Lucy Folk
“It has always been a dream of mine to live in Europe and I didn’t feel grounded in Australia. I always had to jump on a plane and disrupt my routine and manage the time zones! We sell the collection in Paris twice a year, therefore it made the most sense to be based here. When you only have to jump on a flight for a few hours it’s a lot more manageable and pleasant! Plus I don’t have to pack as much luggage!”
“I look up to women who are powerful and comfortable with what they are given – ageing gracefully is the key. My mother is pretty inspirational. I look up to those who can balance a family and a career with relative ease. I hope to be one of those women one day.”
On her personal style:
“Colourful, eclectic, comfortable with a lot of accessorising.”
On working out:
“I exercise daily. When I’m in Sydney I do the Bondi to Bronte 3 times a week, as well as pilates 3-4 times a week. Boxing occasionally. When I am travelling, I try to walk everywhere and I always take a skipping rope. More recently I have resorted to getting a yoga instructor or a trainer a couple of times a week when I am in one place long enough.”
The perfect Sunday:
“Sleep in, go for a walk by the beach, have a swim. When in Sydney, I’ll go to Orchard St and have an elixir and relax! In Paris, I love to cook as the farmer’s markets here are fantastic and inexpensive.”
On her daily beauty routine:
“I use a Dermaquest cleanser, followed by a Cosmedix Purity Balance toner, followed by Lytera skin brightening serum, then a Societé Skin Hydration moisturiser, then Colorscience Sunforgettable SPF 50 mineral makeup. I see an amazing facialist called James Vivian and he prescribes these products which are all activated and work well for me. I also use a Santa Maria Novella oil as a body moisturiser, which I love. The smell is divine.”
On eating out in Paris:
“Le Dauphin with friends, Les Enfants du Marche for Sunday lunch, Takara for Japanese anytime, Wild and the Moon to stay healthy, La Fontaine de Mars for a French Brasserie fix. Breakfast at the Bio Marche on Blvd Raspail on a Sunday too! Best croissant or pistachio escargot at Du Pain et des Idées which is weirdly closed on the weekend. Glow on the Go for the best Matcha in town.”
The one beauty product she can’t live without:
“Sunforgettable mineral makeup that is SPF 50.”
On her incurable travel bug:
“Marrakech, Formentera, Paris, Tokyo are my favourite destinations. I love travelling for the culture shock, and for being in the thick of it. I feel alive when I travel. I do love the unknown!”
On moving to Paris:
“I feel like myself here. I am inspired every day. I was always thinking of where I wanted to live next and now I feel content. You can remain healthy here. There isn’t the ocean view and allure of the beach and the relaxed lifestyle but I can escape to the beach very easily which makes it all the more appealing. I also think you meet people who you relate to more when you are older. Who share common interests, similar career paths and drive.”
Favourite piece of clothing:
“My pink Prada coat.”
Signature scent:
“Byredo’s Gypsy Water – I mean it’s obvious, no?”
Her dirty little beauty secret:
“Coconut oil in the shower as a soap alternative.”
“I only wear shorts and a t-shirt in Bondi basically! The pace of life is different in Bondi too. I am out and about most nights in Paris, although I love to cook here as the markets are fantastic and inexpensive. Sometimes I even wear heels!”
On her blonde hair line up:
“I use Santa Maria Novella Lavender shampoo and Honey Hair conditioner. I wash my hair a couple of times a week and use Oribe Supershine light moisturizing cream on my ends when my hair feels dry. I also throw in some Volume Powder by David Mallet when my hair is a bit limp!”
Advice to those trying to make it in fashion:
“Be patient. Work hard. Stay true to your vision and integrity. And do what you love. If not, what’s the point? Work takes up so much time, so one must enjoy it!”
In this so-called Digital Age, there are residual side effects much maligned by anyone left with a shred of sanity. That of narcissism, of crippling bouts of inferiority, of fake news and Facetune and the extreme solipsism of digital navel-gazing. Online, beauty becomes distorted. Online, our days appear before us increasingly fragmented, if not jarring (hello, Instagram blackhole scroll). The pressure to log on and keep up can lead one to clock 13 hour days all in the name of getting ahead.
But getting ahead for what?
For Lucy Folk, a designer who has fleshed out her self-titled business over the past decade, “busy” and “keep up” are terms she knows too well. In fact, it took moving 10,532 miles from home just to appreciate what it really means to slow down and master that ever-elusive dance between work and play.
As she sits down to chat with THE FILE it’s almost midnight in Paris and immediately she begins speaking of the city’s rich history, its architecture and her 17th Century apartment in the Marais once home to a very famous architect. She motions to the pieces she’s filled it with – her favourite being an immense Carlo Scarpa dining table carved from marble, sourced by her longtime friend and collaborator Tasmin Johnson (who also happened to design Folk’s Barragán-pink concept store in Bondi).
From talking to her, one gleans that her designs are not driven by the vagaries of fast fashion. They are an extension of the designer herself. A woman with a playful eye and nomadic sensibilities. A woman also shaped by travel, design, the outdoors, one-of-a-kind fashion finds in flea markets, late evenings spent in art galleries and pokey, modish restaurants with lighting so dim you need a phone light just to read the menu.
Let’s head back to Bondi where each morning at 5.30am you’ll find a beach heaving with half-naked bodies gleaming in the blue light of dawn, looking to squeeze in an hour of exercise before heading to an office to spend the next eight before the blue light of a computer screen.
For Folk, Paris represents the antithesis to that grind, the ideal meeting point between village and metropolis, between new world and old, a place that ultimately gives way to an existence she calls “more civilised”.
“The pace of life is different here. You go to bed a lot later and sleep in a little. Not many people are up at the crack of dawn exercising. People want to live and enjoy their lives and not focus solely on work, which is something I am trying to get better at!”
In a world where we are encouraged to turn each waking minute into a beacon of productivity, perhaps we would do well to consider this last point: to invest as much into the joy of living as one does into the art of work.
Words, Rose Howard. Images, Rudy Zverina.
In this so-called Digital Age, there are residual side effects much maligned by anyone left with a shred of sanity. That of narcissism, of crippling bouts of inferiority, of fake news and Facetune and the extreme solipsism of digital navel-gazing. Online, beauty becomes distorted. Online, our days appear before us increasingly fragmented, if not jarring (hello, Instagram blackhole scroll). The pressure to log on and keep up can lead one to clock thirteen hour days all in the name of getting ahead. But getting ahead for what?
For Lucy Folk, a designer who has fleshed out her eponymous business over the past decade, “busy” and “keep up” are terms she knows too well. In fact, it took moving to Paris just to appreciate what it really means to slow down and master that ever-elusive dance between work and play.
As Folk sits down to chat with THE FILE it’s almost midnight in Paris and immediately she begins speaking of the city’s rich history, its architecture and her 17th Century apartment in the Marais once home to a very famous architect. She motions to the pieces she’s filled it with – her favourite being an immense Carlo Scarpa dining table carved from marble, sourced by her longtime friend and collaborator Tasmin Johnson (who also happened to design Folk’s Barragán-pink concept store in Bondi).
From talking to her about all of these things, one gleans that her designs are not driven by the vagaries of fashion. They are an extension of a modern woman with a playful eye and nomadic sensibilities. A woman shaped by travel, design, the outdoors, one-of-a-kind fashion finds in flea markets, late evenings spent in art galleries and modish restaurants.
In short, that woman is Lucy Folk.
Let’s head back to Bondi where each morning at 5.30am you’ll find a beach heaving with half-naked bodies gleaming in the blue light of dawn, looking to squeeze in an hour of exercise before heading to an office to spend the next eight before the blue light of a screen.
For Folk, Paris represents the antithesis to that grind, the perfect meeting point between village and metropolis, a place that gives way to an existence she calls “more civilised”.
“The pace of life is different here. You go to bed a lot later and sleep in a little. Not many people are up at the crack of dawn exercising. People want to live and enjoy their lives and not focus solely on work, which is something I am trying to get better at!”
