STYLE WATCH WITH GRACE CAHILL

LAKE GARDA, ITALY, 1998 - I found a battered copy of Marian Keyes’ Rachel’s Holiday on a shelf in our family caravan and devoured it. I was 13. After that, I was officially obsessed with words. In secondary school I spent free transition classes year scribbling musings in school copies and I remember babysitting for hours on end with my head stuck in a novel. Looking back now, I realise my universe has never been defined by logic or numbers, but by the power of words. At 19 I moved to London to study journalism - my first interview was with socialite and designer Daphne Guinness whose agent I heckled for months. The rest, as they say, is history. I am curious by nature so the wonder of the job for me has always been about unearthing information and communicating it in the best way possible. That’s where my love of fashion comes in too; like language can capture an idea, a mood, a feeling, so can a wonderfully designed piece of clothing. And just like the world of design, writing isn’t just a job, it’s a craft. I write because I think words in the right order can evoke a kind of magic, a feeling, a sentiment. Just like a beautiful dress makes you want to dance and an ill-fitting one can reduce you to tears, words have the energy and power to evoke heightened emotion, good and bad. Writing for a newspaper and magazine has been incredibly rewarding, eye opening and, at times, terrifying. It’s laying your heart and soul on paper continually for readers to enjoy, dissect, or condemn. That’s the risk you take. Ten years later I am still terrified when I sit down to write my column on a Friday morning with a blank screen in front of me. Sometimes words come easy, sometimes they falter. As a communicator, of both fashion and words, I am always learning, developing new, lyrical ways of delivering ideas, week after week, season after season. Now more than ever, good journalism needs to be nurtured. The continuous flow of social media often means that speculation surpasses well researched fact, and this is something we need to steer from. We need to write well, to choose words mindfully. We need to inform, to affect change, to encourage, to motivate. Sometimes we need escapism, and simply appreciate craft and beauty. And that’s wonderful, as long as it’s done with integrity. Having a voice is a privilege, and one that must not be abused. SEE #JournalismMatters campaign, newsbrandireland.ie

“WRITING IS NOT A JOB, IT’S A CRAFT. WORDS CAN EVOKE A KIND OF MAGIC”