fashion royalty Lucie de la Falaise talks taste

My personal style signifier is wearing natural, simple shapes. I love Jigsaw – I’m quite good at mixing high street with high end – and Ulla Johnson dresses. You can throw them on and feel instantly feminine. I love jumpsuits by Dior and American Vintage for that reason too. Those are my day-to-day go-tos. 

The last thing I bought and loved was a champagne diamond ring from India. A friend of mine said I shouldn’t leave without purchasing a stone, so I found this at The Gem Palace in Mumbai. I never even knew champagne diamonds existed. It’s really delicate, and it has that wonderful warm colour, the light of India. It brings me back to those lovely memories. 

The best souvenirs I’ve brought home are also rocks. I love collecting beautiful stones to make into doorstops for my home or gifts for people’s homes. And shells from the beach, sea glass – little treasures you find on your rambles. People make fun of me for my luggage – it’s full of stones – but I caught that from my mother, who has always been very curious, looking for beautiful colours in nature. I can’t resist a good rock.

The place that means a lot to me is my childhood home. I grew up in Wales on a hill farm, and I can still go back as we know the owners. It’s somewhere that really grounds me. I can close my eyes and all the sensory memories haven’t changed. Even if I open my eyes nothing’s really changed – maybe trees have grown. The fresh air, the fresh water in the brooks, the bracken and heather, all the wonderful colours of the Welsh hills – I find it really comforting. 

My champagne diamond ring has the light of India in it

The best book I’ve read in the past year is May Morris: Arts & Crafts Designer. May was the daughter of William, and she was very overshadowed by his career. She was such an amazing woman, a pioneer of art embroidery. She did textiles, wallpapers and even jewellery, but not a lot of people know about her. It’s not a huge book but it tells her life story, and there are so many inspiring sketches and all these fabulous embroideries and watercolours of landscapes and interiors. 

My style icons are all the amazing women I’m related to, from my great-grandmother Rhoda Birley to my grandmother Maxime and her daughter Loulou, my mother [Louisa] and my mother-in-law Anita Pallenberg. They were all such individual, strong characters, and really carried their own styles. We’ve always passed on a lot of hand-me-downs, so I can put on something of Anita’s or my grandmother’s, or a necklace of Loulou’s, and it’s a nice way to bring a little bit of them into my style. My favourite pieces are vintage Ossie Clark dresses from Anita and a ’70s denim jacket from Loulou. 

The best gift I’ve received is another hand-me-down. My mum gave me a jug that passed through her family – a beautiful cream ceramic with oak leaves and acorns all over it. I guess it’s quite arts and crafts. 

The last music I downloaded was The Tortured Poets Department. My 15-year-old daughter took me to a Taylor Swift concert, so I was desperately trying to learn some words to her songs, because my daughter says it’s a lot more fun if you can sing along. There were so many words it was more like learning an essay, but I gave it my best shot. 

My most memorable shoot was with Steven Meisel in New York in the early ’90s for the cover of Vogue. The thrill of being on set; knowing you’re in the best hands to create a cover of dreams: the whole team and ambience was so inspiring at 19 years old.

The last piece of furniture I bought was a tall bathroom cabinet with glass doors to hold all my perfume bottles –  Sisley L’Eau Rêvée d’Aria, Dioriviera and Bamford Wild Meadow – and favourite products. Bamford Wild Meadow, £98 for 50ml EDP. Dioriviera, £255 for 125ml EDP. Sisley L’Eau Rêvée d’Aria, £138 for 100ml

My favourite holiday is Christmas because the three kids – Ella, 28, Orson, 24, and Ida, 15 – always love it. I have to say it’s a relief that they don’t believe in Father Christmas now: it makes things a lot easier. But it’s that magic and the rituals. Ella makes the stuffing, Orson peels the potatoes and the carrots, and we always play Monopoly. It’s comforting. 

I have a collection of gold starburst mirrors. I’m sort of obsessed: I buy them from Spencer Swaffer Antiques in Arundel, Sussex. If anyone ever wants to give me a present, I have a wall of them that will slowly take over the whole room (hopefully). The old ones are amazing because they’re so delicate. They bring a little joy to a room, so I like to bring them in when I work with interior-design clients. I try to introduce things I love into other people’s homes too. 

The best beauty trick I learnt as a model was to have a good ritual for taking off make-up after a long day on set, and to wear little make-up on days off. 

In my fridge you’ll always find Dijon mustard, anchovies, capers and butter. If you have the right few ingredients you can make a meal out of not very much. The Dijon mustard is the real French Amora one, which is becoming harder and harder to find. Otherwise I try to shop as locally as I can, but if I find a caper that is homegrown on an Italian farmyard, I will grab it. 

I recently rediscovered an amazing book about pruning by Christopher Brickell. There’s such an art to it. You’ve got to be quite brutal, you’ve got to be a little brave, but it’s very rewarding – and I can see such a difference in the plants. The book tells you how to prune anything at all times of the year. 

I do believe in life after death because I have lost wonderful people I’ve been close to, and I feel like that connection can’t just fade away: the feeling of love is so strong. 

The best party I’ve ever been to was for the solar eclipse in 1999. We all went to Port Eliot in Cornwall and rented a house. We stayed up and watched the eclipse, and we were all young and free. It was great. 

The thing I couldn’t do without is a tiny diary – I alternate between Dataday and Smythson – that fits in my bag, because I like to be a bit old-school and write things down rather than having everything on my phone. It kind of freaks me out having everything on one device. My little diary and pencil work for me. 

An indulgence I would never forgo is vegan Booja-Booja hazelnut truffles. Also a really luxurious hot bath with tons of Epsom salts. A bit of girl-time, me-time. 

The last item of clothing I added to my wardrobe was the Bella Freud velvet Bianca suit in black. I had my eye on it for a while. It has a lovely silhouette. It’s a jacket and trousers that I can wear separately or together. The trousers are quite flared and the jacket’s got lovely lapels. 

An object I would never part with is a bookcase designed by my father [Alexis]. He was a furniture designer, and he built this beautiful bookcase called the Obelisk, which I have in my home. It reminds me so much of him and his beautiful, incredible mind. It’s very precious. 

On my Instagram “For You” page you’ll find a lot of interior design, gardening, fashion and friends. I get good gardening tips – like creating free cuttings from plants you already have in your garden (it’s quite addictive) – and recently I discovered a lovely woman called Rosie Mennem who paints interiors with beautiful delicate flowers.

The beauty staple I’m never without is my Sisleÿa cream: I’m the ambassador for Sisley’s Sisleÿa range. I’ve always been a huge fan of its products and this cream is really hydrating and great for my age. Sisleÿa L’Intégral Anti-Age, £418 for 50ml 

My favourite room in my house is my study, because it’s got all my things in it: my work stuff, all my books. It’s a place I can make a creative mess in, and no one bothers me – except the cat, Fritz, who sleeps on the windowsill. I’ve decorated it with my father’s bookcase, a desk from my husband and lots of framed family photographs, including myself, Loulou and Maxime in Yves Saint Laurent couture.

My wellbeing gurus are my Pilates teacher Monique Eastwood and my yoga teacher Venetia Davidson. I’ve worked with Monique since my last pregnancy 15 years ago, and she’s taught me all these little movements you do to hold your body together: your pelvic floor, your shoulders and your posture. She’s like, “We can’t become old ladies and fall down. We have to keep strong” – and we have so much fun doing it. She also has an app, so I can do my little routine when I’m away. Venetia has helped me with my breath, finding space in my body, calmness and flexibility. Monique pushes me and then Venetia makes me understand myself on the inside. It’s like body therapy. eastwoodfit.com, venetiadavidsonyoga.co.uk

When I was young I wanted to be an archaeologist. I love being outdoors, digging around in the dirt and finding things. When I’m gardening I find bits of old patterned plates, and we’ve found clay pipes before. I’m always on the lookout. I love the idea that maybe I’ll find a Roman mosaic one day. You never know. 

My favourite location is a hamlet in Tuscany called Castello di Argiano. It’s a place that I visited as a child and I got married there. It has a 13th-century tower that they’ve just renovated, and they make their own olive oil and wine. The stonework, the light, the whole ambience – it’s like a little magic bubble. 

I’ve always listened to BBC Radio 4. I love Woman’s Hour and Desert Island Discs, and I also like The AD Aesthete podcast. I go to those things because I know that I’m always going to learn something. Otherwise, I like to keep things out of my ears and find moments of peace where I can. 

My favourite apps are the translator and the weather, of course. And Pinterest: I’ve been looking at lots of bathrooms and shower rooms lately for a renovation project. I also love Procreate for drawing. 

The best gift I’ve given recently was from my daughter Ella [Richards] many years ago, and now I’ve passed it back to her. There’s this wonderful glassmaker in Martha’s Vineyard called Martha’s Vineyard Glassworks, and they did a very clever design for a vase that was like a tin can in beautiful bright red and yellow. Ella always had her eye on these vases, so I gave them to her when she moved into her apartment. Buy things you would want to keep yourself!  

The best way to spend £20 is to go to a flea market, a charity shop or an antique shop and have a good rummage. The charity shops in Arundel, Sussex, are great for glass and vases. You’ll be quite surprised how many things you can get for £20 if you’re clever about it. 

The one artist whose work I would collect if I could is Matisse. I like to make collages and I’m inspired by the simplicity of his freehand style, the curves and vibrant colours. 

When I need to feel inspired, I look to nature. We live near the sea on the West Sussex coast and it’s always changing from greys to blues, to warm sand colours, to rich sunsets. It’s a different landscape every time you go for a walk on the beach. 

The works of art that changed everything for me were in an exhibition of Mark Rothko that my godfather took me to when I was very young. I was blown away by his colour palette and the simplicity of only working with colour. I felt very drawn to his work. Looking back, the way he uses colours together has inspired my own work – I can see it in projects such as my clothing collaboration with La Fetiche. 

The best bit of advice I ever received was from my grandmother Maxime, who said, “Be curious, always look for more, keep your eyes open and your ears peeled.”