We’ve arrived at the peak of summer when flora blooms in abundance and fresh life serves as a catalyst for fresh ideas. Painterly prints are a staple of this season, often leading us to daydream on artistry.
Bien sûr, fashion is its own art form, one that has the privilege of intersecting with many other mediums and artists. The permeating nature of fashion is something Robyn Lea eloquently portrays in her book: This Creative Life: Fashion Designers at Home.
Robyn Lea is an internationally acclaimed photographer, best-selling author, and director whose career spans over three decades. An Australian native, her photography has featured in leading global newspapers and magazines and displayed in galleries and museums around the world. She’s published five best-sellers, including her latest title that features inspiring interviews and breath-taking photographs inside the homes of some of the world’s top fashion designers.
“In the book, I wanted to lead the reader beyond the designers’ clothing brands and public personas into their private homes.”
“As designers, they’re celebrated for turning fabric into fantasy, weaving threads into garments that capture the spirit of our time,” Lea says. “Their artistry helps provide us with a way to show, through our clothing, who we are and how we feel. In the book,” she explains, “I wanted to lead the reader beyond the designers’ clothing brands and public personas into their private homes. Within those spaces,” she adds, “the symbiosis between their professional work and private abodes is clear.”
By peeking into these designers’ private homes, Lea discovered the often lack of separation between personal creative drive and professional work.
“Several dwellings, like the traditional bodega, have workrooms and private living quarters in the same building,” she tells us. “[Gary Graham’s] home, workshop, and studio are upstairs, while the boutique—which sells both fashion and his partner Sean Scherer’s curated selection of art, vintage furniture, and antiques—is located on the ground floor, ensuring a seamless flow between all aspects of their lives.”
This was also true for Laudomia Pucci. “Though, in her case, it was a Florentine Renaissance palazzo of grand proportions,” Lea explains. “The workrooms of her late father, Emilio Pucci, were on the ground floor, providing Laudomia with a creative education absorbed by osmosis. The sights, sounds, and even the Pucci scent, Vivara, infused the vibrant fabric of her life, laying the groundwork for her extraordinary creative career that helped cement Pucci’s position in the hearts of a 21st-century audience,” she says.
Lea quotes English polymath Luke Edward Hall, saying, “The boundaries between my work and private life are very blurry, and all the aesthetics roll into one, which is just how I like it. The world can be such a drab place, so I like to create things that spread fun and romance.” She explains, “The more you learn about Luke’s work and home life, the more this work/play fusion makes sense. If you love your work, and it’s an essential part of who you are and how you see the world, why would you switch off that inner light when you leave the studio?”
Lea describes creativity as “the epitome of the human spirit.” She says, “When we fill our living and work spaces with visual stimuli born of meaningful personal narratives, these habitats feed the soul.”
She references former fashion director of British Vogue Lucinda Chambers as an example. “Her passion for interiors springs from a garden of imagination that’s been well-watered since her youth,” Lea recounts. “Lucinda told me: “I learned from [my mum] how to be fearless in interiors and create something from nothing. And over time, I also began to realise that you only really find your own style by being quite brave and being prepared to make a lot of mistakes. That’s what helps you grow and develop.”
“The fashion designers in this book are compelled to create because, for them, a home is more than shelter; it’s both a haven and a muse.”
This constant unspoken dialogue between each designer and their home demonstrates a desrire to shape the world around them. “The fashion designers in this book are compelled to create because, for them, a home is more than shelter,” Lea reveals, “It’s both a haven and a muse. Similarly,” she adds, “Fashion is more than clothing, jewellery, or hats; it’s a form of communication, a way of making sense of the world and their place in it.”
According to Lea, “Their creative lives are a response to personal trials and tribulations, sociocultural confluences, adventures and pilgrimages, and the ever-present belief in the grace of beauty, art, and design.” She beckons us to join the the adventure saying, “As we step into the worlds of these storytellers, each space provides a window into the mind of its creator.”
For those striving to incorporate creativity into their own lives, Lea advises, “Be a bit like a kid again.” She explains, “Fun, play, and wildly hilarious ideas feed the artistic spirit while fostering the joy of living.” She suggests, “If you don’t know where to start, lie down for 15 minutes on your bed in the middle of the day. Look at the ceiling and let your mind wander. By allowing yourself to daydream and explore different thoughts and feelings, wonderful neural connections are made, and threads of creativity are born. And if you keep feeding that delightful little baby, she’ll bring so much magic to your life.”
Lea is another artist with an insatiable need to create. The book she photographed for Heide MOMA will be released this month, titled "Heide Harvest" followed by a book she worked on in collaboration with Bruce Keebaugh in March titled "By Invitation Only". Lea's Instagram is also a great way to stay updated on book launches and projects while enjoying her incredible artistic photographs.
