With her shock of red hair, unmade-up face and uniform of black, Grace, now 71, played the polar opposite to Anna Wintour's sharp-bobbed froideur; the romantic counterpoint to Anna's commercialism. In a career trajectory that has taken her from small-town Wales to the top of the fashion tree, via a stint as a successful model, Grace is now that rare breed: a reluctant celebrity. As her recently published memoirs become a must-read bestseller, here, the fashion visionary talks to us about a life in style.

JESSICA JONZEN: You moved to London when you were 18 to become a model. You were dressed by Mary Quant, photographed by Terence Donovan, styled by Vidal Sassoon and kissed by Mick Jagger. Was it a golden age to be a model?
GRACE CODDINGTON: Modeling was a different game back then. It's much more demanding now. That's why they start very young, but they're all washed up by the time they're 20. They're always jumping on a plane and they're not treated like human beings. We were treated like human beings.

JJ: After you made the transition to fashion editor, you styled many of the shoots that launched the careers of supermodels such as Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell. What makes their appeal so enduring?
GC: It is amazing; they are all in their forties now. It helps to have digital because you can ease away the years and make them look as fresh as they did the day they started, but they all have personality. Sometimes it is annoying, but still, it is personality. I'd rather have an