J Brand, British designer Bella Freud collaborate on fall capsule collection

British designer Bella Freud is the latest collaborator J Brand denim has brought into its realm. Freud’s 25-piece, 10-look capsule, inspired by her own line of knitwear emblazoned with words and phrases, will drop July 25 for fall.

When J Brand approached her, she didn’t hesitate. “Everyone loves denim,” said Freud. “There’s always a moment in your life when you find what you love jeans-wise.” For her, there were two moments: A pair of blue jean dungarees given to her by an American classmate at her school in England, and the rite of passage of trying on jeans at Jean Jeanie. “These young guys would come into the dressing room halfway through when you were half naked, ‘Oh, do you need any help?’’’ remembers Freud, laughing. “It was such a nightmare, trying desperately to work out if you were going to look like an idiot in the jeans.”

For J Brand, she channeled her own teenage tomboy moment into boyish fit jeans, as well as a high-waisted tailored wide-leg style. There’s also a jacket, skirt and jumpsuit as well as cashmere and merino sweaters bearing phrases like “Gang of Love,” “Boy-Girl” and “Pretty Baby.” “I thought about someone who would like to be playful and find something they recognize in the words,” said Freud. “It’s not a message or instruction in anyway whatsoever.”

Photos of the capsule won’t be available until closer to the launch date, but Freud noted that the look book was shot on Ella Richards, the granddaughter of Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg.

“I’m intrigued by Bella’s use of words in her collection,” said Susie Crippen, J Brand’s creative director. “What a woman reads when she buys the piece could be the antithesis of what someone reads when they see it on her. It’s a brilliant mix of art, fashion and provocative thinking.”

Freud is the latest in a string of J Brand collaborators, several of whom happened to be London based, including Christopher Kane and Simone Rocha. For her own brand, Freud is adding a capsule of tuxedos for fall and has a new fragrance forthcoming.

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