An Interview with Sophie Ashby of Studio Ashby

A few weeks ago I attended an event where Sophie Ashby and her husband Charlie Casely-Hayford were in conversation to launch the latest Studio Ashby development project in Holland Park. The couple were charming and interesting and I thought you might fancy a little Thursday morning read of their design philosophy for both fashion and interiors.

the 600sq ft flat belonging to Sophie Ashby and Charlie Casely Hayford at Television Centre (image from Studio Ashby)

Sophie did a degree in Art History at Leeds University before going on to study Interior Design at Parsons in New York. Charlie founded the menswear tailoring brand Casely-Hayford at the age of 22 with his father, Joe, who died at the beginning of this year. Charlie and Sophie live in a 600 sq ft apartment in the former BBC building at White City which Sophie decorated. She set up her studio five years go and now heads a team of 12.

One of the first things she said was that interior designers often turn out to have had peripatetic…