Grace Woodward
From smoke and mirrors to incredible self-reflection and reinvention
Looking in from the outside Grace Woodward appeared to ‘have it all’. Her fashion career encompasses raising cult lingerie brand Agent Provocateur into the spotlight as their PR agent, working with leading clients and magazines as a stylist, a judge on Britain’s Next Top Model, as Fashion Director at X-Factor and as Brand Director, reviving the fashion house of Dame Zandra Rhodes. However, behind the smoke and mirrors, Grace’s life was far from perfectly styled.
Working relentlessly towards a version of success that had been devised by those at the top of the ladder whom it benefits the most, was beginning to take its toll on areas of Grace’s life. Growing up in an eating-disordered house (with her mum struggling with anorexia) and working in the fashion industry, where being thin is often a prerequisite, you could say that issues with food and body image were inevitable. Beginning to reassess her role in fashion, Grace found herself greatly conflicted by the story she had told herself and the ‘tricks of the trade’ advice she was giving others.
Sadly, at a time that is usually associated with joy - that of spending time with her son just weeks old - Grace’s mum died as a result of her eating disorder. Suffering physically (due to her ‘go-to diet pills’), mentally and financially (trying to keep up with the fashion machine) Grace decided to move out of London.
Leaving her career behind and embarking on an incredible journey of self-reflection, Grace has analysed every aspect of her life and also how her actions have impacted others. For her latest project entitled ‘Body of Work’, she is revisiting photographers she has worked with over the years and asking them to shoot nude portraits of her with a strict rule of no pre-shoot diet and absolutely no post-production retouching. The aim of this is to face her own body image internal voices and questions of ‘can I age naturally?’ and also to support other people exploring their own #bodypositive journey.
In this podcast, we talk to Grace about her incredible journey of heartfelt passion, pain and self-discovery that is opening the door for acceptance and love.
In addition to this interview, we are honoured to have a listener question from Jade McSorely who is a model and co-founder of Loanhood a peer-to-peer fashion rental company. Jade who has previously appeared on Britain’s Next Top Model (as a contestant, not during the time when Grace was a judge), raises some great points around ethics in modelling and what we can do to encourage a healthier industry.
Listen to our podcast above and on
Grace Woodward wearing Kitty Joseph
“True luxury is actually time. Time to think about something. Time to wait for something. Time to commission something. Time to wait for someone to make something.”
We are extremely excited to share our first ever video interview to accompany our podcast and editorial of Grace Woodward. Fashion’s narrative is visual, and at times subtle, so it’s natural that video becomes an important part of our platform. Thank you to Nigel Camp for your hard work on this! We hope you all enjoy!
GRACE WOODWARD X BLACK NEON DIGITAL - Full-length inteview with Jodi Muter-Hamilton
“When I was young I realised that you could manipulate people with what you wear quote easily. Literally, people take you at surface value. So, if you want to dress up in top-to-toe Chanel, people think you are rich. It’s as simple as that. It’s such an interesting game to play. ”
GRACE WOODWARD X BLACK NEON DIGITAL - On her Body of Work Project Part I
More videos on our Instagram account.
“The fashion industry is extremely good at its own kind of PR and smoke and mirrors. What you see from the outside isn’t really what happens on the inside. ”
Grace by Chris Floyd. Grace with Dame Zandra Rhodes. Grace by Tom Oxley.
Grace has been fortunate enough to count upon the support and guidance of another incredible women, Caryn Franklin, who’s entire career has been dedicated to furthering the dialogue of positive fashion. To find out more about Caryn Franklin head to our editorial and podcast interview.
30.11.2019
