Grace Mirabella: This is the legacy of Anna Wintour’s predecessor at Vogue

The long-standing former editor-in-chief of Vogue was credited for transforming the magazine for working women in the 1970s

Grace Mirabella attends the Paul Smith New York 25th Anniversary celebration on March 14, 2012 in New York City (Getty Images)

Grace Mirabella, the former editor-in-chief of Vogue who is best known for overhauling the magazine in its approach towards working women in the 70s, has died at the age of 91.

Mirabella stood at the helm of the iconic fashion magazine throughout the 1970s and much of the 1980s, transforming the publication from the psychedelic, colourful pages beloved by her predecessor Diana Vreeland to focus more on the new generation of career women that had blossomed in that time.

The pragmatic Mirabella, who grew up in the suburbs of Maplewood, New Jersey, under the watchful eye of her Italian-descended parents, rose to the rank of editor-in-chief by surprise. She had started at the magazine in 1951 as an assistant in the merchandising department, and moved to its editorial staff several years after. Later, she was eventually appointed to the position of associate editor-in-chief under Vreeland.