Grace & The Catwalk Cats

 If you saw 'The September Issue' two years ago I'll bet you fell in love with US Vogue magazine Creative Director, Grace Coddington like I did.

 I went looking for other things she'd done and found her whimsical The Catwalk Cats (which you can find reasonably on Amazon used).

 It's loaded with drawings of Grace's cats, made on hotel writing paper tripping round the world and then faxed off to her partner Didier Malige recounting her adventures in the fashion race.

 Sometimes Grace draws herself sitting by the catwalk (with Puff and 'Anna').

 I was busy drawing cats yesterday so didn't get to post - please forgive.

 Included in Catwalk are Didier's photos of their adorable kits...

 When I heard Grace had a memoir out I was thrilled. Enfin

 Starting from the getgo it tells of Grace's early days growing up on a small island off Wales, Anglesey.

There were sand dunes in the distance and rugged monochrome cliffs strung out along the coast. And Druid circles. And hardly any trees. And bleakness. Although it was bleak, I saw beauty in its bleakness. There was a little sailboat called Argo that I used to drift about in for hours in grand seclusion when it was not tethered to a small rock...I was fifteen then, my head filled with romantic fantasies, some feuled by the mystic spirit of Anglesey.

There are Grace's drawings here too along with many fashion shots...

On Growing UP

In which the winds howl,

the waves crash, 

the rains pours down,

and our lonely heroine dreams of being Audrey Hepburn.

Is it any wonder that Grace Coddington's pages in Vogue are wildly romantic?

 At age eighteen Grace goes off to 60's Swinging London to attend modeling schoo and win a modeling contest and the rest...

 Well Paris waits, Karl and his cats and the haute couture. Many, many intriguing adventures later, including a couple of husbands etc. Grace has the gift of being in the right place at the right time as well as landing on her feet, like any good cat does when she encounters adversity.

 Is there a single fabulous fashion photographer Grace hasn't worked with? I doubt it. Yet she remains humble throughout in the book and to both her creative gifts and open to experiencing everything to the fullest that comes her way.

 Her family had a crest, a dragon breathing flames, and a motto: "Nil Desperandum" (Never Despair).

 Grace - A Memoir is an inspiring and adventurous book. You'll be enthralled.

MERCI GRACE!