\u201cChiltern Firehouse is open during Frieze \u2014 they were also open during fashion week. Just the bar, before they close again for a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The last time I was in England, I forgot my credit card there. They sent it back to Paris for the modest amount of \u00a3120. Convenience was not London\u2019s strong suit. I planned to stay a night in London after a wedding in Somerset but then realized Frieze was happening.<\/p>\n
Frieze in LA has lost its glamour \u2014 they only got it right the first year when they were central on the Paramount lot and you ate and dined where countless movie sets were shot. It looked like a street in NYC, suddenly with some charm \u2014 not a soulless fair. So I changed my flight and stayed. It was so easy with the Lufthansa app that I think I\u2019ll book with them forever.<\/p>\n
The day before, I was randomly invited to an art opening at Unit and an after-party at The Maine. The only thing that stood out to me was the installation with the signs \u2014 it made me think of this man on Instagram holding them up. \u201cBooks make you look smarter\u201d was my favorite one \u2014 maybe because I have a book coming out. I didn\u2019t know anyone in London, but the art world is small, so I ran into some people who recognized me there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI only go to Frieze Masters,\u201d said Lady Victoria. \u201cThat contemporary art at Frieze is always a bit disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":123539,"id":123539,"title":"IMG_1143","filename":"IMG_1143.jpeg","filesize":669368,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1143.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/letters-from-london\/img_1143\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"img_1143","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":123527,"date":"2025-10-22 14:15:21","modified":"2025-10-22 15:57:32","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1436,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1143.jpeg","thumbnail-width":72,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1143.jpeg","medium-width":1436,"medium-height":1920,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1143.jpeg","medium_large-width":1436,"medium_large-height":1920,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1143.jpeg","large-width":1436,"large-height":1920,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1143-1149x1536.jpeg","1536x1536-width":1149,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1143.jpeg","2048x2048-width":1436,"2048x2048-height":1920,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1143.jpeg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":9,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_1143.jpeg","wpvr_mobile-width":1436,"wpvr_mobile-height":1920}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"4","caption":"Hans Arp, Collage, 1916-1917. Image Courtesy of Katharina Baron. "}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"
I liked the Masters \u2014 it looked like wood and old frames, old beauty, nice colors \u2014 but when I arrived, my other friends, owners of a cool concept store called Loop Generation, said, \u201cWe always go see the contemporary art first.\u201d I walked over through Regent\u2019s Park \u2014 the Masters were in the north and Frieze London in the south. It was a 15-minute walk and a bit of a catwalk; I was glad that I wore my light rose Bibi Bachdaze skirt, because people in London do dress up. Somehow the art crowd seemed to have better taste than the fashion people. There was something practical about it \u2014 suits, coats, flats. I had arrived in fall, with the leaves falling down. Seasons. Something I forgot about after living ten years in LA.<\/p>\n
Frieze London was crowded. The line was huge, but somehow I booked my entry time for earlier and could just sneak right in. It was bigger and better than LA. I saw some of the same art pieces being exhibited, but also some entirely new ones. It felt less Instagrammable than the Californian counterpart.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate art fairs now. They make me so tired. I\u2019ve been to so many \u2014 there is absolutely nothing exciting about them anymore,\u201d complained an art gallery owner I met at Art Basel Miami. Maybe it\u2019s the art market, after the tax situation in London made everyone leave. \u201cDo not move to London,\u201d he warned me. \u201cNYC is the best. I love it there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another publisher told me to just stay in Europe for Art Basel in Paris. \u201cWe\u2019ll have much better events then\u201d \u2014 that was where the hope was to revive the art business. \u201cAmericans love Paris,\u201d he said. It\u2019s a test to see how it will go. Fondation Cartier is opening a new location and Gerhard Richter has an exhibit. I didn\u2019t care. I was now in London\u00a0 \u2014 and so were Claudia Schiffer and Nick Cave, who had to take selfies at the fair.<\/p>\n
Someone gave me a name for an Arts Club Frieze party because they wanted to go to Prada. \u201cIs that still cool there?\u201d I asked, but didn\u2019t end up going.<\/p>\n
Instead, I went to see a friend who invited me to the opening of Explora Journeys \u2014 a new, huge luxury \u201cyacht-at-sea\u201d concept. \u201cWe don\u2019t like to use the C word,\u201d they said \u2014 meaning cruise \u2014 positioning themselves as a hotel on the ocean, celebrating a collaboration with Clarendon Fine Art.<\/p>\n
Back at the hotel, I noticed an umbrella rental. By that time, I had spent hours in Ubers; it made me more tired than the traffic in LA. It was impossible to meet everyone I knew in town as it was so spread out.<\/p>\n
Estelle is the new members\u2019 club now. My friend Lauren had a sticker for Beakham Hotel. I went back to good old Dean Street Townhouse \u2014 the only Soho property where you don\u2019t need a membership. I was a Little Beach House member, but mine was on pause since Malibu burned down.<\/p>\n
We later tried to get a table at Mountain, but the wait was one hour. Maybe that\u2019s why people need all these memberships \u2014 to have somewhere nice to eat without an embarrassing wait time.<\/p>\n
On my last day, I made it to Harrods, where my beauty client Julisis is sold. I couldn\u2019t find the displays we edited a while ago, but instead had a great pizza and looked at one of the best shoe and clothing selections in a while. I even liked their elevators but decided my suitcase was full enough \u2014 and you never know how these pounds convert. Knightsbridge was a great little neighborhood. I wasn\u2019t scared, despite Victoria warning me that her phone was grabbed out of her hand and stolen.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must leave LA,\u201d my friend insisted. \u201cIt\u2019s so toxic after the fires. Come to London.\u201d The Londoners are a bit like Berlin people \u2014 they love-hate their city depending on who you meet.<\/p>\n
My personal Brexit \u2014 and my art cruise exit. Next stop: NYC.<\/p>\n"}]},"yoast_head":"\n