Fashion icon Bella Freud on abandoning psychics, learning to trust herself and realising that what happens next is entirely up to her.
Freud is a designer and creative whose clothes have adorned the likes of Zadie Smith, Kate Moss, Little Simz and…well…me. She’s also a cult podcaster with her hit show, Fashion Neurosis, where guests are invited to examine what clothes mean to them.
She’s lived a fascinating life: the daughter of Lucian Freud, the great-granddaughter of psychoanalyst Sigmund and the sister of novelist Esther who wrote the novel Hideous Kinky about their childhood. Now in her 60s, she joins me to explore why she’s always late, why she regrets never joining the circus and what it’s really like carrying the weight of such an instantly recognisable family name. Plus: why she no longer goes to psychics.
Bella is so smart, considered and stylish. This free-ranging conversation will make you think, laugh and feel unexpectedly hopeful about getting older.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Introduction
04:04 The Power of Fashion and Design
06:47 Challenges in the Fashion Industry
11:52 The Significance of Punctuality
17:02 Childhood Memories and Their Impact
22:18 Therapy and Family Loss
26:13 Reflecting on a Peaceful Passing
27:43 Family Dynamics
30:04 The Circus Job That Never Was
32:33 Sibling Relationships and Childhood Roles
36:06 The Legacy of the Freud Name
41:23 Embracing Failures and Life Lessons
46:28 Living Authentically and Joyfully
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
This whole thing about failure of course, is that you can fail and try again
What's going happen is what I make happen, so get on with it
The key is to stay and finish and then the whole level of reward is so much greater
Being late is an incredibly aggressive thing to do
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
You can listen to Fashion Neurosis wherever you get your podcasts and it’s also available to watch on YouTube
Bella’s photo is by Lynette Garland (2025)
Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/
📚 WANT MORE?
Bernardine Evaristo - the Booker Prize-winner talks about persistence, manifestation and making art on your own terms swap.fm/l/PszltDAfnTF5EpG0UmE7
Trinny Woodall - on the setbacks she’s faced in business, single parenthood and fertility swap.fm/l/fJVwewwLr5xEOE1zLroZ
Edward Enninful - the former editor of British Vogue and an influential figure in fashion explores his journey through the industry. We talk about his challenges around diversity, identity and health swap.fm/l/NOAt5NDZeBTgX6qZUWpB
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Elizabeth and Bella answer live audience questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
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Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan
Engineer: Matias Torres
Assistant Producer: Suhaar Ali
Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot
Executive Producer: Alex Lawless
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
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