My London: Natalie Lewis - PR Expert & Author

Natalie Lewis has been a fashion PR for decades.

Her agency, Brower Lewis PR, was one of the leading PR firms in London renowned for creating the launches and strategies for brands such as Net-a-Porter.com, Jimmy Choo, Matches and Matches.com, Diane von Furstenberg and Anya Hindmarch.

In 2007 together with her business partner, she sold the agency and went freelance. Her clients included Bella Freud, Marie-Chantal of Greece, Robbie Williams, James Perse, Claudia Schiffer, and latterly Victoria Beckham who she worked with as a consultant for twelve years from her very first show in 2008 up until June 2020.

In 2020 after 29 years in the business Natalie took a sabbatical when she worked on her first novel – Don’t Believe the Hype.

Natalie is currently working on a number of projects with Francesca Amfitheatrof, Artistic Director of Jewellery and Watches at Louis Vuitton, and consulting on the World of Freddie Mercury auction in September at Sotheby’s.

We caught up with Natalie Lewis for the latest edition of our ‘My London’ interview series.

Favourite neighbourhood:

I’m a West Londoner through and through, so Portobello and Westbourne Grove. It’s been fascinating watching how it’s changed over the past few decades – sometimes for the best, occasionally for the worst. For instance it’s sad to have seen all of the antique shops disappear from the areas around Ledbury Road. When I first moved there all the shop owners would sit outside playing backgammon at tiny tables. One day I turned around and there was an LK Bennett instead! But now I’m seeing creativity, and young businesses coming back which makes me happy.

Favourite place for brunch:

I’m quite partial to Fischer’s on Marylebone Road. It means I can legitimately have a R"osti or a Gr"ostl, (fried potatoes) brunch without feeling guilty… and they do a great Bloody Mary. Also crucial.

Best coffee in London:

Truthfully I’m not much of a coffee drinker past my two very important espressos at home first thing in the morning. If I was going to have a coffee outside of the house, I guess I do like a latte from GAIL’S Bakery on Kensington High Street.

Favourite gallery or museum:

I absolutely love The Courtauld Institute of Art. Every room, and almost every painting on permanent display there makes me happy. That’s more my artistic sensibility than super contemporary art. I could stare at Manet’s “A Bar At The Folies-Bergere” for hours.

Tell us a secret:

I have no sense of direction… I mean literally none! If someone tells me it’s north I still have to do “never eat shredded wheat” in my head to work out where to point, and even then I’m still generally going the wrong way.

Favourite place to shop:

I have two favourite shops – Bella Freud on Chiltern Street, and Aime on Ledbury Road. Both have incredible clothes and a brilliant selection of homeware and objects to muse on. Bella’s creativity is endless and Val and Vanda who founded Aime introduced London to a wealth of French designers way ahead of their time. I can spend hours in both shops.

Favourite place to find inspiration:

I go to galleries and the theatre and I also read a lot, so I’d say there’s not one specific place I return to for inspiration. Instead I like seeing and hearing different things all the time. So in one week I may have done The Hockney Lightroom, and seen A Little Life and read the new Curtis Sittenfeld, and all are equally inspiring in their own ways.

Best London destination for a date:

When you have kids, and you want to have a date it has to involve food you’re not cooking, and a dishwasher you’re not loading, so I’m going to say Kitty Fisher’s. For me it’s everything a restaurant should be – tiny, delicious and under the radar… they also serve the best cocktails!

Favourite park:

I think it has to be Holland Park. It’s on my doorstep, but also it has the Japanese Garden which I actually find really calming. When I need to think, I walk round and round that garden, and over the little bridge multiple times.

Favourite food market:

Portobello Road Market because I can pretend I’m going to buy oranges, but I can do a pitstop at so many delicious food stalls… generally for some noodles.

Your sanctuary in the city:

Lying on a bed in the facialist Keren Bartov’s treatment room! I practically body slam the door to the clinic. I know I’ve got an hour and a half devoted only to myself.

What inspires you?

Because I’ve just published my debut novel, my inspiration at the moment generally comes from authors and what they’ve written. Knowing the passion and the agony of writing and then publishing a book, I am completely inspired by others who have done the same thing and written incredible novels I wish I had thought of writing.