life, the great loss,” she remarked, “That was a shocking experience. I still can't believe it happened.” Chloe’s mother also lost her Los Angeles home in the fire and they commented on the rose bushes that, against all odds, survived this massive destruction. “The little things that remain are so much more treasurable now,” Louis-Dreyfus said.   At the end of every episode of Wiser Than Me, Louis-Dreyfus debriefs the contents of the episode with her mother, Judith Bowles. She has revealed on the podcast that she and mother have gone to therapy together. Chloe asked her if she too should try therapy with her own mother. “I'm all for it, “ Louis-Dreyfus encouraged, “I think you should definitely do it. I would advise you to do it while you have the chance.” The Run-Through with Vogue is your go-to podcast where fashion meets culture. Hosted by Chloe Malle, Head of Editorial Content, Vogue U.S.; Chioma Nnadi, Head of British Vogue; and Nicole Phelps, Director of Vogue Runway, each episode features the latest fashion news and exclusive designer and celebrity interviews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices