Henna Lovers: Grace Coddington

There are examples of creative women with great personalities who decided one day to be faithful to Henna.

Grace Coddington, the genious Vogue creative director and her famous hair is one of them. Grace is one of the henna lovers we will be discovering on the blog. At the age of 70, she is still active and has just published her memoirs, where she explains her adventures in the world of fashion and the great changes over half a century. After starting out as a model, she acquired great prestige for her creativity as a stylist, working alongside the best photographers in Vogue magazine.

Grace Coddington's voluminous reddish copper hair has been one of her trademarks for decades, when she discovered the natural virtues of henna. Fascinated by the world of fashion from a very young age, the woman who has always lived at its epicentre declares herself an advocate of natural beauty and abhors surgery, facelifts and botox. Coddington explains: "By then, I had decided to create a radical new look, together with hairdresser Leonard, her colouring specialist Daniel, and photographer Barry Lategan. "They were going to dye my hair with henna, which is a hassle, but it's great for taking care of it. And then I was going to get a perm, a voluminous frizz much like my mother used to give me when I was little. The plan was to unveil it with a lot of theatrical effect by means of some photographs of Lategan in a pre-Raphaelite or Renaissance style. Apart from cutting it a couple of times (...) I haven't changed much in the last forty years".

More than just a good-looking model, Coddington was known for her great personality. But it has been her magnificent red hair - in which she admits to investing a lot of time and care - that for decades has made her recognisable in the glamorous and now globalised world of fashion.

The particular authenticity of this woman is evident throughout the book, but also in the illustrations that accompany the text. Around 70 drawings made by herself with clear and vibrant strokes. Don't miss it.

Cover of the book GRACE Memoirs of Grace Coddington, published by Turner.

With Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief at Vogue US, at a fashion runway.