Grant Woolhead- Fashion stylist.

What is your name?  

Grant Woolhead. Uncle Gragra to some of my friends babies and the cat. Groobs to my best friends.

What do you do and are you still able to do it? If not, what are you doing on a daily basis? 

I’m a Fashion Stylist. I’ve been able to Marie Kondo my closet but that’s about it as far as fashion is concerned. For what I do daily in my job I physically have to be somewhere working with the clothes so I’m unable to do that right now unfortunately. It’s still important to me to do something creative though so I’ve been spending a lot of time cooking . My collared green and roasted butternut squash lasagne was a hit. I love drawing, listening to music - I’ve been playing Benjamin Clementine who’s a fellow Brit and who I think is brilliant and some Mama Africa (Miriam Makeba) and Chavela Vargas who are my husbands favorites. I also enjoy podcasts I’m doing my beloved Desert Island Discs and Dear Joan & Jericah for a bit of light relief. I’ve also watched Tiger King along with the rest of the world which I was addicted to and love to dissect with friends.

Where are you social isolating and with who? How is it being home with them all the time?! 

I’ve been socially distancing with my husband in our apartment in Harlem. He’s a nurse working at NY Presbyterian Hospital so he’s at work all day and I’m very excited to catch up with him in the evenings. I’ve always been extremely proud of him but never more so than now. I’ve basically turned myself into a 1950’s housewife with dinner on the table when he gets home from work and pouring him a glass of his favorite whiskey. I’ve been cleaning and organizing like a maniac which I get a kick out of. I’m lucky enough to have a garden too so I’m going to start working on that a bit this week I also have our stray tabby cat 'Kitty' who we took in a few years ago who keeps me company during the day. She sleeps most of the time but I like it when she lays next to me purring or when we play with her favorite piece of string.

Do you have a routine you try to stick to? 

I’m a real creature of habit generally. My routine is that I wake up around 5.30 or 6am, which I always do, make tea, mine is good old builders PG Tips With milk and honey and Kwaku likes his tea black with lemon. We cycle up the Westside Highway together to the hospital and then I cycle back and usually do some weights in the garden. Then I shower, I tidy up, do laundry, then I FaceTime a bunch of my friends and family. It’s nice to see everyone’s expressions at this time for some reason, it feels less distant. In the afternoon I do my drawing, listen to podcasts and music, read. I try not to turn on the TV until 7pm and only allow 30mins of news, I don’t care to listen to too many talking heads, it stresses me out unnecessarily, but I do like to get the facts.

Do you get dressed in the morning or stay in your PJ’s?

I generally wear sweatpants and hoodies anyway so that hasn’t changed, I like to be comfortable on set and at home but I’m wearing my glasses instead of my contacts. I’m religious about my grooming though so not having my weekly shave and haircuts has been a challenge, so I’m just growing it out for a while.

How is your life and your headspace changing as the weeks of isolation continue?

My headspace right now is very calm but I’ve been through a spectrum of feelings over the last 3 weeks since I started isolating on Friday 13th! I decided to use this time to have 30 days no alcohol. I love to socialize over a cocktail with friends but I figured when will I ever get the chance to not see any friends for at least a month? so it was a good opportunity. I’m at 20 days today but I’m an excited to have our usual Friday night drinks with my husband once I’m done. I’m much more appreciative of the freedoms I had before. Just the simple things like going to a restaurant with friends, it reminds me to appreciate those things.

What frightens you the most about this? Do you have ways of calming yourself?

I think the most frightening thing is the lack of control. The not knowing when I’ll go back to work. Not knowing how long we will need to isolate for. Not knowing if we will all have to communicate differently until there’s a vaccine or cure, and obviously the worry of catching it. Just the uncertainty of it all is stressful BUT I’m trying to live more in the moment which is the only way through and the best way to calm yourself, I think. Being busy usually keeps me calm so if I feel overwhelmed I tend to focus on a task, for me it helps.

Have you managed to find any silver linings?

Many, many silver linings. Like most New Yorkers I’ve had to realize that I’m not defined by my job which is hard when you spend so much time doing it. I also appreciate the change of pace and having the time to look inwards, a time of self-reflection. I love watching the birds and the water on my early morning bike rides along the Hudson, especially when it’s misty or raining with the GW bridge looming in the background so definitely taking those moments to be more connected to nature and the beauty of a silent NY has been a gift. I also realize how important my close friends, family and work friends are to me, it reminds me that we are all in this together and how much we need each other. I’m looking forward to a time when I can physically give people I love a hug.

People are saying this is a time for real change both personally and worldly. Do you agree? If so, how do you see your life changing from this?

The fashion industry will definitely need to change, but fashion is always changing anyway. The show cycle feels outdated and It’s terrible for our carbon footprint and definitely for the short term future it’s not plausible for so many people to be in one space together. Brands will need to get creative: produce movies or interesting live streams or create performance art that can be viewed in a multitude of ways. I also think that companies will need to produce less collections and go back to a more artisanal approach - working with local smaller manufacturers which would be fantastic. Great clothes should cost more money, be more precious and last you a lifetime. I also look forward to seeing new ideas about how brands promote their product. This is an opportunity to give credence to those who really make a difference and I think this moment has taught us that.  From a worldly perspective I’m hoping that people will be more appreciative, more connected, more resourceful, less wasteful and also realize how finite our time is and to try to make it all count as much as possible.

Are there any conspiracy theories you subscribe to?

I’m not a huge conspiracy theorist, I think I’d live in a constant state of terror if I believed them all. The 5G one does hold some weight though. My friend Greg loves a conspiracy theory so he usually keeps me abreast.

If you were president/prime minister what would you have done differently?

I don’t think you could know how you would react until your actually in the moment. I would listen to scientists and academics and take heed of their advice. I would learn from other countries and the challenges they faced. I would prepare for the worst case scenario and hope for the best. I would put the lives of my citizens before the economy. But perhaps most importantly, which I think Governor Cuomo has done so well, I would communicate and be honest about what is happening and give people daily updates. Lack of credible information creates fear and fear can be dangerous for everyone.

Using the color chart below please tell me in general what colors you are feeling. It can be a whole rainbow if you want or just one…!  

Red = Angry    

Yellow = Scared

Green = Inspired (this is giving you time to reflect and/or create)

Blue = Sad/Depressed 

Pink = Happy (you see and focus on the silver linings)

Black = Doomed (this is hard)

Cream = You feel no difference

Orange = Overwhelmed 

I’d definitely be yellow because I’m scared of everything. I’d also be pink because I’m very gay and generally happy. I’d also be orange because it’s my favorite color, it reminds me of bright orange summer evening sunsets and I also feel overwhelmed frequently.