Hadley Freeman Interview: My London Cultural Diary

But thank God she caught the fashion bug; accidentally, as it happens, after winning a prize while still at Oxford. Hadley Freeman has become a force for good for the industry and a level head for the consumers. She writes responsible, high-IQ fashion journalism that makes you feel better about buying Vogue. Freeman celebrates the good in fashion: (clothes, pageantry, pantheon of eccentrics) and comes down hard on the bad: (size 0, objectification, exploitation). 

Freeman has since come off the Guardian fashion desk, now writing features and interviews. (Fashion still looms large in her writing, though: her coverage of the Oscars ceremony was witty kaleidoscope of couture.) Alongside her journalism, she has written three books: 2008's The Meaning of Sunglasses, A Guide to (Almost) All Things Fashionable, 2013's Be Awesome: Modern Life for Modern Ladies and Life Moves Pretty Fast, an appreciation of 80s movies, which will come out in May. 

This Sunday, Freeman will appear at King's Place for Jewish Book Week, discussing The New Yorker with the magazine's fiction editor. "The New Yorker's been in my life for as long as I can remember, from when I was a child growing up in New York and seeing my grandparents read it, to reading it myself now in London, I love talking to editors and writers from it about how they create this brilliant magazine."

Hadley Freeman's London Cultural Diary

Old favourite?

Probably everyone says this but it's The Wolseley. It's one of my favourite things about London and always try to find an excuse to make someone meet me there for tea.

New discovery?

Obviously he's not new at all but I'm really excited about Rufus Norris taking over the National Theatre. He's such a brilliant director, I can't wait to see what he does with the NT.

Best-loved walk or view?

Any walk with my dog! I'm afraid I'm a full-on crazy dog lady and any walk with my terrier Arthur is a good walk for me.

Greatest meal you’ve ever had in London?

Probably a toasted bagel with cream cheese from the Beigel Bakery on Brick Lane at 4am when I was about 27. Never was a bagel more needed.

Favourite bar?

Well, I've already said The Wolseley for restaurant so for favourite bar I'll say the House of St Barnabas in Soho. It is just so beautiful, with its own little chapel, and no one seems to know about it.

Most memorable cultural experience?

I loved seeing Back to the Future on an outside screen at Secret Cinema last summer.

Hidden gem no-one else knows about?

I love Piccadilly Market by St James' Church. There's this one stall which sells handmade kaleidoscopes which always make brilliant presents.

Best place for a first date?

The double sofa seats at the Hampstead Everyman movie theatre.

Where were you seen this month?

I went to LA to cover the Oscars for the Guardian, so I guess at the Kodak Theater in LA.

Hadley Freeman: 'Life Moves Pretty Fast' (Fourth Estate) is out in May

Hadley Freeman discusses The New Yorker on March 1. Click here for more information.