Nicole Farhi, Lady Hare,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 25 July 1946) is a former French fashion designer, now

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

born in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, France.

Life

Born in France Farhi is the daughter of

Sephardic Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

from Turkey Her father sold rugs and lighting. She attended synagogue with her grandparents Members of her family endured concentration camps during the Second World War

Career

Farhi studied fashion in the late 1960s in Paris and started her career as a freelancer there 1967 before moving to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in the 1970s. In 1978, Farhi was employed by Stephen Marks on his

French Connection The French Connection was a scheme through which heroin was smuggled from Indochina through Turkey to France and then to the United States and Canada, sometimes through Cuba. The operation started in the 1930s, reached its peak in the 1960s, and ...

label, to head up the company's design studio in Bow, East London. She enjoyed considerable freedom to design the way she wished She is also known for designing costumes for theatre and cinema She is a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors In 1982, Marks assisted Farhi in launching an eponymous ''Nicole Farhi'' higher-end

fashion label Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and plac ...

within the French Connection group. The label opened shops worldwide, as well as in

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 1999. The success of her first label was followed by Nicole Farhi for Men in 1989 and Nicole Farhi Home Collection was launched in 1998 and a concept store named 202 in 2002 featuring homeware, clothing lines and 'all day' bras. On 15 March 2010, French Connection announced the sale of the brand and retail chains to

OpenGate Capital Andrew Nikou is the founder and CEO of OpenGate Capital, a global private buyout firm. The firm is focused on the acquisition of lower to middle market businesses that are often privately owned, or non-core divisions of larger companies located ar ...

for up to £5 million. Entering administration in 2013, the labels had six stores, sold wholesale to major stores like John Lewis and numerous concessions in other department stores. 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 Harvey Nichols is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831, at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections for men and women, fashion accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury f ...

House of Fraser House of Fraser (also operating as Frasers) is a British department store group with 44 locations across the United Kingdom, which is now part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it w ...

and

Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge ...

. During her fashion career Farhi would work one day a week and weekends in her sculpture studio. After many years of juggling the two she became a full-time sculptor. She turned her back on fashion and focussed on sculpture, with a solo exhibition in 2019 Speaking before her show at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival she reflected on the difference between working as part of a team in fashion and alone as a sculptor. '''I enjoyed the pace of fashion where every six months you start again. I liked that challenge''.' ut '''I love to face my own thoughts all day long and not having anybody to talk to'''. Her Edinburgh Art Festival exhibition contained 25 clay busts of her favourite 20th-century literary figures, including

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

Françoise Sagan Françoise Sagan (born Françoise Delphine Quoirez; 21 June 1935 – 24 September 2004) was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois chara ...

Muriel Spark Dame Muriel Sarah Spark (née Camberg; 1 February 1918 – 13 April 2006). was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist. Life Muriel Camberg was born in the Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh, the daughter of Bernard Camberg, an ...

and

Joan Didion Joan Didion (; December 5, 1934 – December 23, 2021) was an American writer. Along with Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson and Gay Talese, she is considered one of the pioneers of New Journalism. Didion's career began in the 1950s after she won an ...

, all under 20 centimetres high.

Personal life

Farhi and Marks' professional relationship resulted in a personal relationship, and the couple had a daughter, Candice Marks, before separating. Farhi married British playwright David Hare in 1992 They met when she designed the costumes for his play

Murmuring Judges ''Murmuring Judges'', first performed in 1991, is a scathing attack on the British legal system, and the second of a trilogy of plays by David Hare examining Great Britain's most hallowed institutions. The first play in the trilogy, '' Racing Dem ...

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Paolozzi was born on 7 March 1 ...

, her friend and mentor was her witness at their wedding. She is a cousin of the writer and human rights campaigner

Moris Farhi Musa Moris Farhi MBE (5 July 1935 – 5 March 2019)Tessler, Gloria"Obituary: Musa Moris Farhi MBE" ''Jewish Chronicle'', 2 May 2019. was a Turkish author who was vice-president of International PEN from 2001 to his death in 2019. Profile Farhi w ...

. In February 2007, Farhi was a signatory to the declaration of the ''

Independent Jewish Voices Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) is an organization launched on 5 February 2007 by 150 prominent British Jews such as Nobel laureate Harold Pinter, historian Eric Hobsbawm, lawyer Sir Geoffrey Bindman, Lady Ellen Dahrendorf, film director Mike ...

'', a new Jewish network, calling for an open and critical debate on Israel and criticising certain Jewish organisations' unconditional support of Israel.

Honors and awards

In 2007, Farhi was appointed an honorary

, for services the British fashion industry and in 2010, she was awarded the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Farhi, Nicole 1946 births Living people People from Nice 20th-century French Sephardi Jews French fashion designers French women fashion designers Jewish fashion designers 20th-century French sculptors French women sculptors 21st-century sculptors French emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century French women artists 21st-century French women artists 1982 establishments in France Honorary Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British Sephardi Jews British fashion designers British sculptors British women sculptors British women fashion designers Wives of knights