Words: Gentleman's Journal
Photography: Michael Hedge
Jasper Conran is one of the most recognisable names in the world of British fashion. With unforgettable designs and launching his first hotel, L’Hôtel Marrakech, in 2016.
We spoke to the fashion juggernaut to find out what books have inspired him throughout his career as well as his life outside of work.
Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas
Originally a poem written in 1954 as a radio drama, this Dylan Thomas’ masterpiece – you listen in on the dreams and innermost thoughts of a fictional Welsh village.
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
I have read and reread this extraordinary book about Charles Rider and his entanglement with the formidably Catholic Flytes and each time the book sparkles more brightly.
Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain Fournier
This magical book was a game changer for me when I read it in early adolescence – beautiful and poignant.
Diaries, 1942-54 by James Lees-Milne
Here our hero works mostly on a bicycle going around the country in war time trying to persuade impecunious owners to give their houses over to the National Trust – gripping and utterly charming stuff.
On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin
This marvelous book is set on the rugged boarders of Herefordshire and Radnorshire portraying the lives of twin brothers Lewis and Benjamin Jones – extremely beautiful.
A Visit to Don Otavio by Sybille Bedford
In the mid 1940s Sybille Bedford set off on a journey to Mexico armed with a delicious hamper – in order to write a travelogue – the result is spectacular.
French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David
This book more than any has been my constant companion since I was a starving thirteen year old at boarding school, where the food was so filthy I read the sublime words of Elizabeth David instead.
Trois Contes (Three Tales) by Gustave Flaubert
These are three exquisitely crafted short stories – I defy you not to cry by the end of “A Simple Heart”
Find out which books inspired the man behind the Innocent empire, Richard Reed…
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