If you were to look up "cool" in the dictionary, chances are that you’d find a picture of Bella Freud… Because, the London designer is undeniably so! Even Caroline Issa (who’s notoriously averse to the word and its ubiquity) can’t help but admit it.

Whatever you know Bella for – her signature 1970 jumpers that are the wardrobe staples of many a Fashion Editor, or her bulletproof suiting that seems to meld Savile Row with rock’n’roll, or those deliciously intoxicating scented candles – you’ll know that the Brit-pack’s favourite designer (and daughter of Lucien Freud) overfloweth with the creative gene.


What’s the mantra you tell yourself first thing in the morning? 
I dream a lot. I like thinking about the dream – then, if it’s really coherent, I’ll write it in a little book by my bed. I'm quite slow in the morning… I need time to come to life!

How do you take your coffee? 
I take my coffee black, strong and as hot as possible.

If you weren’t doing what you’re doing now, what would you be doing instead? Maybe I would be a miserable writer… I love writing, but it is such torture! And it’s solitary. Then again, I like doing difficult things.



If you could only keep one outfit in your wardrobe, which would it be? 
It would start with the shoes: Something elevated, with a wedge or a high heel and platform. My favourite shoes are my Louboutin cork wedges and my Phoebe Philo Céline Crepe sole elevated shoes. Clothes-wise, a boyish suit made by me.

Who’s one person you’d love to have dinner with? 
Either someone I was falling in love with – though I don't know who that person is yet – or my favourite writer Colm Tóibín. I have read most of his books and I love his work deeply; I’ve heard him on Desert Island Discs and I think we would get on. He is so clever, and also funny and melancholy – and gay. What could be better?

What’s the main thing you would like to achieve this year? 
I am working on some short film ideas, which I’d like to get perfected and launched on a mainstream platform. I like exploring things that seem unrelated to designing. It is daunting and it makes me feel more daring. I like having different ways to connect with people.



Who would you want to record your audio autobiography, voice-wise? 
I love it when Patti Smith reads poems at her gigs… She compels you to listen. 

Why do you think you ended up doing what you do?  
I seem to be obsessed with it, and I like where it leads.

Click here to discover the Bella Freud store.


More 8Qs:

+ Ashish Gupta: "I fell in love with glamour at a very young age"

+ Eudon Choi:
"I am a big fan of the Great British Bake Off"

+ Osman Yousefzada: 
"Elizabeth I of England was a ballsy woman"