Lulu Loves Sara Berman

We spoke to fashion designer turned artist Sara Berman. Originally known for her eponymous fashion label, Sara eventually decided to put her label on pause and focus on fine art.

She graduated from Slade School of Art, UCL in 2016 where she was awarded a distinction and the Audrey Wykeham prize for painting. Here she talks about being a nerdy kid, the best advice she’s ever been given (and some she’s come up with herself), the Ladies Pond in Hampstead Heath and the podcast she can’t get enough of.

WHAT PROJECTS ARE CURRENTLY KEEPING YOU UP AT NIGHT?

"I don’t find that my works keeps me up at night, however I do sometimes use is as a way to fall asleep! I find my work is often a puzzle and sometimes in the moments before drifting off I can see solutions."

WHAT KIND OF KID WERE YOU?

IS THIS WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO DO WHEN YOU GREW UP?

"I think I was a weird kid. Nerdy and living in my own head. I always loved art and reading and would spend all of my breaks at school either in the library or in the art room which was kindly made accessible to me by a wonderful art teacher called Jan. I didn’t have any grand career plans but I was pretty certain I would go into the arts in some way. I probably would have found making art earlier but a number of things turned me towards fashion first which I feel has ultimately helped shape me as a maker and the language I use in my work."

BEST ADVICE YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN?

Always consider your downside. It can only be upside from there.
You make you own luck.
You don’t have to be the best but you do have to work the hardest.
Be kind."

WHAT DOES A PERFECT DAY OFF LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?

"First off I get 30 hours in my perfect day… I sleep in until I wake up. Go for a swim in the Highgate ladies pond where the sun will be shining and it will be warm enough to lay out in the meadow and dry out afterwards with a flask of sweet tea and a book. It will be a Friday so that I can go to Portobello to do vintage rummaging (including time shift so that it is magically 7am and I can get the good stuff) and then I would head to the studio to work for as long as I want, uninterrupted. A good 10 hours. Food will magically arrive whenever I get hungry and I won’t have to stop to think about it. This being my ideal day, time is warped so whatever time I finish work I will get home and have ages to hang out with my kids watching stupid TV and lounging about. Then my crew would come round and hang out in the kitchen talking rubbish and putting world to rights. Husband will then clean up whilst I go to bed. At some point a nice bath would be lovely."

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT AN UNFORGETTABLE MEAL/PLAY BOOK/FILM YOU'VE EXPERIENCED RECENTLY AND SIMPLY HAVE TO SHARE...

"I am utterly hooked on the new podcast by curator Katy Hessel called The Great Woman Artists. The title gives a clue to the content. I have gobbled them all up and she can’t make them fast enough."

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST LULU MEMORY/MOMENT?

"I first met Lulu back in the day. She was a London Fashion Week veteran with a buzzing business and I was a newbie with no clue. Lulu was incredibly generous and charming with me as the new kid on the block and when I had a baby and hit the blues (which I bumped over for years) she was sweet and gentle and kind. I have always been a big fan of both her work and her being. Exuberance all over the show! "

From bags to treasure forever to our playful trainers and accessories, there's always a new piece of Lulu to love.