Kaftan queen Camilla Franks is returning to her Bondi roots, snapping up a landmark residence on one of the suburb’s largest privately-held blocks for about $12.5 million.
The high-end house purchase comes just months after billionaires Andrew and Nicola Forrest announced a minority shareholding in the global fashion powerhouse, Camilla, through their shared investment vehicle Tattarang.
Gnal Loa is a five-bedroom Federation house set on 1015 square metres, making it one of the suburb’s largest privately held blocks.Credit: Domain
Camilla’s purchase comes just weeks after fellow Australian fashion industry leader Simone Zimmermann settled on a $30 million house purchase down the road and in the wake of a $1.75 billion investment in the Zimmermann label by a US private equity firm.
“I honestly never thought I would ever leave my beautiful Woollahra sanctuary,” Franks said in a statement.
“Villa Camilla is filled with so many magical memories, and I will be so sad to say goodbye to her. But this past week the universe had different plans for me. Everything fell into place. The calling … the energy was drawing me back to my roots in Bondi.
Camilla Franks opened her first store in Bondi in 2004.Credit: Nic Walker
“This is a new chapter for [my daughter] Luna and I. I’m so excited to create new memories in this 1900s beauty. She has charm, personality and history.”
Franks purchased the Federation house, called Gnal Loa, on Tuesday night, from Pensiri and Ben Scott, the latter of whom is a partner at Barrenjoey Capital and chair of the Australian Rugby Foundation.
“The name of this property – I’ve been told – means ‘the sitting spot’ and I love that,” Franks said. “The gardens feel like I’m in the Southern Highlands, but the sea is on my doorstep … it just felt right. It felt like home.”
Source Agencies
