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Apollo
Rakewell

How to live like Courtney Love

19 May 2023

Introducing Rakewell, Apollo’s wandering eye on the art world. Look out for regular posts taking a rakish perspective on art and museum stories.

Every now and then, along comes a celebrity interview that makes the case for what can seem like a fading genre. Courtney Love’s interview in the FT’s How to Spend It magazine was published more than a week ago and it is so cheering that Rakewell now has it bookmarked to read as a pick-me-up, whenever one is needed.

The interview featured in ‘The Aesthete’ column. Respondents can sometimes complete the phrase ‘My personal style signifier is’ with no-doubt true, but somewhat uninspiring answers such as ‘a Bulgari necklace’ – but there was no danger of boredom of an article headlined ‘I went through 280 macarons last week’. For Rakewell readers who perhaps don’t share your roving correspondent’s long-standing fondness for the Hole frontwoman, the key points for connoisseurs (though others may have their own takeaways) are:

  • Courtney Love owns a 17th-century Flemish verdure tapestry
  • Courtney Love bought Winston Churchill’s walking stick for an ex-boyfriend
  • Courtney Love has a collection of Chinese lotus slippers
  • Courtney Love is into calligraphy
  • If you feel that Rakewell has just written one long spoiler, rest assured that there is so much more to be delighted by. But we will leave you with the fact that one of Love’s Pomeranian dogs (she has two) is called ‘Shijo Kingo after my favourite samurai’. Everyone should have a favourite samurai! We are working on it.

    Got a story for Rakewell? Get in touch at rakewell@apollomag.com or via @Rakewelltweets.