Flair Magazine “Both my fashion collection and
interiors style share key cultural references;
bold colour, eclecticism and the glamour of the 1970’s”
Throw on a pair of jeans and one of her signature jumpers and you will be glad to know that you are wearing a cult fashion item. “Ginsberg is God” worn by Kate Moss, “Je t’aime Jane” by Alexa Chung, Rebecca Hall, Gigi Hadid and Rosie Hunington-Whiteley simply upgraded boring knitwear. Her “1970” jumper, worn by Caroline Flack and the well-heeled of SW1, is so in demand that it’s reissued every season.
Bella Freud, the great-granddaughter of Sigmund and daughter of Lucian, launched her label in 1990. In 1991 her tailored creations earned her the Most Innovative Designer Award at the London Fashion Awards. Then the recession hit but eventually made her come back focusing on her cashmere word jumpers. In 2013 she launched a range of perfume and scented candles inspired by the widely recognised sweaters. In 2015 she opened a flagship store in central London. In 2018 she collaborated with Maria Speake – co-founder of design and salvage mecca Retrouvius – to apply her cool-girl chic to Helios 710, a three- bedroom penthouse in a circular Grade II-listed building in White City.
Daniela Bonetto: How would you describe your interiors style?
Bella Freud: I like the glossy against the grainy taste of the 70’s. I love the way colour suddenly invaded everything, orange, red, purple and black walls. Or everything painted white – even the floors and windows, like in the film The Knack. When you look at Hockney’s paintings it gives a good idea of interiors being glamorised by colour. I love Warhol, Francis Bacon, my father Lucian Freud, they all look great in these modern, rich settings.
DB: What did the Helios 710 project mean to you?
BF: Television Centre is an iconic part of West London’s history, which has been intertwined with my own life. It was important for myself and Maria Speake to retain the design integrity of the site, with the ease and comfort of a custom designed space that suits modern living. Helios 710 was an opportunity for myself and Maria Speake to collaborate on another project, this time to explore my fantasy home.
DB: Who do you see living in the apartment you designed?
BF: The overall aesthetic idea was to create a look and feel that was calm, sexy, elegant and spacious. The apartment has been designed to be a place where you feel as comfortable spending time alone or entertaining with a group of friends. The nice thing about the space is that you can see how you might add to it, that’s part of the concept. It shouldn’t be intimidating, and it needs to have room for other people’s ideas
DB: Why do you and Maria Speake work so well together?
BF: This is the fourth time we have collaborated. Everything Maria suggests is nothing I would have thought of but everything I wished I had. Helios 710 is definitely an extension of the other spaces we have created, we feel it’s a natural progression from the two homes and store we designed together. At the moment we are musing on what we would like to do next. It’s fun to do commercial projects that have a lot of functionality involved, I like the mixture of making things work and being of service and also investing as much beauty and charm into every nut and bolt.
DB: How did you get involved in the Helios 710 project?
BF: The developers Stanhope asked us to pick an apartment to transform from a selection. We looked at all the apartments and Piercy & Company’s had a nice, considered, calm quality to it.
DB: Three words to describe the interior?
BF: Eclectic, glamorous, seventies.
DB: What was the inspiration?
BF: For the interiors of Helios 710 we wanted to captivate the spirit and freedom of the 1970s – vibrant block colours have been used to frame reclaimed mid-century pieces, alongside special edition rugs made in collaboration with The Rug Company and inspired by the wording on my sweaters. The material palette also echoes that of my fashion label, for instance, corduroy is a great texture and has become part of the overall signature for the interiors.
DB: How did you and Speake make decisions on the project -who had the final word?
BF:Whenever Maria and I make a decision about a room, our conversations tend to be about how wonderful a certain colour is, or about a beautiful piece of ceramics or artwork, rather than thinking about it too practically.
