Es Devlin

Es Devlin

Author: Bella Freud April 23, 2025 Duration: 1:01:44
Es Devlin is a British artist and stage designer celebrated for creating large-scale, emotionally resonant installations and performances that fuse light, music, language, and space. Her work has shaped the visual identity of global tours for artists including Beyoncé, Adele, The Weeknd and U2, while also redefining the theatrical landscape through her work with the Royal Opera House, National Theatre, and the Metropolitan Opera. Es Devlin brings a poetic sensibility to her immersive environments. Her public art installations—such as Forest for Change at Somerset House and Poem Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai—invite audiences to reflect, explore, and engage with urgent global themes. In October 2024 she unveiled CONGREGATION, a large-scale choral installation created in partnership with UK for UNHCR, The Courtauld and King's College London.  Es Devlin’s designs have been exhibited at major institutions including the V&A, the Serpentine Gallery, and the Venice Biennale. She is a Royal Academician, the recipient of numerous awards, and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to stage design.  In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Es Devlin discuss the logistics of raising a steel orb out of the sand in the Moroccan desert for the St Laurent menswear show; seeking out jumble sales in Time Out magazine when she was 11; and making a collage for her bedroom from a catalogue of Japanese art that turned out to be full of pornographic illustrations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud, the iconic designer turns her studio into something closer to a therapist's office. Every episode, a guest settles in for a conversation that starts with the fabric of our lives-literally. Bella Freud guides discussions that pick apart why we wear what we do, treating a wardrobe choice not as a trivial concern but as a window into our deeper selves. These aren't typical interviews about trends; they're meandering, personal explorations. You’ll hear stories about the power of a specific scent, the armor of a well-cut jacket, or the nostalgia tied to a childhood uniform. Naturally, the dialogue in this podcast often spirals into much broader territory, touching on the anxieties, cultural shifts, and personal histories that shape us. Freud shares her own vivid anecdotes generously, creating a space where fashion becomes the starting point for talking about everything from love and politics to the very construction of identity. The result is a series of intimate, sometimes surprising dialogues that reveal how the things we put on our bodies are inextricably linked to what’s happening in our minds and in the world around us.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 68

Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud
Podcast Episodes
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