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Nicole Farhi

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Nicole Farhi
Born1946 (age 77–78)
Nice, France
Occupation(s)Fashion designer, artist, sculptor
Spouse
​
(m. 1992)​

Nicole Farhi, Lady Hare, CBE (born 1946) is a French former fashion designer. In mid-career in London, she took up sculpture and, on retirement from the fashion industry, became a sculptor.

Early life and education

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Born in 1946 in Nice on the French Riviera,[1][2][3] Nicole Farhi is the daughter of Sephardic Jews who immigrated to France from Turkey after World War I. Her father sold rugs and lighting.[4] She attended synagogue with her grandparents.[5] Members of her family endured concentration camps during the Second World War.[6][7]

Farhi studied both art and fashion in early 1960s Paris and, needing to be self-sufficient, started her career as a freelancer there in 1967 before moving to London, England, in 1969[8][9][10][4] or 1973.[2]

Career in fashion

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In 1978, Farhi was employed by Stephen Marks to head up the company's design studio in Bow, East London, on his French Connection label.[11] She was given a free hand to design. She was also commissioned to design theatre and cinema costumes.[9] In 1982, Marks assisted Farhi in launching the eponymous Nicole Farhi high-end fashion label within the French Connection group.[11][12] The label opened shops worldwide, including London and New York in 1999. The success of her first label was followed by Nicole Farhi for Men in 1989. The Nicole Farhi Home Collection was launched in 1998 and a concept store named 202 opened in 2002, featuring homeware, clothing lines and all day brasserie.[9]

On 15 March 2010, French Connection announced the sale of the brand and retail chains to OpenGate Capital for up to £5 million.[13][14] Entering administration in 2013, the labels had six stores, supplied major stores such as John Lewis and had concessions in other department stores.[15] Administrators Zolfo Cooper were appointed on 3 July 2013 to advise on sale or restructuring of the UK shops and associated retail outlets located within Harvey Nichols, House of Fraser and Selfridges.[16][17]

Midlife pivot into sculpture

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In the mid-1980s, Farhi took up sculpture as a hobby,[18] under the tutelage of artist Jean Gibson in her private studio.[19][20] During her fashion career, Farhi would work one day a week and at weekends in her own studio. After many years of juggling the two, she became a full-time sculptor. She turned her back on fashion and focused on sculpture, with a first solo exhibition in 2019.[21][22][18][23]

Her Edinburgh Art Festival exhibition contained 25 clay busts of her favourite literary figures,[24] including Oscar Wilde, Françoise Sagan, Muriel Spark and Joan Didion, all under 20 centimetres high.[23]

Farhi is a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors.[25]

Personal life

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Farhi and Marks' professional relationship resulted in a personal relationship, and the couple had a daughter, Candice Marks, before separating.[4][26] Farhi married British playwright David Hare in 1992.[4] They met when she designed the costumes for his play Murmuring Judges. Eduardo Paolozzi, her friend and mentor, was a witness at their wedding.[27]

She is a cousin of the writer and human rights campaigner Moris Farhi.[28]

In February 2007, Farhi was a signatory to the declaration of Independent Jewish Voices, calling for an open and critical debate on Israel and criticising certain Jewish organisations' unconditional support of Israel in relation to Palestine.[29][9][30]

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ National Portrait Gallery page for Nicole Farhi "Nicole Farhi (1946-),..."
  2. ^ a b Designerhistory.com Archived 24 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine "Nicole Farhi was born in 1946 in Nice, France. She studied fashion at the Studio Bercot in Paris and free-lanced for Agnes B, Pierre D'Alby and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac before moving to England in 1973 to design for the French Connection group."
  3. ^ Milligan, Lauren (8 May 2012). "Farhi Change". Vogue.
  4. ^ a b c d Edemariam, Aida (18 September 2009). "Nicole Farhi: 'Go home alone? I can't'". The Guardian.
  5. ^ "Nicole Farhi". Jewish Lives Project. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  6. ^ Jamieson, Teddy (7 July 2019). "'One of my cousins had been in a concentration camp' Nicole Farhi on life and art". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  7. ^ Glanville, Jo (1 January 2000). "Nicole Farhi". Jewish Quarterly. 47 (3): 68–69. doi:10.1080/0449010X.2000.10705201 (inactive 1 November 2024). ISSN 0449-010X.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  8. ^ "Nicole Farhi". fashion.net. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  9. ^ a b c d "Nicole Farhi | Fashion Designer Biography". Famous Fashion Designers. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  10. ^ Cole, Teresa Levonian (21 February 2019). "Nicole Farhi: 'I love art profoundly in a way I never loved fashion'". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  11. ^ a b "French Connection - Fashion Designer Encyclopedia - clothing, women, men, style, new, body, history, footwear, collection". www.fashionencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  12. ^ "Nicole Farhi News, Collections, Fashion Shows, Fashion Week Reviews, and More". Vogue. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  13. ^ Wood, Zoe (15 March 2010). "French Connection sells Nicole Farhi as losses mount". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  14. ^ "Regulatory News Service link"[permanent dead link‍]: "French Connection Group plc, Completion of Strategic Review, Announcement of Sale of a Business and Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 January 2010, released 15 March 2010."
  15. ^ Butler, Sarah (3 July 2013). "Nicole Farhi enters administration". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Nicole Farhi fashion chain enters administration". BBC News. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  17. ^ "Nicole Farhi", Nymag.com.
  18. ^ a b Long, Louise (19 February 2019). "Nicole Farhi on Her 35-Year Love Affair With Sculpture". British Vogue. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  19. ^ Cook, Grace (2022). "A London exhibition of Nicole Farhi's curvaceous nudes takes shape". Wallpaper. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  20. ^ This Cultural Life with Nicole Farhi. www.bbc.co.uk. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023. podcast available
  21. ^ "Nicole Farhi". beauxartslondon.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  22. ^ Williamson, Charlotte (17 August 2014). "Nicole Farhi interview: 'Why I've closed the door to fashion'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  23. ^ a b "Nicole Farhi: 'I wanted to express things other than just making clothes'". Edinburgh Festival. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Nicole Farhi | 25 July – 31 August 2019". The Fine Art Society Ltd. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  25. ^ "Nicole Farhi". sculptors.org.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  26. ^ "A lady and a vamp". The Herald. 22 March 2009.
  27. ^ "Nicole Farhi on the life and legend of Eduardo Paolozzi | Art UK". artuk.org. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  28. ^ "Relative Values: Nicole Farhi and her cousin Moris | the Sunday Times". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  29. ^ "Group establishes new Jewish voice". Chicago Tribune. 6 February 2007.
  30. ^ Borger, Julian (5 February 2007). "Prominent Jews call for open debate on Israel". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  31. ^ Bumpus, Jessica (22 September 2010). "Dining with Nicole". British Vogue.
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