The 2027 Diary Collection
A diary for every planning persona.
As one of the most influential stylists and editors in the history of magazines, Grace Coddington has spent her career shaping fashion; for the last three decades, a Smythson diary has been by her side through it all – fittings, flights, front rows, and more – a constant companion in an extraordinary life at the centre of the industry.
To mark 30 years of our Fashion Diary, we asked Grace to put her hand to designing a special anniversary edition. Since 1997, the diary has been a staple for the fashion set, offering curated recommendations across New York, London, Paris, and Milan, alongside dedicated space for show notes, social appointments, and scribbles.
“Smythson diaries have recorded my schedule for over 30 years. They’ve organised me and kept me on time (well, they’ve tried). Over the years, I have used many of the coloured diaries, which are there for me whenever I need to recall an important event or birthday – far more reliable than looking online.”
Grace has brought her signature illustration style to the cover: a playful, hand-drawn reimagining of the legendary front row, populated with an irreverent coterie of animals instead of editors, wrapping seamlessly around to the back cover. Inside, alongside our classic content from the four fashion capitals, sit Grace’s personal handwritten favourites: from the shops she never misses to the restaurants she always returns to.
To complement the diary and reflect Grace’s longstanding love of Smythson stationery, we’ve also created a set of correspondence cards featuring her front-row illustration engraved onto White Wove card, finished with gilded edges and accompanied by gold hand-tissue-lined envelopes.
How did this collaboration come about, and what made you want to put your own stamp on our classic fashion diary?
I’ve had a Smythson address book and diary for years and years, and I have always admired them! So what better than one that is personalised to me…?
As a long-time friend of Smythson, how did it feel to collaborate with us on this 30th anniversary edition?
Very important and exciting (also a big responsibility as it is an important milestone for Smythson too).
Do you remember your first Smythson purchase? What was it, and what did you use it for?
An address book around the early 1980s.
You’re so well known for your sketches. What is it about drawing that allows you to capture a moment in a way that photography or words can’t?
I remember how I felt when I did the drawing, so it captures that moment.
Do you treat your diary as a space for daily creative rituals, or is it more of a place to gather thoughts when inspiration strikes?
Both!
The fashion calendar moves incredibly fast; does having a physical diary help you keep track of it all, or is it more of a personal archive?
It’s a personal archive, but it also keeps track of my life past and present, as I don’t use anything digital – I like paper and pen.
In an increasingly digital world, what keeps drawing you back to pen and paper?
Dislike of all things digital!
How has your relationship with keeping a diary evolved over the different chapters of your personal life and career?
It has remained the same and is a big part of my life – I take my diary with me everywhere! I can’t do without it. And I save them over the years to keep a record.
Do you ever look back through your old diaries, or are you the type of person who finishes a year and moves straight onto the next blank page?
I look back all the time to compare things then and now.
