Home Comforts: Walid al Damirji on his penchant for porcelain and pugs

The words ‘slow’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘zero-waste’ are rightly abuzz in the fashion world at the moment. But for Walid al Damirji they’re nothing new. Around 20 years ago the Iraqi-British designer, then working as creative director at Joseph, found himself despairing at the industry’s dictum of trend-led collections – and the culture of consumerism and disposability it encouraged. In reaction, he founded his own label, By Walid, in 2011, pioneering an approach to luxury clothing that incorporated reused and reclaimed textiles. He has ever since been turning fragments of 18^th-century ecclesiastical garments, for instance, or 19^th-century silks, into what he calls “wearable art”:  jackets, dresses and more, notable for their contemporary silhouettes and tremendous textures. Guided by similar principles, By Walid’s first homeware collection landed in 2017, followed by ranges of patchworked footwear in 2019.

The designer’s inclination towards splendour, character and richness is, naturally, reflected in his private quarters. His bijou studio, which we visited in 2021, is a trove of exquisite textiles and trinkets; his home, near Holland Park in west London, though built in the 1950s, is filled with things of a somewhat more historical bent – think Aubusson tapestries, antique French furniture and stacks of pretty porcelain. Walid chose the apartment, he says, for the huge terrace, which can host a party-load of people. Having heard his Home Comforts, we’re now just hoping for an invitation…

My most recent home improvement…
I got the 18th-century chaise in my kitchen upholstered in Aubusson tapestry from the same period. It formed part of one of my homeware ranges; the chairs came from a French château. The Aubusson was very distressed and it took months to painstakingly reback it, stitch it down and clean it. It was a labour of love that took six months.

The latest addition to my wardrobe…
I’m an unashamed clothes horse, so there’s a constant stream coming in from stores and from our own workshops. My new shearling coat, from our AW23 collection, is one of my most recent arrivals. It’s made of 19^th-century embroidered Chinese silk and is lined with sheepskin. It feels like something I’ve been waiting forever to own; I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to have one myself. And then my head of production surprised me…

The most useful item in my kitchen…
My cabinets, which display all my collected china. My partner and I both like sitting at the kitchen table and I often work there. When I see the cabinets and their contents I feel transported by these wonderful things that come from all over the world, including Japan and France. And we use them all!

What’s always in my fridge…
Badoit water and Vermentino wine.

The prize bottle in my drinks cabinet…
I don’t have a drinks cabinet, but my father purchased a château-something when I was born. It’s in storage somewhere…

Hanging on my walls…
I have a collection of Christian Berard drawings, and some paintings by Ismail Fatah Al Turk, who is considered Iraq’s Picasso. I love interwar art and wish I owned a Leonor Fini.

The knick-knacks on my mantelpiece…
Anything to do with pugs, whether from the 18^th or 19^th century. I love ’em! I’ve always had them as pets.

The books on my shelf right now..
I just finished Capote’s Women, by Laurence Leamer.

The music on my stereo…
The original soundtracks to a TV series called We Are Who We Are, and Dangerous Liaisons, the 1988 movie.

Hidden away in my cupboards…
It wouldn’t be appropriate to say!

On my to-do list…
Lose weight, exercise and so on…

Further Reading

A Room of One’s Own: the creative clutter of Walid al Damirji’s antique-filled London studio

By Walid

By Walid on Instagram