Nicole Farhi, Lady Hare, CBE (born 1946) is a French former fashion designer. In mid-career in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, she took up

sculpture 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 ...

and, on retirement from the fashion industry, became a sculptor.

Early life and education

Born in 1946 in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

,Designerhistory.com
"Nicole Farhi was born in 1946 in Nice, France. She studied fashion at the Studio Bercot in Paris and free-lanced for Agnes B, Pierre D'Alby and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac before moving to England in 1973 to design for the French Connection group." Nicole Farhi is the daughter of

Sephardic Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

who immigrated to France from

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Her father sold rugs and lighting. She attended

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

with her grandparents. Members of her family endured

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

s during the Second World War. Farhi studied both art and fashion in early 1960s

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and, needing to be self-sufficient, started her career as a freelancer there in 1967 before moving to

, England, in 1969 or 1973.

Career in fashion

In 1978, Farhi was employed by Stephen Marks to head up the company's design studio in Bow, East London, on his French Connection label. She was given a free hand to design. She was also commissioned to design theatre and cinema costumes. In 1982, Marks assisted Farhi in launching the eponymous ''Nicole Farhi'' high-end fashion label within the ''French Connection'' group. The label opened shops worldwide, including

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

OpenGate Capital Andrew Nikou is a Canadian businessman who is the founder and CEO of OpenGate Capital, a global private buyout firm. The firm is focused on acquiring lower to middle market businesses that are often privately owned, or non-core divisions of larg ...

for up to £5 million. Entering administration in 2013, the labels had six stores, supplied major stores such as

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

and had 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,

House of Fraser House of Fraser (rebranding to Frasers) is a British department store chain with 23 locations across the United Kingdom and 2 in Ireland, part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it ...

and Selfridges.

Midlife pivot into sculpture

In the mid-1980s, Farhi took up sculpture as a hobby, under the tutelage of artist Jean Gibson in her private studio. During her fashion career, Farhi would work one day a week and at weekends in her own studio. After many years of juggling the two, she became a full-time sculptor. She turned her back on fashion and focused on sculpture, with a first solo exhibition in 2019. Her

Edinburgh Art Festival The Edinburgh Art Festival is an annual visual arts festival, held in Edinburgh, Scotland, during August and coincides with the Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh International and Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Fringe festivals. The Art Fes ...

exhibition contained 25 clay busts of her favourite literary figures, including

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

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 ch ...

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

and

Joan Didion Joan Didion (; December 5, 1934 – December 23, 2021) was an American writer and journalist. She is considered one of the pioneers of New Journalism, along with Gay Talese, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson, and Tom Wolfe. Didio ...

, all under 20 centimetres high. Farhi is a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors.

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

Moris Farhi Musa Moris Farhi Order of the British Empire, MBE, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL (5 July 1935 – 5 March 2019) was a Turkish Jews, Turkish author who was vice-president of International PEN from 2001 until his death in 2019. ...

. In February 2007, Farhi was a signatory to the declaration of '' Independent Jewish Voices'', calling for an open and critical debate on

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and criticising certain Jewish organisations' unconditional support of Israel in relation to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Honours

* 2007: CBE, for services the British fashion industry * 2010:

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, France

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Farhi, Nicole 1946 births Living people 20th-century British Sephardi Jews 20th-century French Sephardi Jews 20th-century French women artists 21st-century British Sephardi Jews 21st-century French women artists 21st-century sculptors Artists from Nice British fashion designers British sculptors British women fashion designers British women sculptors French emigrants to the United Kingdom French fashion designers French women fashion designers French women sculptors Honorary commanders of the Order of the British Empire Jewish fashion designers Wives of knights Businesspeople from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur