Photographer Oliver Marshall – Fashion Editor Sofi Chetrar – Model Grace Sharp at Models1 – Makeup Simona Svantnerová – Hair Takuya Morimoto – Photography Assistant Guy Pryke – Interview by Marco Martello
Jacket Kent&Curwen – Scarf Givenchy
What’s your earliest fashion-related memory?
Probably re-blogging Alessandro Michele’s first collection for Gucci on Tumblr back in the day.
How did you get into fashion? Had you always dreamt of becoming a model?
I was always told by my family and friends that I could be a model, but I didn’t really give much thought to it. But, then I was scouted a few times between the ages of 14-16. I think getting scouted put the idea in my head that this was something I could do, and from there I pursued it after I finished school.
What’s a piece of clothing you wore as a child and wish you could still wear today?
Stripy woollen tights! I think I could try to find a pair that I could wear today, just need to find the right occasion to wear them.
Coat Ferragamo – Gloves Givenchy
You’ve posed in front of the camera for editorials and fashion campaigns. Do you remember how you felt walking on set for the first time?
I felt very nervous! I think I was 16 when I did my first test shoot, I still get nervous to this day walking onto set, but usually when I put the clothes on and get into character the nerves wear off.
Grace, have you always been comfortable in your own skin?
Not at all! Growing up, I always struggled to accept the way that I look. I still don’t feel 100% comfortable in my skin now, but I feel more myself and more confident now than I ever have done, it’s taken years of work to get to where I am, but I’m glad to have got to a point where I love my uniqueness and accept it as a necessary part of what makes me who I am.
Jacket Louis Vuitton – Sweater John Smedley – Jeans Margaret Howell – Shoes Camper
You’ve walked down the catwalk for the likes of S.S Daley, Jordanluca, and Richard Quinn. What’s one particular show you remember with affection?
Probably the Dries Van Noten AW20 show I walked in 2020. I was 19 at the time, and it was the first show I opened. It’s always such an adrenaline rush being the one opening the show. I loved my look, and I remember feeling particularly confident walking down the catwalk.
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learnt working in fashion?
Be yourself, 100%. Never get caught up in who you think you should be or who anyone else thinks you should be. Being authentically you is always the way.
Coat Givenchy – Dress Studio Nicholson – Shoes McQueen
Total Look Hermès
The job of a model calls for lots of last minute travels. Do you have any last minute packing tips?
Roll instead of fold clothes!
What’s one thing you’d like to change about the fashion industry?
It would be nice to have more of a focus on slowing things down, the fashion houses pump out so many collections each year, I always wonder what would happen if the industry slowed down a bit. I think that would be a welcome change for lots of people who work in fashion.
Shirt and Skirt Nanushka – Shoes Miu Miu
Last but not least, if you could be anywhere right now, where would you be and why?
In the workshop working on some etchings. I graduated from a degree in Fine Art two years ago, and I don’t get to spend as much time as I’d like making things. My resolution for the new year is to give more time to it.
Total Look Hermès
Jacket McQueen – Trousers Studio Nicholson – Shoes Givenchy