Interior ICONS: Laura Fantacci

Laura Fantacci, fashion editor and co founder of Wardrobe ICONS, is a modern day muse to many. Laura set up @WardrobeICONS with her best friend and fellow fashion editor Petro Strofberg, inspiring inboxes across the globe with timeless fashion, beauty and lifestyle pieces. The focus is on slow fashion and investing in timeless pieces which you will love forever, Wardrobe ICONS tells you what never goes out of fashion! Much like our belief in choosing timeless colours and interiors for your home which don’t follow trends, Laura and Petro are interior icons flying the flag for sustainability in fashion and converting conscious fans by the day.

Aside from working round the clock, Laura and her husband are busy bringing up their two busy daughters in London. We were delighted when Laura chose to use our natural paints for the transformation of a small functional shower room and nursery into a stylish and colourful shared girls powder room and a more grown up girl’s bedroom for their youngest daughter, Vera, full of flair and magic! Check out the scalloped painted pelmet in the bathroom and all the beautiful fabrics…

We caught up with Laura to talk colour, wardrobe management and all things fashion & interiors!

First things first, Fashion or Interiors? If you had to choose….!

Probably fashion, even though in the last 18 months especially, decorating my home has received more of my attention! But fashion was my first love. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always experienced such joy from clothes and dressing up, and as a grown up from curating my wardrobe and launching my business Wardrobe ICONS.

You are a style icon to many, who is your muse?

I look back at someone like Caroline Bassett with admiration. She had such effortless style. I wonder what she would wear today. Most probably the same pared back items she did back in the 90’s – I’ve always loved that timeless approach to dressing, which is probably why I started Wardrobe ICONS. Many of the women I admire today look wonderful  in a simple T-shirt and jeans, it’s never the ones who try to hard.

What are you absolute top design tips for wardrobe management and getting the most out of what we have in the depths of our cupboards?

My number one suggestion is to organise a wardrobe in a way that means you can see what you own. If you have shoes stowed away in boxes, or items out of reach, you simply will not wear them. Have things in front of your eyes and on the contrary you will enjoy your wardrobe in it’s entirety. I also think that it’s important to give your closet some seasonality. Stow away summer things and vice versa in winter. There’s such thrill in rediscovering the thing you own after 6 months you haven’t worn them. If you see things all the time they sort of before transparent to your eyes.

We all seem to be embracing slow & sustainable fashion and joining a fashion revolution to ask who made our clothes and where. You and Petro have been championing timeless fashion for some time, what else do you think we should be doing?

I encourage women to find their personal style and embrace it fully. This way you can be more selective and won’t fall victim trends that are only feeding consumerism. Ask yourself: do I still see myself wearing this item in one, five, ten years time even? If the answer is yes, then by all means invest. If it’s just a bit of a momentarily craze, perhaps think again. You’ll be doing yourself and the planet a favour.

Do you find styling your home as easy as you make putting cool and elegant outfits together look?

Absolutely not. I was quite surprised to realise that I’m actually very, very indecisive. Its funny because I feel so confident when it comes to fashion, you would think there’s some overlapping with both being ‘visual arts’… but not for me! That’s why I asked my friend and interior designer Emma Stevenson to come on board to help me. She feels about interior the way I feel about fashion and made all the difference to making intelligent, long-lasting decisions. I want to feel about my wardrobe the same way I feel about my wardrobe. It needs to represent me without overdoing it.

You have used several of our colours in your beautiful home, from the dusty pink Cuisse de Nymphe Emue in Vera’s bedroom to Pompadour on the panelling in the bathroom. Which is your favourite of all our colours?

Cuisse de Nymphe Emue is such a beautiful shade of pink, feminine without being sugary. It’s warm and cosy but has a grown up quality to it. It’s timeless.

Favourite piece or find for your home that you know you will treasure forever?

That such a good question and something that came to mind straight away is a mid century lamp that  I inherited from my parents when I bought my first flat in London. It has a solid wooden swirl base and big shade. Growing up in Florence it was above my father’s chair, I can picture him reading his newspaper beneath it. It has been in every home I’ve lived in since my early 20’s and presently in my daughter’s Vera’s room, next to her desk.

What is next on the horizon for you and Petro and Wardrobe ICONS?

For a small business like ours, surviving the pandemic was a massive achievement. I’m so proud of the work we’ve done, the way we’ve stayed positive, agile and pulled through all the challenges. It’s changed the way I look at the way I invest in the future and forward planning forever. For me a lot about success is being content in the now, so I try to think ahead only to an extent. Having said that there was something thy we were going to launch pre-pandemic that we’ve had to put on hold that may be coming very soon… but I can’t quite say what it is yet! Watch this space.

Must have wardrobe icon for this summer now we are allowed out?

Our Future ICONS swimwear collaboration with COSSI+CO – it’s a gorgeous emerald green one piece swimsuit that I literally cannot wait to wear. Its super flattering on, but it’s a limited edition so get it before it goes.

https://wardrobeicons.com/product/buy-cossieco-the-ashley-swimsuit-online/

Finally what is the best piece of advice you have been given that you will pass on to your girls and would share with our readers?

I recently read that fear and excitement are processed the same way by the brain. While the first can be hindering the second is more attractive.  I’ve often felt held back by fear in my life, so perhaps I would say lean into fear, it’s often a gatekeeper to opportunity. I also tell my girls to nurture and protect  their sisterly bond – it’s such a precious gift for life.

Emma Stevenson Studio

We also got an insight into the design process from Laura’s interior designer Emma Stevenson.

Emma told us: “The way I normally work for this kind of project, where the client has a very strong sense of aesthetics already, is to start by looking at fabrics and find one that they really adore , the ” must have” element. Once we found the Ottoline tulips that Laura fell in love with I knew I could build the scheme around that. She trusted me to push her out of her comfort zone and chose from the beautiful colours at Edward Bulmer to create a space that is truly unique to Laura and her family. I feel the colour palette is very original, vibrant for the girls yet the earthyness of the tones means it is also calming and grounding for when Laura wants to relax. They wanted pink, but grown up pink, one that wouldn’t be outgrown in a couple of year …”

Emma and Laura added the playful touches by sourcing fun and affordable decorative elements which can easily be changed over the coming years as and when the girls wish, keeping the space adaptable and timeless – a mixture of vintage finds and high street grabs can be very effective.

We picked out colours from the bathroom to finish Vera’s room , keeping the detailing to a minimum as I believe a child’s bedroom should be much “calmer” , the soft pink on the walls is very soothing and the fun Ottoline blind with matching pinboard and seat cushion ties the room very nicely together .

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us Laura and Emma! For complete girl crush fashion & lifestyle inspiration do sign up to the brilliant edits @wardrobeicons and follow @laura.fantacci.

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Photography: ‘Pompadour‘ bathroom photos: Eva K. Salvi