bella_freud

Nicky Haslam on the couch. My full interview with Nicky is now live - link in bio. #fashionneurosiswithbellafreud

Herb candle.⁠ ⁠ - ⁠ ⁠ Photography - @jonathanleigh_photo

Nicky Haslam is an English interior designer. He is the founder of the interior design company Nicky Haslam Studio and has created homes for society figures, billionaires, and pop stars with exquisite taste including Bryan Ferry. He was born into an aristocratic family and after his recovery from polio as a child, he was educated at Eton, where he dyed his hair blonde and had his school uniform tailcoat customized with a red lining, which caused a scandal. Nicky Haslam has an unerring eye for recognizing style: he introduced Diana Vreeland, the legendary editor of American Vogue, to Yves Saint Laurent. He commissioned Diane Arbus to photograph Mae West. He is a society figure, at home in every milieu as long as the clothes and conversation are of the highest order. He is the author of the most sought after cult tea towel, issued every year at Christmas and inscribed with his dictum of ‘How Common’. Mostly things we all are, do, or love - like scented candles or loving your parents. In this episode Nicky Haslam talks to Bella Freud about dying his pubes; inventing the 60’s with David Bailey; and meeting Marilyn Monroe. Launching tomorrow, 18th December. Watch on Spotify and YouTube | Listen on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. #fashionneurosiswithbellafreud

Don’t miss episode 11 of Fashion Neurosis with Jonathan Anderson. Watch and subscribe at the links in bio. #fashionneurosiswithbellafreud

When I was 6 my mother invited a spiritual guru to come over to our flat in Tunbridge Wells. There was a lot of excitement about it among the grownups and my younger sister Esther and I got quite interested, even though we had no idea what it was about. At some point during the day we were told the guru was going to give us a mantra each, which he did. We weren’t supposed to reveal this to anyone else but immediately told each other. It was the same word: Om. This didn’t feel special at all and the whole notion lost any allure or sense of meaning. My childhood was quite unpredictable, without much routine. When I became a mother to my son Jimmy I tried to have a mixture of reliability, and awareness to facilitate his curiosity about life. One day when he was about 9 he told me he wanted to learn how to practice Zen Buddhism. I was quite surprised, meditation was not the buzzword that it is now. Nevertheless I was happy to explore - maybe there would be something in it for me too. I asked him to look up and find a centre we could go to, and on a Sunday morning at 9am we found ourselves in a flat on the 9th floor of a tower block on a North London housing estate. I kept asking Jimmy if he wanted to bail, but he didn’t. A matter of fact young woman placed some round cushions on the floor and explained the principles of Zen Buddhism. Then the three of us sat there for an hour and a half. It seemed a bit of a non event but Jimmy said he had enjoyed it. It felt like an adventure, like pointing to somewhere on a globe and going there. ⁠ ⁠ Portrait of Jimmy Fox by @psychoearli #SundayStories⁠

She sat on the white sofa, composed and relaxed. She was wearing a dark Navy jumpsuit, slim cut and showing her bare arms. He sat across the room, gazing at her, divided by the green of the carpet. ⁠ ⁠ -⁠ ⁠ Creative Direction - @bella_freud⁠ Videography - @martinsenyszak ⁠ Movement Direction - @michaelclarkco⁠ Art Direction - @maxineleonard⁠ Styling - @karlplewka⁠ Hair and Makeup - #HelenAsher⁠ Model - @lucan_gillespie⁠ Gloves - @cornelia_james

Art Lover. Fairytale of New York jumper in Merino wool.⁠ ⁠ -⁠ ⁠ Creative Direction - @bella_freud⁠ Videography - @martinsenyszak ⁠ Movement Director - @michaelclarkco⁠ Art Direction - @maxineleonard⁠ ⁠Styling - @karlplewka⁠ Hair and Makeup - #HelenAsher⁠ Model - @patrycjajpiekarska⁠ Jewellery - @hannahmartinldn⁠

Don’t miss episode 10 of Fashion Neurosis with Karl Ove Knausgaard Watch and subscribe at the links in bio #fashionneurosiswithbellafreud

This is me aged 17 with my friend Tracey in a club called The Speakeasy in 1979. We used to go to this club which was in a street somewhere north of Oxford Circus. There was a small stage at one end where occasionally someone would perform. I remember seeing Patti Palladin in Snatch, and once or twice Johnny Thunders tottered up dressed in amazing clothes, excruciatingly shy despite his status as the ex New York Dolls legendary front man. I spent a lot of my time there passed out drunk in the loos, often waking up at the end of a night alone. I had left home in Sussex at 16 to continue my education in London. I enrolled in City and East London College to do my A levels but I lasted a couple of terms before I stopped going. I had met Vivienne Westwood at the then Camden Palace and managed to blag myself the coveted job of Saturday girl at her shop Seditionaries. I remember her giving me one of those semi sneers of appreciation and saying ’You’ve cut your hair.’ That sealed it. Giving up college meant I could work full time in the shop -which is where I met Tracey. Tracey was incredibly beautiful and had been a model for Bill Gibb. She was funny and observant. She was tall, and did her make up like Marilyn Monroe with a white eyelid but with smoky black around the outside. When she sometimes fell asleep before making it into bed at night, it made her look as though her eyes were still open. I worshipped Tracey and she let me tag along and learn from her. She taught me about the code, how to be aloof without being vulnerable. Without telling me, she conveyed it was better to be silent than try and ingratiate myself to be part of the gang. If I wanted to be included I would have to hope for the best. But she never left me out. One day Tracey became homeless – I don’t know where she was living. I was sharing a flat with my older sister and I invited her to move in. I felt so happy that I could offer her something, at last. And Tracey, with her excellent manners was a wonderful guest… [cont]

Gifts for the friends who can take a joke... or the ones who can't.⁠ ⁠ Shop Christmas Gifting from Bella Freud, available now in store and online. ⁠ ⁠ - ⁠ ⁠ Photography - @jonathanleigh_photo

Karl Ove Knausgaard on the couch. My full interview with Karl is now live- link in bio. #fashionneurosiswithbellafreud

The Last Tango dress in Lipstick print. Silky and slinky.⁠ ⁠ - ⁠ ⁠ Creative Direction - @bella_freud⁠ Videography - @martinsenyszak ⁠ Movement Director - @michaelclarkco⁠ Art Direction - @maxineleonard⁠ ⁠Styling - @karlplewka⁠ Hair and Makeup - #HelenAsher⁠ Model - @lucan_gillespie⁠ Shoes - @louboutinworld⁠