145
A
bout three-quarters of the
way through my interview
with Gabriela Hearst and
Norman Foster, the 84-year-
old British architect – perhaps the most
famous in the world, having designed
such skyline-defining buildings as
London’s Gherkin and City Hall, Hong
Kong’s HSBC Tower and Apple’s new
Californian HQ – begins sketching.
Hearst, the American fashion designer
who owes the warm minimalism of her
soon-to-open London store to Lord
Foster’s superlative vision, is transfixed,Foster is a fan of comfortable seats.
He confides that when shopping with
his Spanish wife, Elena Ochoa Foster,
“if there’s a place to sit down, then a shop
really goes up in your estimations”.
Hearst, who has a store in New York –
strategically located next to The Carlyle
and dominated by a giant U-shaped sofa
(much to the despair of her CEO, who’d
rather it was stuffed with scores of the
brand’s cult jewel-box handbags) – nods
vigorously. “Great idea!”
Luxury brands are always opening
new shops, but few are able to enlist >but continues to trawl through her plans
to eliminate waste from her supply chain.
Five minutes later, Foster holds up
his Daler-Rowney A4 sketchbook.
A beautifully proportioned bench is
sketched out in black ink. “I was just
thinking, if I walked into the shop
and I sat down on the long, low sofa,
I would want to reach for a book,”
says Foster, in his slow, deliberate way.
“And I was thinking that maybe a nice
leather... kind of... bag... on the side,
with the books in it, could be a very nice
way to casually display them.”BUILDING
M AT E R I A L S
Gabriela Hearst and Norman Foster
are taking sustainable luxury to
new heights with an exquisite
Mayfair store, says Ellie Pithers.
Photographs by Hill & AubreyGabriela Hearst,
wearing a suit
from her own
collection, and
Norman Foster
at the architect’s
Battersea HQ.
Hair: Anna Cofone.
Make-up: Carol
Morley. Sittings
editor: Rebecca
PurshouseSPOTLIGHT
10-19-FOB-HearstandFoster.indd 145 14/08/2019 11:29