Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud

Episode: Fashion Neurosis with Annie Leibovitz

Release Date: December 3, 2025
Host: Bella Freud
Guest: Annie Leibovitz

Episode Overview

In this intimate and wide-ranging conversation, iconic photographer Annie Leibovitz lies on Bella Freud’s proverbial “couch” to discuss the profound connections between fashion, identity, and life itself. Through recollections, industry insights, and personal anecdotes, Leibovitz reflects on her photographic career, her steadfast style choices, her collaborations with legends from Susan Sontag to John Lennon, as well as deeper themes—grief, creativity, resilience, and the evolution of self through clothing and art.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Annie Leibovitz’s Signature Style & Uniform

• Leibovitz’s “Uniform”
  • Annie routinely wears customized shirts (made in Hong Kong over 20 years ago) and pants (inspired by an ‘80s Donna Karan design):

    "I have about 10 pairs of these pants and 15 of these shirts ... the cotton is just amazing. ... It really is about not wanting to feel for me. I don't want to feel. I don't want anything. I don't want to worry about myself. I want to be out of myself." —Annie Leibovitz [01:30]

  • She appreciates the longevity and comfort, and the way clothes can age gracefully.
  • Discusses trying to bring more color into her wardrobe for her children but returning to the comfort of her classic look.
• Pajamas as Pandemic Comfort
  • Leibovitz confesses to a love of pajamas, especially during COVID times:

    "Some days I don't get out of my pajamas. ... So these are kind of a more glorified version of the pajamas." —Annie Leibovitz [05:40]

• Bras, Cleanliness, and Rituals
  • Discomfort with bras; devotion to daily clean clothes:

    "I have to wear clean clothes every single day. I love clean clothes. So I could never go back to sleep in the same pajamas that I was wearing." —Annie Leibovitz [07:31]

The Psychology of Fashion & Identity

• Fashion as Self-Expression vs. Distraction
  • She sees her “uniform” as a way to not think about herself, staying focused on her work and the world around her.
• Evolution of Fashion Photography
  • Fashion was not Annie’s original goal. Early influences were photojournalists; only later did she discover the artistry of the fashion world:

    "I had no idea about fashion ... until I started doing that work for Vogue. ... But the first couture I did for Anna Wintour ... I saw, 'Oh my God. This is art.'" —Annie Leibovitz [17:18]

Craft, Editing, and Collaboration

• Editing & Mentorship from Bea Feitler
  • Learned the necessity of editing one’s own work to find the strongest images:

    "She said, Annie, you have to edit your work. ... it really was work to learn how to edit because she could edit. ... But I come out the other end of it. I'm actually a good editor now." —Annie Leibovitz [21:24]

• Signature Approach in Portraiture
  • Prefers environmental, contextual scenes over studio shoots, striving for naturalness rather than manufactured images:

    "My photographs are not really ... they're more pulled back. I like being somewhere in an environment and showing where you are." [22:56]

  • Has learned never to be completely absorbed by her subject—especially after the Rolling Stones tour (“I definitely rebuilt my stance on that ... you feel I'm just a step back or two.”) [38:24]

Iconic Portraits & Legacy

• The John Lennon & Yoko Ono Cover
  • Shares the backstory of the famous portrait—the last photo before Lennon’s death:

    "I’ve told the story many times ... at the last minute, Yoko didn't want to take off all of her clothes. ... I took the Polaroid and showed John ... he said, ‘That's our relationship.’" —Annie Leibovitz [43:28]

• Relationship with Susan Sontag
  • Remembering Susan as both critical and loving—a formative, intellectual force:

    "She wanted me to be the best I could be, and she didn't want ... so I think on some level, a lot of ... I would think twice about it now." —Annie Leibovitz [75:28]

• Personal & Professional Blur
  • On her book Photographer’s Life and integrating work and personal reality:

    "That book was sort of my year of magical thinking ... that kind of insanity that happens when all that stuff is going on." —Annie Leibovitz [70:43]

• On photographing loved ones, even in death:
  • Describes photographing Sontag on her deathbed as both difficult and meaningful:

    "It gives you a purpose, you know, a reason to be standing there." —Annie Leibovitz [75:27]

Reflections on Fame, Pressure, and Industry Dynamics

• Pressure of Magazine Covers
  • Found magazines covers “a thankless dilemma,” and values books as the true home for her work:

    "I don't want to be responsible for if this magazine sells or not ... my books are really where my work is." —Annie Leibovitz [51:55]

• Legacy of Editorial Work: Rolling Stone & Vanity Fair
  • Recalls the evolving visual literacy at Rolling Stone and collaborating with legendary writers and editors. Anna Wintour championed visuals, but sometimes commercial success didn’t align ("Steve Martin against the Franz Lyon painting ... was the worst selling cover Rolling Stone ever had."). [54:36]

Cultural & Social Commentary

• From Protest Documentation to Portraits of Influence
  • Early career rooted in San Francisco’s activist scene and photographing protests; bringing that sense of “seeing” to all her later work.

    "You were ... taught to just photograph ... it was really about seeing." —Annie Leibovitz [27:43]

• Experience with Drugs and Creativity
  • Candidly discusses struggle and recovery:

    "I thought at the time in order to take a good picture, you really had to become one with your subject ... what a stupid idea to do this with a band of men." —Annie Leibovitz [36:13] "Drugs are stupid. That's the bottom line." [39:16]

The State and Meaning of Fashion Today

• Admiration for Self-Styling and Democratized Fashion
  • Praises the variety and self-expression seen now in fashion, in contrast to the more rigid past:

    "I'm impressed with us being able to, you know, dress ourselves the way we want to see ourselves." —Annie Leibovitz [59:32]

• Fashion as Emotional Relief and Art
  • Fashion as creative outlet, especially in difficult times:

    "In this period of kind of like, difficult times, I think fashion is certainly a ... way out ... to give us ourselves some relief." [59:32]

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Why She Wears What She Wears
  • "I don't want to feel. I don't want to worry about myself. I want to be out of myself." —Annie Leibovitz [02:51]
• On the Impact of Her Work
  • "Sometimes you're in these places that you don't understand why you're there, you know, but, you know, the photograph itself ... you look at it and it tells you another story." [47:21]
• On Susan Sontag's Critique
  • "She would say, why don't you shoot more photographs? ... I'm not a street photographer. I'm very, you know, you know, sort of a one on one photographer." [65:03]
• On Evolving in the Industry
  • "I definitely. If you sometimes feel in my work, I'm just a step back or two, it's because of that [Rolling Stones] experience, for sure." [38:24]
• On the Democratization of Fashion
  • "I really feel like many people have taken back how they want to see themselves and how they want to dress and how they look. ... It's wonderful." —Annie Leibovitz [58:36]

Notable Timestamps

| Time | Segment/Theme | |------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:30 | Annie reflects on her daily uniform and origin story behind her signature look | | 05:40 | The significance of pajamas—comfort, ritual, and working during COVID | | 09:23 | Reflecting on uncertainty and authoritative work with Gloria Steinem | | 13:49 | Childhood, family dynamics, and a creative upbringing | | 17:18 | Entry into fashion photography: discovering the artistry in fashion | | 21:24 | On mentorship from Bea Feitler and learning to edit her work | | 22:56 | Discussing her approach and discomfort with studio photography | | 33:06 | The Rolling Stones tour, drugs, and the dangers of full immersion | | 38:24 | On the lesson learned: keeping distance in portraiture | | 43:28 | The making of the John Lennon & Yoko Ono photo | | 51:55 | Why books, not covers, are her real home; the business of magazines | | 54:36 | Steve Martin cover—commercial failure, creative pride | | 58:36 | On contemporary fashion, individuality, and the power of self-styling | | 65:03 | Love, critique, and creative challenge from Susan Sontag | | 70:43 | On not having “two lives,” integrating the personal and professional | | 75:27 | Photographing loved ones—grief, pride, and the meaning of remembrance |

Tone & Atmosphere

The conversation is casual, intimate, and frequently self-deprecating—marked by moments of laughter, open admissions of confusion or vulnerability, and a mutual respect between host and guest. Bella Freud steers the conversation gently with curiosity and admiration; Annie is candid, reflective, humorous, and unguardedly philosophical throughout.

Conclusions & Takeaways

This episode offers more than a masterclass in photography—it’s a meditation on how what we wear can be armor, distraction, revelation, or celebration. Annie Leibovitz’s legendary body of work is revealed to be inseparably linked with her personal journey, her evolving self-understanding, and her relationships—with clothing, with subjects, with creative collaborators, and with loss. Listeners are left with a sense of fashion’s emotional, artistic, and social resonance—and with Annie’s acute sense that both art and style are, at their core, about connection, honesty, and being present in the world.