There’s something about a home that formerly belonged to a fashion designer that instantly captures the imagination. Maybe it’s simply the kudos of the name; or the idea of living in a property within whose walls great work - not to mention fabulous soirees - might have taken place. Perhaps it’s the conviction that a creative genius whose work one admires would naturally decorate their own home with corresponding aesthetic flair.

“Buyers often look for properties that reflect their personal taste and who they are, so the opportunity to buy into the refined style that certain designers are known for can be very appealing,” says Stuart Bailey, head of prime London sales at Knight Frank. “Owning a well-known designer’s property brings a unique level of cachet for the buyer, plus it’s an interesting conversation starter for any guests.”

Earlier this month, The Modern House listed Lee McQueen’s former home in Highbury, a Victorian townhouse with chic contemporary interiors, which quickly went under offer - perhaps demonstrating the bounce a star name can bring at a time when the market in London is relatively slow.

Matt Gibberd, as co-founder of The Modern House and its sister agency Inigo, and the husband of designer Faye Toogood, has a unique insight into both living in and selling a designer’s home.

“Faye has a fashion brand, and we have renovated a number of homes together over the years,” he says. “I’ve seen first-hand how certain buyers – usually those who are time-poor or have less experience when it comes to design – will readily adopt Faye’s vision of how to live. We have often sold the light fittings and furniture as part of the sale, and invariably the buyers ask for the paint colour references so that the palette can be preserved as it is.”

The homes they have sold through The Modern House include a Grade II-listed Georgian house in north London, a 1960s house by architect Walter Segal, also in north London, and a three-bedroom Victorian apartment in Winchester (pictured top) - very different properties, but each decorated with impeccable taste and style.

Fashion designers themselves are, it seems, attracted to other designers’ homes, too. Tom Ford bought Halston’s former home on New York’s Upper East Side two years ago, telling WWD at the time that part of the appeal was the taste for “a certain streamlined modernism” that he shared with the late designer.

Ford’s own former London home, which he reportedly sold in 2009, recently went on the market again with his decorative scheme still in place, having been retained by subsequent owners.

French designer Simon Porte Jacquemus has similarly declared himself to be a huge admirer of the 1970s-designed Bubble Palace near Cannes, previously owned by the late Pierre Cardin, at which Jacquemus has apparently holidayed (it can be rented at a daily rate of around €26,000, or indeed bought outright, if you have around £300 million to spare).

Increasingly, fashion designers are turning their attention to interior design in a more public sphere. In recent years, the designers Bella Freud and Roksanda Ilinčić have worked on the interior decoration of luxury penthouses within new London developments, at Television Centre in White City and Gasholders in King’s Cross respectively.

Both, with their saturated colour schemes, went on to be a hit on social media, capturing the attention of a new generation of style-conscious buyers.

As Ilinčić commented at the time, the project “created the opportunity to expand my own ideas about creating a true reflection of my own aesthetic, beyond fashion”. According to King's Cross CEO Robert Evans, interest in the development "is coming from a wider pool of buyers, including those with a strong synergy to Central St Martin’s (Roksanda’s place of study) and the international fashion and architecture follower."

As more and more fashion houses turn their hand to homeware and interior decor, living like a designer is increasingly within reach; but mixing cocktails in their former kitchen is the ultimate dream.

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