Nicole Farhi, Lady Hare, CBE (born 25 July 1946) is a French fashion designer and sculptor born in Nice, France, of Jewish descent from Turkey.
She started her career as a freelance in Paris, before moving to London in the 1970s to work with Stephen Marks on his French Connection label. Their professional relationship resulted in a personal relationship, and they had a daughter before separating. She is now based in London.
In 1982, she and Marks created the Nicole Farhi fashion label within the French Connection group. The label previously had shops worldwide, as well as restaurants in London and New York. The New York locations have since closed. http://www.yelp.ca/biz/202-nicole-farhi-new-york-2 http://nymag.com/listings/stores/nicole_farhi/ On 15 March 2010, French Connection announced its sale to OpenGate Capital for up to £5 million.
She is married to the British dramatist and writer Sir David Hare.
In February 2007, she was a signatory to the declaration of the Independent Jewish Voices, a new Jewish network, calling for an open and critical debate on Israel and criticising certain Jewish organisations' unconditional support of Israel.
In 2007 she was appointed an honorary CBE and in 2010 she was awarded the Légion d'honneur.
In July 2010 NICOLE FARHI was acquired by global private equity firm OpenGate Capital.