In an appropriately chic sequence of events for the model, actress and entrepreneur Poppy Delevingne, it was during London Fashion Week that she found out she was pregnant with her first child.
Realising during her second fitting for Burberry’s SS25 show that her look felt a bit tighter than the initial session, two weeks prior, she had sensed something was different. She watched the show ‘a little giddy’ and took a test straight afterwards.
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Delevingne is beaming, as she recounts the story over her kitchen table at her West London home. She’s sleepy, partly due to her pregnancy and partly because she returned from a last minute trip with her partner, businessman Archie Keswick late last night and is now jet-lagged. ‘I’ve been up since 5am. I better get used to it, she laughs warmly. ‘The 5am club… the only club I’ve not ever wanted to join. How times have changed.’
She is joking – the daunting side of impending motherhood aside, the 38-year-old says of the pregnancy: ‘She really is all I’ve ever wanted.’ Yes, it’s a girl, Delevingne confirms, her eyes welling up.
‘Obviously, I would have been fine with either and when I was younger I always thought when I get pregnant, I wouldn’t find out, but the second we got told we could find out, we did. I’m so excited. I come from all girls, we’re very girl heavy. Girls are great.’
Delevingne is of course the middle of the Delevingne sisters, younger to Chloe and elder to Cara, who have been completely overjoyed by the news. The sisters spent Christmas getting excited together: ‘We were all in New York, with each other and with the bump and there was a lot of talking to the bump, stroking the bump. They’re just elated.’
Delevingne and Keswick kept the news to themselves for a while, only sharing it with their nearest and dearest as they approached the four-month mark. ‘I always imagined that if this moment had ever happened to me I would have told people,’ she says. ‘But it was quite extraordinary, I became very tight lipped about it. I think I just wanted to protect it more than anything.
‘I think I was really nervous, as well. It just feels like such an extraordinary privilege to be able to do this, to be able to have a baby at this age and at this time, and when it happened, I couldn’t really believe it. It still feels really surreal.’
The reaction of her friends and family has been largely emotional. ‘The people that are closest to me know how much I have wanted this my whole life. I’ve watched a lot of my friends do it, I have nine godchildren, I am an auntie, and I think they’ve known that since I was a little girl, I dreamt of being a Mumma. There were points during the last few years where I thought that maybe this wouldn’t happen for me. I’d made my peace with that. So I think when we told people the news they were very emotional and happy.’
Of Keswick, who has two children from a previous marriage, Delevingne says he was ‘born to be a Dad’ and credits how ‘incredible’ he has been throughout her pregnancy, along with her friends and family. ‘I’ve really looked to my friends and the important women in my life have really carried me through this. When women come together with this fountain of knowledge, it’s amazing. I’ve felt really supported, which has just made me feel so calm.’
-The couple have decided to confirm the news publicly now as Delevingne approaches her six month of pregnancy, because ‘there’s no hiding this bump anymore’ and she is aware she might be photographed at various upcoming work events. Having spent her early pregnancy hiding any visible signs with ‘Michelin-man style coats’ and hibernating (‘Babe, I’m in my sloth era’,) she’s now embracing maternity style .
‘I spent the last two months trying to squeeze into everything, and it’s just not helpful for anyone.’ When we meet, she’s in her trusty Madeline Thompson cashmere pants, an oversized high neck navy jumper and is loving Chinti & Parker and Lululemon leggings. For days out of the house, she’s bought some Veronica Beard and FRAME jeans a couple of sizes up and a high neck cotton dress in every colour from Eterne for when she wants to show her bump.
The biggest change Delevingne has noticed during her pregnancy are the sugar cravings. A self-confessed ‘savoury gal’, she has grown a taste for cakes, ice cream, and ‘cookies of every shape and size’. She’s felt lucky that she’s not suffered with morning sickness and has been awestruck by the experience of her body changing. The baby is due in May and Delevingne’s initial anxiety during her early pregnancy is slowly being replaced with excitement.
‘Internally, there’s been anxiety about having a baby, being the age that I am. I’ve been sort of in a constant state of worry but that is all getting less and less the further along I get. It’s less anxiety and more excitement to meet her,’ she says through tears. ‘This is what happens when I say “her,”’ she laughs acknowledging the hormonal side effects she’s experiencing too.
‘I’ve got to the point where I’m just so excited to meet her. If I shut my eyes, I feel like I know her. She’s already making me laugh, I think she’s going to be a funny one.’
Photographer: Hector Hilleary
Lighting: Moses Fiddian Green
Make Up: Irina Cajvaneanu at Caren using Westman Atelier.
Hair: Kieron Justin Fowles, Creative Director at Regis Salons
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Olivia Blair is Entertainment Editor (Luxury) at Hearst UK, working across ELLE, Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar. Olivia covers all things entertainment and has interviewed the likes of Margot Robbie, Emma Stone, Michaela Coel and Ryan Gosling over the years.
