Marina Abramović is one of the most influential and groundbreaking performance artists of our time. Born in Belgrade, Serbia, she has spent over five decades pushing the limits of the mind, body, and spirit through art. Known for her extreme and often controversial performances, Abramović uses endurance, pain, vulnerability, and direct audience interaction to explore themes of identity. During her most celebrated artistic performance 'The Artist Is Present' at the Museum of Modern Art in 2010, she sat silently across from museum visitors for over 700 hours, creating powerful, wordless connections with almost a million strangers. Marina Abramović has also worked extensively to preserve and teach performance art, founding the Marina Abramović Institute, which focuses on long-durational performance and interdisciplinary collaboration. Her legacy continues to influence artists, thinkers, and audiences worldwide.
In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Marina Abramović discuss how happiness is not conducive to making great art; climaxing as a required element of a performance; and how 80 is too young for her to make a documentary about her life.
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58:13
Fashion Neurosis with Es Devlin
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.
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1:02:44
Fashion Neurosis with Hanif Kureishi
Hanif Kureishi is a British author, playwright, and screenwriter, widely regarded for his exploration of identity, race, and multiculturalism. Born in 1954 in South London, to a Pakistani father and an English mother, his major breakthrough came with his 1990 novel The Buddha of Suburbia, a semi-autobiographical story of a young man navigating life in 1970s London. The novel, celebrated for its wit and social critique, was later adapted into a BAFTA-winning TV series with a soundtrack especially written by David Bowie. In addition to his novels, Kureishi has written plays, essays, and short stories, and a number of award winning films including Intimacy directed by Patrice Chéreau, and the Oscar nominated screenplay, My Beautiful Laundrette, directed by Stephen Frears and starring a young Daniel Day Lewis. Kureishi’s work often reflects his candid approach to cultural integration, sexuality and societal norms, all of which have made him a distinctive and relished voice in British literature.
On 26 December 2022, while staying at the home of his partner Isabella D'Amico, Hanif fainted and woke up paralysed from the neck downwards. He thought he was going to die, crediting Isabella for keeping him calm and saving his life. He has written about the accident and his recovery process on social media and in his Substack blog 'The Kureishi Chronicles'. His brilliant and compelling memoir Shattered was published in 2024, and in September that year the BBC released a biographical documentary 'In My Own Words' directed by Nigel Williams.
In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Hanif Kureishi discuss Hanif's love of Tesco; developing a new method of writing with his son Carlo; and analysing his psychiatrist's dreams during his year long rehabilitation in hospital.
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1:00:21
Fashion Neurosis with Susie Cave
Susie Cave is a British model and fashion designer. Her career started when she was scouted on holiday in New York by the famous model agent Bethann Hardison, who immediately sent her to Steven Meisel - his advice being to go back to school as she was only 14 years old. Her striking beauty and ethereal presence quickly earned her a place in high fashion campaigns and on magazine covers including more recently a Gucci perfume campaign and the cover of Another Magazine in 2020. In 2015 Susie launched her fashion brand The Vampire's Wife which became known for its blend of gothic and romantic aesthetics. Vogue described her immediately recognisable dress as the 'It dress' and The Vampire's Wife quickly gained a devoted following, attracting celebrities from Florence Welch, Cate Blanchett, and Kate, Princess of Wales among its clientele. Susie’s designs are a reflection of her own personal style—romantic, mysterious, and deeply artistic—cementing her as a distinctive voice in the fashion industry. She is married to Nick Cave, the lead singer of The Bad Seeds.
In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Susie Cave and Bella Freud discuss how she was talent scouted by the legendary Bethann Hardison and her meeting with Steven Meisel age 14; the first time she saw her husband-to-be Nick Cave at one of Bella’s shows; and how grief can be channelled through creativity.
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1:03:03
Fashion Neurosis with Bobby Gillespie
Bobby Gillespie is a Scottish musician, singer songwriter, and the lead vocalist in Primal Scream. He launched the band in 1982, at the same time as joining The Jesus and Mary Chain as their drummer, touring with both groups until he left a few years later to focus on the burgeoning success of Primal Scream. Bobby has the looks, talent and glamour of the archetypal rockstar - he wears his clothes with infinite style, and his onstage looks are part of his musical identity. He is married to the highly regarded stylist, Katy England, and is a regular in fashion circles - Primal Scream even recorded a song with supermodel, Kate Moss in 2011, called, 'Some Velvet Morning'. Bobby Gillespie published his memoir 'Tenement Kid' in 2021, describing his life growing up in a working class family in Glasgow, tracking his journey to fame, including his experiences of drug addiction - and how he overcame it.
In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Bobby Gillespie talk about their shared gratitude for the Punk era, how a pink jacket provided focus after falling off the stage in Italy and breaking his back, and the influence of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis on his road to sobriety.
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Each week join the renowned fashion designer Bella Freud as she invites a special guest to ‘lie on the couch’ and explore the connection between fashion and identity. Bella’s conversations begin with questions about style and what we reveal through the clothes we wear. Bella also shares her own anecdotes and the conversations expand into deeper discussions on life’s universal themes—love, identity, culture, anxiousness, and even politics.
Through a series of tailored questions, Bella creates a relaxed, intimate atmosphere where her guests—ranging from fashion icons to cultural figures in sport, art, music and literature reveal more about themselves than they might expect. Fashion is often dismissed as superficial, but in this podcast, it becomes the lens through which we examine our inner lives, relationships, and society.
From Kate Moss to other notable guests, Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud offers a unique, thoughtful, and engaging conversation that goes far beyond what we wear: diving into the unspoken language of clothing and the ways in which we use style to navigate and communicate in the world.
www.fashionneurosis.com
@fashionnueorsis_bellafreud
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