With a career spanning over four decades as a fashion director, stylist and designer, Lucinda Chambers is one of fashion’s most influential figures. Known for her love of colour, stripes and vintage, she co-founded the brand Colville in 2018 and launched the digital concept store Collagerie in 2019. Collagerie has recently collaborated with The Conran Shop on a capsule collection of home furnishings. collagerie.com
The album that shaped me was The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars; that really blew our minds. I had never seen anybody like Bowie – he had the most impact on the way we dressed and the way people perceived everything. It was a game changer.
The book that touched me the most was Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking. I read it after my brother died and found it, strangely for such a sad book, uplifting and consoling. It was the right book at the right time.
What's everyone reading?
When I was young, the book I absolutely loved and now give to all my goddaughters and friends’ children is I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, because it was about clothes, growing up, first love and having an older sister. It captivated me.
My favourite film is Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited. It’s about three brothers who are spookily like my sons. We love watching it as a family. Adrien Brody is my top eye-candy!
I’m currently watching Slow Horses. It’s beautifully filmed and reminds me of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – measured and brilliantly acted, with fabulous cinematography.
A large proportion of my time is spent just pottering, but I read that that’s very good for the mind. I’m good at dividing my time. I spend exactly the right amount doing whatever is necessary and whatever gives me joy.
My favourite quote that I try to live by is: the only thing to fear is fear itself. I’m quite an optimistic person and I don’t really get stressed, so I do hold that in my heart. I try not to be afraid of anything – what’s the worst that can happen?
The best exhibition I’ve seen for sheer emotionality was the Rembrandt self portraits at the National Gallery, but for tears to the eyes, it was the Hockney iPad exhibition in Paris. It was so different because it involved colour and technology. I found that equally moving.
I have loved collecting since I was a child. The first thing I collected was old razors in velvet boxes. I had about 50 of them. I think they were the cheapest thing I could buy. I also collected old wooden shoe lasts! I’ve got about 100 of those, and they’re beautiful. Now it’s earrings, sunglasses, cushions, plates, textiles... you name it. That’s why I had to do Collagerie: to really understand the collecting impulse.
The greatest meal I’ve ever had was on the side of the road in Spain, at Arzak, a restaurant run by a father and daughter. People wait two years for a reservation. It has three Michelin stars and it was eight courses, and the food was inventive, beyond insane.
If I won the lottery, I would buy a plot of land by the sea and build a very modern bungalow with lots of big windows.
My favourite place in the world is our house in France, because the children have grown up there and my son’s going to get married there – it’s a place where I don’t think of work.
This year, I’m looking forward to projects! Taking Collagerie to the next level and all our collaborations at Colville, getting out there and making and sourcing products. Next, I’m off toMarbella. Our Collagerie pop-up there will be open until October.
