Katie Grand is a British stylist and fashion journalist. Grand was born in Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in April 1971 and grew up in Selly Oak

Selly Oak

Selly Oak is a residential suburban district in south-west Birmingham, England. The suburb is bordered by Bournbrook and Selly Park to the north-east, Edgbaston and Harborne to the north, Weoley Castle and Weoley Hill to the west, and Bournville to the south...

, Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

.

Early life

Grand grew up in Birmingham. She discovered fashion at 12, saying "I was really nerdy. And then, kind of overnight, I can clearly remember thinking, 'I just want to be cool.' Around that time, my dad's girlfriend moved up from London and I thought she was terribly chic. She always used to wear Warehouse, which had just opened and was really good, because Jeff Banks was still in charge. So there are photos of me aged twelve wearing waist-high tight red jeans with a puffed-sleeved blue sweater and awful hair, and then aged thirteen in an ankle-length black gathered skirt, white shirt tucked in, braces, a black tie, black lace tights, navy blue stilettos and a black beret with a veil. So it was quite quick! And I really got into going to London and going to the Great Gear Market and all that kind of thing."

At secondary school she stated her strongest subjects were Maths, History and English. On deciding her career, she said, "around fifteen I decided that I wanted to do something in art or fashion", so she began taking night classes at the local college in sculpture, life drawing, jewelry making and pottery to improve her design skills. After completing sixth form, Katie began a foundation course at Birmingham's Bournville College of Art, where she was named Student of the Year, achieving 96%.

Katie then moved on to Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. The school has an outstanding international reputation, and is considered one of the world's leading art and design institutions...

 where she found it hard to settle on a single subject - "I tried design, marketing, journalism, knitwear… and ended up doing print, which I still find weird."

Fashion career

Named by British newspaper The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...

 as "one of the most powerful stylists in the world", Katie Grand began fashion styling while still at St. Martins, directing and styling fashion shoots for newly launched magazine, Dazed & Confused in the 1990s.

She was later bought by style magazineThe Face as Fashion Director.

Soon after this, Katie was made Editor-in-Chief of POP, a launched bi-annual fashion magazine. This position brought Katie many famous friendships, including celebrities Madonna

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

 and Agyness Deyn

Agyness Deyn

Agyness Deyn is an English fashion model, actress and singer.-Early life:Deyn is from Failsworth in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester...

, and designers Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney

Stella Nina McCartney is an English fashion designer. She is the daughter of former Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney and the late photographer and animal rights activist, Linda McCartney.-Early life:...

, Luella Bartley

Luella Bartley

Luella Dayrell Bartley MBE is an English fashion designer, magazine editor and former journalist based in the UK.A onetime journalist and fashion editor of British Vogue and Canada's Evening Standard newspaper, Luella Bartley first attended the prestigious further education arts college,...

, Miuccia Prada

Miuccia Prada

Miuccia Prada is an Italian fashion designer and entrepreneur. She also has a Ph.D. in Political Science.Prada was born in Milan, the youngest granddaughter of Mario Prada, founder of the company. According to: Forbes.com's The World's Richest People 2001: "She and her husband, Patrizio Bertelli,...

 and Giles Deacon

Giles Deacon

Giles Deacon is a British fashion designer, best known for his playful designs and his collaboration with High Street retailer New Look. Deacon was employed by the fashion houses Bottega Veneta and Gucci, before founding his own label, GILES, in 2003...

. She infamously convinced actress Elizabeth Hurley

Elizabeth Hurley

Elizabeth Jane Hurley is an English model and actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s. In 1994, as Grant became the focus of worldwide media attention due to the global box office success of his film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hurley accompanied him to the film's Los...

 to pose nude on the cover of POP, just six weeks after giving birth.

Grand is the editor of LOVE, a bi-annual fashion magazine she launched herself. Katie styles many fashion photo shoots and shows including Giles

Giles Deacon

Giles Deacon is a British fashion designer, best known for his playful designs and his collaboration with High Street retailer New Look. Deacon was employed by the fashion houses Bottega Veneta and Gucci, before founding his own label, GILES, in 2003...

 and Unique at Topshop

Topshop

Topshop is a British clothes retailer with shops in over 20 countries and online operations in a number of its markets. Its sales come primarily from women's clothing and fashion accessories...

. She has also worked on fashion shows for Louis Vuitton and Prada.

Personal life

Grand lives in Tufnell Park

Tufnell Park

Tufnell Park is an area of north London, England which straddles the border of the London Borough of Islington and the London Borough of Camden.-Origins:...

, North London with her partner, Pulp

Pulp (band)

Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....

 bassist, Steve Mackey

Steve Mackey

Steve Mackey is a British musician and record producer best known for playing bass guitar in the band Pulp. He also played bass for Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker in the latter's solo career, and worked as a songwriter and producer with artists such as M.I.A...

.