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Here, as featured in the March 2023 issue of Wallpaper Style* and accompanied by her own iPhone photos, we talk domestic bliss with British fashion designer Margaret Howell, who splits her time between South East London and her holiday home on the Suffolk coast.
At home with Margaret Howell
(Image credit: Photograph by Ellen Nolan, courtesy of Margaret Howell)
Wallpaper *: Can you tell us a little about your home?
Margaret Howell: I live in South East London, but my neighborhood is very leafy and green. There are ponds, Georgian terraces, majestic church spires, and a few hints of modern architecture. I also really appreciate the independent butchers, fishmongers and bakeries all within walking distance.
W*: Where and when do you find yourself most productive?
MH: It can be anywhere at any time. I do a lot of my writing on my train journeys between Suffolk and London.
W*: Where is your favorite place in the house?
MH: Relaxing in my little bathtub with a view of the sun setting on a summer evening, listening to the In Tuni mixtape on BBC Radio 3.
W*: What do you collect?
MH: I am not the type of collector who goes out looking for something unique. But every so often I find something that catches my eye, usually on the beach, which can be the start of a collection. There was a time when I used to collect pebbles that looked like engraved numbers and letters.
Howell is wearing her father’s Levi’s ‘Big E’ jeans from the 1960s.
(Image credit: Photography by Margaret Howell on iPhone)
W*: What do you like about clothes?
MH: Achieving the spirit and character of an idea. Finding the right fabric for the right concept, and matching, fitting and detailing.
W*: What are the ideal conditions for creation?
MH: When I started my career in the early 1970s, I put on music, sat down with a pencil and paper and asked, ‘What do I want to wear?’ I thought so. And then start drawing.
W*: Do you have any rituals?
MH: I like to start the day with some outdoor exercise; Walking, swimming or cycling. It gives me my fix for the day.
W*: What are you doing at the moment?
MH: A/W 2023
One of Howell’s favorite photographs, Girl Jiving, Southam Street1957, by Roger Mayne
(Image credit: Photography by Margaret Howell on iPhone)
W*: Is there a part of the process of creating a collection that you particularly like?
MH: As a design director, I enjoy editing at all stages of creation, keeping an eye on proportion and detail. But a set, be it a scene or a photograph, requires a different kind of editing. I enjoy working with stylists on our collections when we can experiment and exaggerate our clothes freely.
W*: Where do you go for inspiration?
MH: At one point, I was walking through the countryside. But I often get inspiration from social documentary photographs. Every now and then I notice someone on the street to whom I return his style – it could simply be a group of workers in overalls.
W*: Do you have a favorite outfit?
MH: A pair of Levi’s ‘Big E’ jeans that belonged to my father in the 1960s. I love the wide, straight leg style and the strength of the denim, as well as the sentimental value.
W*: How do you spend it?
MH: Cook dinner with a glass of wine.
Howell’s bike and walking shoes
(Image credit: Photography by Margaret Howell on iPhone)
W*: What is your favorite place in the world outside of your home?
MH: After swimming in the sea, lying on an empty beach, basking in the sun.
W*: Can you tell us an unforgettable sight?
MH: On the train back from Suffolk to London, a view of the Stour Estuary and the Mud Flats. An expansive view that never disappoints, whether at high or low tide.
W*: What are you reading at the moment?
MH: I was given Alan Bennett’s. Epidemic diary On Christmas. I love the way it combines humor and emotion.
W*: What is your favorite hobby?
MH: Japanese massage.
Collected stones showing naturally carved numbers
(Image credit: Photography by Margaret Howell on iPhone)
W *: What would you serve if wallpaper * came over for dinner?
MH: Something made at home. Like a steak and kidney pie, or a casserole.
W*: Is there anything in the house that you particularly like?
MH: I have a small, framed photograph that I took to use the final shot on a roll of black and white film. It later became of great personal importance.
W*: If you weren’t a fashion designer, what would you be?
MH: I don’t know, but I can’t imagine a job where I haven’t been creative in some way. Maybe a gardener, but I think I have trouble remembering Latin names!
Original design by Howell
(Image credit: Photography by Margaret Howell on iPhone)
W*: What advice would you give to the next generation?
MH: Buy only what you need.
W*: What’s next on your to-do list?
MH: Sorting through my photos. I have taken photographs for over 60 years, and have tried but failed on several occasions to catalog them.
A version of this story appears in March 2023 Wallpaper Style Issue*available now in print, in the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and for Apple News+ subscribers. Sign up for wallpaper* today (Opens in a new tab)
margaretwell.co.uk (Opens in a new tab)
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