When we meet Nicky Hilton Rothschild for her cover shoot, the designer, socialite and member of America’s famous Hilton family, who now lives in London with her husband, James Rothschild, and their three children, is fresh from attending the international fashion shows. “It was really fun being based here and just being able to hop on a train or take a quick flight to Milan and hang out with my sister,” she tells HELLO!.
Nicky, 42, and her elder sister Paris Hilton, 45, have always been close. “Now that we’re living on totally different sides of the world [Paris is based in Los Angeles], we don’t see each other as much, but when we do get together, we have the best time,” she says. “We had so much fun in Milan, hanging out in the hotel, ordering caprese salad and spaghetti bolognese on room service, and getting ready together for the Gucci show.”
However, Nicky says it was her newly adopted home that hosted her favourite of the big fashion weeks in February. “I feel as though London still has that cool, energetic, rebellious energy,” she says as we shoot our cover in the spring sunshine, against the backdrop of famous landmarks including the Tower of London and London Bridge.
© Tung WalshOf London Fashion Week, Nicky adds: “Two of the highlights for me were Harris Reed and Annie’s Ibiza. They’re two cool, unique brands with a totally unique perspective – original, creative and fun.
“They were on the same day, at two of my favourite locations: Claridge’s, and Spencer House, where I had my welcome dinner for my wedding. So it was fun to go back there.”
Nicky and her husband, the British financier James Rothschild, 40, met at the wedding of Petra Ecclestone and James Stunt in Rome in 2011. They married four years later in a fairytale ceremony at the Orangery in Kensington Palace Gardens, Nicky wearing a high-necked, long-sleeved Valentino Haute Couture gown with a dramatic train and a long veil. Their wedding united two world-famous dynasties, as a British banking scion tied the knot with a glamorous American hotel heiress.
© Tung WalshThe couple have three children: daughters Lily-Grace Victoria, nine, and Theodora “Teddy” Marilyn, eight, and a son, Chasen, three. Although they have properties in New York, the family are currently spending more time in London. “It reminds me a lot of New York, but without the frantic pace,” she says. “I’ve been coming here since I was a little girl, so I’ve always loved it.
“It’s nice for the children because my husband’s English, so we get to see their cousins and their grandmother and enjoy more family time. That’s been a lot of fun for them – learning about London, where their father grew up, going to the same parks he went to and seeing his old school. It’s sweet.”
She tells us that her son has even started saying certain words in an English accent. “I’ve noticed he’s saying ‘water’,” she says, pronouncing a perfect hard T.
The family are throwing themselves into British traditions, such as eating a full English breakfast or classic Sunday roasts. “If you have any recommendations, send them my way,” she says. “My kids are also really enjoying the museums here – we’ve been to the Science Museum a lot. They love Hamley’s, of course. And the parks are stunning.”
© Tung Walsh
© Tung WalshNicky, who is the co-founder of the jewellery brand Theo Grace, named after her daughters, tells us that she has been interested in clothes for as long as she can remember. “I knew I wanted to do something in fashion,” she says. “I loved sneaking into my mom’s closet and watching the process of getting ready – picking the outfit, the jewellery, the handbag and accessories. I was always a girly girl. I loved dressing up.”
Today, one of her style icons is the Princess of Wales. “I think she’s so beautiful and always looks so great. I love how she dresses her children, and I think she’s such a good role model. I’m a big fan.”
Nicky launched Theo Grace last year. “It really stems from my obsession with personalisation; most of the items are customisable. In the past, I’ve done lots of collaborations with brands [Rebecca Vallance, French Sole], but this is the first time where I’m an owner of the brand, which is exciting,” she says.
Nicky says that running a brand fits well with family life. “I travel for work, but now I try to carve it out so that the children can come with me. I’m going to China at the end of the month and it happens to be a long weekend, so I’m going to bring my eldest daughter because her dream trip is China. We’re going a day early to do sightseeing, and I’ll take her around Shanghai.
© Tung Walsh“I went to Paris on Friday last week, and they had a half-day of school, so I took them with me. My daughters are now at the age where they’re understanding, and getting input from them and seeing their enthusiasm and excitement is very sweet.”
Nicky also has a strong relationship with her own mother, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kathy. “My mom is one of my best friends. She’s the funniest person in the world. We’ve just shot a project in London, which I can’t talk about yet, but it will be coming out in the spring,” she says.
“It was fun, and we were laughing that if we were in school together, they would separate us because we laugh too much and are so silly with each other. But we also have very much the same taste, the same aesthetic, the same vibe, so working together is always a joy.”
Growing up in the Waldorf Astoria New York in the Eighties, Nicky and Paris were nicknamed the “Eloises”, a reference to Kay Thompson’s children’s books and their main character, a young girl named Eloise who lived at The Plaza Hotel in Manhattan.
© Ron Galella Collection via GettyThis experience is one of many scenes beautifully illustrated on a French toile print that Nicky has produced as part of a 21-piece collection with the luxury childrenswear brand La Coqueta. The autobiographical panels tell the story of her life, with a different chapter sketched on each panel of the material. “We highlight some of the milestones and special moments. It’s subtle, but if you look closely, you’ll see everything,” she says.
Holidaying is another family tradition, and her ultimate happy place is sun-soaked Maui in the Hawaiian archipelago, which is also depicted on the toile. “Every Christmas growing up, we went there. You step off the plane and it smells like the ocean and the beach,” she says.
But her next holiday will be spent in the English countryside. “We’re going to my sister-in-law’s to do a big Easter egg hunt with all the children. We’ll be dressing them all up in the new collection and eating delicious food – just hanging out, relaxing and enjoying family.”
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