Curate Your Best Life: What We Learnt from The Forties Formula Live
On 3 September, Atelier V&A became the setting for an evening of honest conversation about style, space, identity and what it means to create a life that truly fits who you are now.
The third live recording of The Forties Formula sold out more than a month before the event, making it the podcast’s fastest sell-out yet. We knew the conversation had struck a chord before we had even stepped into the room.
Hosted by the fabulous Jasmin Dhillon and Amanda Lim, the evening brought together a wonderful group of women ready to talk openly about personal style, changing homes, emotional attachment and reinvention. We loved sharing the Atelier V&A perspective and discovering just how closely our surroundings, clothing and sense of self are connected.
Our homes reveal how we really live
A home tells its story through everyday behaviour.
As designers, we listen to what a client says, observe what their home shows us and connect the two. How someone moves through a space, what they value and where they experience friction can reveal whether their home supports the life they actually live.
Sometimes it is one object, one neglected corner or one repeatedly frustrating routine that tells us more than the entire brief.
The biggest takeaway? A beautiful room is not necessarily a successful one. If a space repeatedly makes life more difficult, it needs more than decoration. It needs to be reconsidered.
Our lives often change before our surroundings do
One of the strongest themes of the evening was how easily a home can continue to reflect an earlier version of us.
We naturally collect objects for comfort, security and memory. Those things can be deeply meaningful, particularly when we have moved countries, raised families or experienced a significant transition. But there comes a point when we need to ask whether our belongings are enriching our present or keeping us attached to a life we have outgrown.
Change does not mean removing everything familiar. In fact, familiar objects and rituals can provide stability when life feels uncertain. The key is knowing what grounds you, preserving it and consciously deciding what needs to evolve.
Space has value
We spoke about the things we keep “just in case” and why releasing possessions can feel so difficult.
An object can finish its role in your life without losing its meaning. Letting something go does not erase the person, place or memory connected to it.
A useful question we shared was:
If I encountered this today, would I spend money on it and give it space in my life?
If the answer is no, that tells us something.
Space has value—not only within our homes but within our minds and our days. Curating deliberately is not about discarding the past. It is about deciding what deserves to travel forward with us.
Personal style can be simple and still be expressive
The same thinking applies to how we dress.
Personal style becomes much more interesting when we stop dressing for approval and start choosing how we want to feel. For Aisha, that means a simple foundation and a loud blazer—a recognisable personal uniform that simplifies decisions while leaving plenty of room for personality. You can usually tell her mood from the blazer she chooses.
Consistency does not have to restrict personal style. It can create the strong foundation that allows it to evolve.
The question is not simply, “Does this still fit?” It is also, “Do I still love this or have I just become used to it?”
Reinvention is rarely one dramatic moment
The conversation also reminded us that we do not always choose the changes that reshape our lives. What we can choose is what we create from them.
Aisha moved to Singapore for her husband, never imagining that within two years she would create her dream business with a business partner. Venetia returned to Singapore for her father, without knowing where that decision would lead.
Those decisions eventually brought us together and became part of the story of Atelier V&A.
Reinvention is rarely a single, dramatic gesture. More often, it is a series of small and intentional choices that gradually take us somewhere new. We may not choose the transition but we can choose our response.
So, what is our forties formula?
For Venetia, it is remaining open: noticing what life is showing you and allowing an unexpected change to lead somewhere new.
For Aisha, it is taking ownership of the life you want. Asking the right questions, choosing intentionally and creating a home and personal style that support both who you are now and who you are becoming.
Together, our formula comes back to three ideas:
Design for the life you live and the life you want to create.
Curate deliberately. Choose what deserves your space, energy and investment.
Create a strong foundation but always leave room to evolve.
This is your life, no one else’s. It is incredibly precious—and it should feel like your own.
An evening shaped by community
The room felt every bit as considered as the conversation and we are so grateful to everyone who helped bring the evening to life.
LUSH PLATTERS created the beautiful grazing spread while Emma Clough from Through The Grapevine welcomed guests with drinks on arrival. Signature partner For Youth showcased its newest product and guests also discovered the elegant and accessible homeware of JazzUpCo alongside the natural skincare range from Ocean & Berries.
StrangebutCool Atelier also contributed to the generous goodie bags with charms, with thoughtful gifts from every sponsor for guests to take home.
Most of all, we loved the openness, warmth and energy of every woman in the room. The conversations continued long after the recording ended—which, to us, is always the sign of a truly special evening.
Thank you to The Forties Formula, Jasmin and Amanda for inviting us to be part of it. We absolutely loved sharing the evening with you and would do it all again in a heartbeat.
