Bella Freud’s eponymous and instantly recognisable label has come to signify an intellectual playfulness, recognised for its upmarket irreverence. Bella is a storyteller who uses design as her main vehicle. Controversy, art and innovation have been a constant in his life, from the artwork of his father, the world-famous painter Lucian Freud, to the psychoanalytic pioneering of his great-grandfather Sigmund Freud. Both family members have visible influences on Bella's work.
Her designs have gained a remarkably devoted following. Worn by the likes of Kate Moss, Alexa Chung, Keith Richards, Olivia Wilde, Salma Hayek, Idris Elba, Jane Fonda or Eddie Redmayne, they are the embodiment of her preoccupation with appropriating serious ideas about the subconscious into the fashion context.
Passionate about cinema, Bella’s fashion film collaborations started in 1991 and include a trio of shorts made with John Malkovich: Strap Hanging (1999), Lady Behave (2000) and Hideous Man (2002). The film Girl Boils Egg (2013), was her debut as a director and was commissioned for Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio in 2013.
Bella Freud was born in London and studied in Rome. After working with the irreverent designer Vivienne Westwood, she launched her womenswear label in 1990.