Susie Cave and her love for Lewes
The editions of Condé Nast Traveler in China, India, the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain , with the support of the editors who work on the international edition from New York, have come together to launch a global message of traveling optimism: #UnderOneSky. This inspiring initiative brings together interviews with personalities such as Francis Ford Coppola, Cara Delevingne, Ben Pundole, Alexa Chung or Susie Cave , protagonist of this conversation.**
Susie and Nick Cave
The Vampire's Wife is the brand created by Susie Cave. In it, the English designer and model she has wanted to capture everything that aesthetically defines her: marked silhouettes, Victorian and elegant garments , pastel colors and an ever-present **dark beauty. **
And it is that attraction to the vampire universe that gives its name to the firm was one of the reasons why Susie Bick and singer Nick Cave were victims of love at first sight . What better place to move the The Vampire's Wife offices that the haunting city of Lewes ? None. So says the designer.
Condé Nast Traveler: What first attracted you to Lewes?
Susie Cave: I started coming to Lewes fifteen years ago, when he took the children to the Norman castle, originally called Bray Castle, situated high on the hill, and the wonderful outdoor pool at Pells - the UK's oldest lido.
Lewes seduced me slowly with his strange supernatural essence and its fascinating, yet terrifying, medieval history of heretic martyrs, sorcerers, witches and pagan rituals.
Q: Was it that story that brought you back?
A: Lewes is definitely the creepiest town in britain : seventeen protestant martyrs who were burned at the stake during the Marian persecutions they seem to still be present in the collective consciousness of Lewes. Most notable, of course, is that they are remembered every November for Britain's biggest bonfire , which parades through its cobbled streets.
lewes castle
Guy Fawkes Night has given the city the nickname of “the bonfire capital of the world” . Thousands of people come here, the evening pure chaos. I like to hide and watch the procession of flaming torches **from The Vampire's Wife offices. **
Q: How long has your company been here?
A: At the beginning of the year we moved the offices and showrooms of The Vampire's Wife to an old Sunday school here . It was built in 1800 in the river ouse and is located in the heart of the city. With their huge vaulted ceilings, its bell tower and dovecote, it is a great place to go to dream and create.
Q: Where do you usually go to find inspiration?
A: Cliffe High Street is full of antique shops, second-hand bookstores and vintage premises. I have bought wonderful gifts at No.1 Lewes Antiques for my husband, Nick, and for friends who have the same love for beautiful things.
My favorite finds have been a small box of brass matches for mice that I bought for my good friend Alessandro Michele -creative director of Gucci-, some giant stone swans I chose for Nick and gold lamé ribbons that I bought for **Philip Tracey. **
Mays Antiques, also on Cliffe High Street, is another of my favorite places, here I bought a small horse carriage . On the other hand, in Cliffe Gallery Antiques I found the gigantic ones antique mirrors and furniture residing in the showrooms of my offices.
Q: Where do you usually go to eat?
A: I love Bill's Lewes Restaurant - now a chain, but this is the original. My husband and I usually order something to go and we eat it sitting on the wall by the River Ouse , behind the Harvey's Brewery, another one of my favorite places. It's peaceful, strange, and from another era.
Q: For a pit stop?
A: For a cup of tea and a slice of cake, I visit The Shellys Hotel, on the High Street, a charming Georgian mansion , although the oldest part of the house dates from the times of the Tudors . A place I discovered with **my dear friend Bella Freud. **
It has beautiful gardens with little nooks to hide in and is located next to the castle, which sits on top of the hill. ** It is the former home of Mary Shelley and where she wrote Frankenstein. **
It has a great history and have been recorded ghost sightings throughout the years. It's a fascinating place to spend time... It makes you feel like nothing has changed in a century!
Q: Where else can we soak up the history of Lewes?
A: There is a strong literary tradition in Lewes. Virginia Woolf lived in Charleston House, the beautiful painted house in the Bloomsbury circle. Each room has a unique charm left by the various residents who have lived there over the years: **There are original works of art, poems and memorabilia. **
The oldest bookstore in the world is also in Lewes, Fifteenth Century Bookshop, where I recently found Notes on nursing: what it is and what it is not by Florence Nightingale . I go crazy there; I've bought books on flowers, dolls, jewelry, and pictures of spirits. There is always something magical to discover.
Q: What are your favorite landmarks?
A: Glyndebourne is the most amazing place . It is a beautiful palace, with gardens, which has housed the opera festival every year for almost a hundred. Also requires a visit Anne of Cleves House , a 15th-century timber-framed house **given to the queen as part of Henry VIII's divorce settlement. **
Q: How would you spend your ideal day?
A: There is nothing I like more than walking around the city and visiting as many shops as I can. Most of the houses and buildings here are 600 years old , with the original wallpaper still on the walls. I love the feeling that this can only be found in these English cities with history and local characters.
Q: How has the environment influenced your brand?
A: All of this gothic charm has exerted its spectral influence on the aesthetic of the brand: the natural beauty of the surrounding hills, its dark forests, unique people, violent history and dramatic ancient architecture . Lewes has become the spiritual home of The Vampire's Wife.