The Rurbanist: Laura Bailey

Getting comfy with model and photographer Laura Bailey.

The Rurbanist: Laura Bailey

What’s bringing you joy at the moment? My friends and family. Those I live, walk and work with, but also faraway connections, albeit improvised and imagined for now. Also work – my lockdown year has been super-creative, from producing a charity film Food For London to my collaboration with my friend, stylist Cathy Kasterine, and Budd Shirtmakers on our dream shirt capsule collection, Bailey x Budd.

Laura and Cathy Kasterine, who she designed the Bailey x Budd capsule collection with

What’s annoying you most right now? I am longing for the kids to be back at school and reunited with their tribes and passions: sport, drama, friendships. I hope we have learnt more about what matters most in our society and that post-pandemic we can refocus on building equality and empathy, protecting the most vulnerable, and investing in all kinds of care. I hope we can also celebrate and support the arts, including the fashion industry, as it’s so integral to national morale and identity.

Advice you’d give to your 15-year-old self? Write it all down. Wear sunblock. And everything’s going to be OK.

City or country? City – my Portobello Road community. There’s history, culture, nature, sport and friends all a walk or cycle away. I’m a London girl at heart but relish a weekend at a country hotel or staying with friends, and adventures in nature. When I have to get away, I go to…. In normal times, a mix of work and pleasure in Paris usually does the trick! For now, I lose myself in a movie or a novel, and imagine future adventures. Peru, Mexico City, the west coast of Ireland…

What’s the best way to put a smile on your face? The right song at the right time.

The pet you most loved… My dogs Frankie and Bambi, lurcher mixes. My two beloved shadows.

You wouldn’t know it but… I’m obsessed with tennis and would play every day if I could.

The book you wished you’d written… I don’t wish I’d written it but I am most grateful for Love in The Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez.

The film you wished you’d starred in? Bonnie and Clyde. (Partly for the costumes.)

Your greatest failure? I really regret giving up French and piano. But maybe it’s not too late.

Your greatest triumph? My kids and my friendships.