London


<p>She might be the daughter of artist Lucian Freud and great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud, but Bella&#8217;s best-known for her luxe knitwear (Muddy still covets a 1970 jumper), slogan T-shirts, exquisite tailoring and must-have accessories, and now she&#8217;s adding yet another string to her fashionable bow. </p>



<p>Muddy caught up with the famous designer on the eve of the launch of her podcast <em><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/fashion-neurosis-with-bella-freud/id1768794307" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fashion Neurosis</a></em> <strong>(2 Oct)</strong>, a weekly series with guests including American designer Rick Owens and actress Courtney Cox, who will be &#8216;lying on the couch&#8217; to discuss the connection between fashion and identity. But first, it&#8217;s Bella&#8217;s turn to be quizzed. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="810" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.30.50-1024x810.png" alt="" class="wp-image-5234" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.30.50-1024x810.png 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.30.50-300x237.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.30.50-768x608.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.30.50.png 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-love-the-new-podcast-name-where-did-the-idea-come-from"><strong>Love the new Podcast name, where did the idea come from?</strong></h2>



<p>I made a Zine some years ago with one page illustrations by Sina Sparrow of moments of fetish-y fashion preoccupation and scenarios of feeling left out. I called it Fashion Neurosis &#8211; and it gave me an idea that there was a lot more where that came from.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-you-tell-us-who-has-been-invited-to-lie-on-the-couch"><strong>Can you tell us who has been invited to lie on the couch?</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="627" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Unknown-4-3-1024x627.jpeg" alt="Designer Rick Owens " class="wp-image-5245" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Unknown-4-3-1024x627.jpeg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Unknown-4-3-300x184.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Unknown-4-3-768x470.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Unknown-4-3.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>My first guest is Rick Owens. He was in my top five of people I wanted to interview and I was ecstatic when he said yes. When he walked through the door it was as though a modern angel all dressed in black had fallen from the sky and graced my cream coloured couch. I have a mixture of guests not only in the fashion world but all interested in, and attracted to style. Other guests so far include actress Courteney Cox, and writers, sportsmen and rockstars.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-in-depth-can-we-expect-fashion-neurosis-to-go"><strong>How in-depth can we expect <em>Fashion Neurosis</em> to go</strong>?</h2>



<p>I want to get as deep as I can, but my intention is to have some fun too! It&#8217;s really relaxed, so people reveal more about themselves than they might expect. I think fashion is often dismissed as superficial, but in this podcast it becomes the lens through which we examine our inner lives, relationships, and society.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-if-you-could-invite-anyone-past-or-present-to-chat-on-the-podcast-who-would-it-be-and-why"><strong>If you could invite anyone (past or present) to chat on the Podcast, who would it be and why?</strong></h2>



<p>Grace Jones is my dream guest. She is one of the most beautiful, clever women on earth and she is acerbic, funny and doesnt suffer fools. She would certainly keep me on my toes.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-else-are-you-working-on-at-the-moment"><strong>What else are you working on at the moment?</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="967" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.45.38-1024x967.png" alt="" class="wp-image-5235" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.45.38-1024x967.png 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.45.38-300x283.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.45.38-768x725.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.45.38.png 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Pieces from the new A/W24 collection </figcaption></figure>



<p>I am always working on new collections, I have just launched <a href="https://bellafreud.com/collections/new-in?page=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AW24 first drop</a>. It is inspired by the film American Psycho with Bateman pinstripe suits and sleek knitwear. I&#8217;m really pleased with it. I&#8217;m also writing my <em><a href="https://bellafreud.com/blogs/happenings" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sunday Stories</a></em> which are anecdotes of my life in fashion. Like a memoir&nbsp;in chunks of 500-word episodes.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-neurotic-are-you-about-fashion"><strong>How neurotic are <em>you</em> about fashion?</strong></h2>



<p>I don&#8217;t&nbsp;think I&#8217;m neurotic! It&#8217;s rather that I have found fashion to be an amazing solution to seemingly unrelated anxieties. If I am experiencing mental or emotional turbulence I can contain myself with a great outfit and it gets me through it.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bella-s-london-address-book">BELLA&#8217;S LONDON ADDRESS BOOK</h2>



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-favourite-restaurant"><strong>Favourite restaurant</strong>:</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="614" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.23.19-1024x614.png" alt="Toklas in Surrey restaurant " class="wp-image-5229" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.23.19-1024x614.png 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.23.19-300x180.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.23.19-768x460.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.23.19.png 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>I love the restaurant <a href="https://www.toklaslondon.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Toklas</a> in Surrey Street, Temple. The decor is low key and beautiful and the food is refined, simple and delicious &#8211; with amazing chips.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-favourite-bar"><strong>Favourite bar</strong>:</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="706" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.25.07-1024x706.png" alt="Golborne Deli " class="wp-image-5230" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.25.07-1024x706.png 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.25.07-300x207.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.25.07-768x529.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-09-30-at-16.25.07.png 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>I don&#8217;t&nbsp;really go to bars much so I can&#8217;t&nbsp;think of one. I do like an evening beverage sitting in the street outside the <a href="https://golbornefinewinedeli.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Golborne Deli</a> in Golborne Rd, Notting Hill though. It&#8217;s my local and sometimes I bump into people I know, which is lovely.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-favourite-store"><strong>Favourite store</strong>:</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="614" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/santa_Maria_novella_1200x720-1024x614.jpg" alt="Santa Maria Novella" class="wp-image-5231" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/santa_Maria_novella_1200x720-1024x614.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/santa_Maria_novella_1200x720-300x180.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/santa_Maria_novella_1200x720-768x461.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/santa_Maria_novella_1200x720.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p><a href="https://stjameslondon.co.uk/places/santa-maria-novella" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Santa Maria Novella</a> is a tiny corner shop in Piccadilly Arcade. Their soaps and body oils are exquisite and any of their Melograno products are my regular gifts to self.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-favourite-museum"><strong>Favourite museum</strong>:</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="1024" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/visit-carousel-must-see-paintings-1820-or-1080-high-1024x1024.jpg" alt="The national gallery London " class="wp-image-5232" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/visit-carousel-must-see-paintings-1820-or-1080-high-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/visit-carousel-must-see-paintings-1820-or-1080-high-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/visit-carousel-must-see-paintings-1820-or-1080-high-150x150.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/visit-carousel-must-see-paintings-1820-or-1080-high-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/visit-carousel-must-see-paintings-1820-or-1080-high-500x500.jpg 500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/visit-carousel-must-see-paintings-1820-or-1080-high-1100x1100.jpg 1100w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/09/visit-carousel-must-see-paintings-1820-or-1080-high.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>The National Gallery is the Daddy!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-would-you-do-if-you-were-mayor-for-the-day"><strong>What would you do if you were mayor for the day?</strong></h2>



<p>I would make sure every homeless person got a hot meal and a guarantee&nbsp;of a bath and a bed that night. With that being the start of the path to being supported into getting back into society and off the streets.&nbsp;</p>


Five minutes on the couch with fashion designer Bella Freud

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