Bella Freud’s fashion collections are full of serious ideas, but her sensibility hews to the more playful side of life. (Take a look at her cheeky Word Jumpers.) The London-based designer specializes in highly versatile sportswear, the kinds of trousers, skirts, dresses, and sweaters that are designed with life—not exclusively Instagram—in mind. Descended from the most well-known Freuds—she’s the daughter of Lucian, granddaughter of Sigmund—Bella has been at the epicenter of the London fashion scene since her brand’s launch, in 1990. Now she sells everything from housewares to fragrance, and her following extends far beyond her flagship store, on Chiltern Street. Here, she shares her key components to the good life. —Ashley Baker
Airline: The one in The Fifth Element.
App: Shazam.
Bag: My velvet monogrammed bag from the Vampire’s Wife.
Bedtime: Late is nice.
Bike: A Vespa. Does that count?
Breakfast, weekday: Black coffee, and toast with marmalade. I go to bed every night looking forward to it.
Breakfast, weekend: The same, but later. Maybe a boiled egg, too.
Car: My pale-blue Mercedes-Benz 500SEC.
Cocktail: A bitter and twisted—tonic with Angostura bitters. Delicious.
Couple: Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg, and Gilbert Trejo and Arrow de Wilde.
Date:
Out for dinner, but too excited to eat.
Dress: A tuxedo by me.
Drive: Driving around L.A. is dreamy.
Enemy: Righteousness.
First Lady: Eleanor Roosevelt.
Hotel: GoldenEye, in Jamaica.
Movie: Apocalypse Now.
Nonfiction book: On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong. Beyond.
Novel: The Outsider, by Albert Camus.
Pants: My 1976 trousers in cavalry twill.
Pet: Biggy Pop, the white cockatoo which occasionally graces Instagram with his mentor, Iggy.
Piece of advice: “One is too many, a thousand never enough.”
President: Obama.
Restaurant: The River Cafe. The atmosphere is great, and every mouthful of their food makes you hungrier.
SHOES: Platform sandals with a heel that keeps you steady. Louboutins are my current faves.
Singer: Nick Cave.
Spouse: James Fox, a great ex-husband and a brilliant writer.
Television series: Reservation Dogs and Impeachment: American Crime Story.
Theme song to your life: “Get Up Stand Up,” by Bob Marley. To be played at my funeral, please.
Time of day: 4:30 p.m.
Toast: “Freedom for Palestine.”
Vacation: Portugal. By the Atlantic, but with a swimming pool.
Wake-up time: 9:30 a.m., when allowed.
Work of art: Manet’s Olympia.
Bella’s Essentials
