CAMILLA FRANKS The Aussie designer
reveals the best and worst year of her life
In 2018, beloved Australian designer Camilla Franks experienced the biggest joy – and fear – that any woman could face in her entire life. “I was pregnant, I gave birth, I danced with the devil that was cancer – it was light and darkness all in one,” the 42-year-old told marie claire in her first interview since being diagnosed with breast cancer. “In a strange way, it was my greatest year yet.”
Sadly, the diagnosis wasn’t the Bondi local’s first brush with tragedy. When Franks was 17, she lost her only brother – 14-year-old Ben – who was killed when he accidentally fell from a cliff in Sydney’s east. Having not fully dealt with such a devastating loss, Franks suffered another blow in 2013, when she had a sudden onset of Bell’s palsy and lost feeling to half of her face. Yet despite all this, the designer has held her head high and maintained a positive outlook. “I think anything we experience really sets us up for the next challenge or hurdle,” Franks said.
Some of that strength and positivity has stemmed from her love for her little family, consisting of fiancé JP Jones and their daughter Luna, 1. Franks said, “From the moment we met Luna she brought unparalleled happiness – and she’s deepened the love between JP and I.”
Franks was breastfeeding Luna – who was 3 months old at the time – when she noticed a breast lump. “It kept growing. I was told over and over that it was mastitis, but,” her voice wavered as she recalled to marie claire: “it wasn’t mastitis.”
Eventually, Franks was diagnosed with breast cancer and delivered the devastating news just days before she was due to close Australian Fashion Week. “I had my beautiful soulmate holding my baby in the front row – both were beaming love at me, petals were raining down from above and the crowd was cheering,” Franks recalled to the publication. “My heart was pounding out of my chest for my brand and my team and for the love in that room.”
Franks spoke openly about the various emotions she struggled with when coming to terms with her diagnosis. “You put on your warrior hat and treat cancer like a job.”
Throughout her treatment, Franks’ closest friends rallied around her and, at her request, came together to watch her shave her beautiful head of hair. This, according to Franks, was the one thing she felt she had control over. “If it wasn’t for what it represented, I’d actually love my new [short blonde] hair – Actually, I secretly do love it!”
It was shortly after that Franks uploaded an image of her newly shaven head, sitting between little Luna and Jones and at this point not knowing what the future held, accompanied by a truly powerful message: “My strength behind me, our future in front.”
Franks wanted the world to know that “I am bald and broken but will not be beaten.”
A year on, Franks has been spending time with her partner and their daughter in Jones’ native country of Wales, watching Luna grow and appreciating every moment. “Luna was the dream I never knew I needed,” she told marie claire. “She’s independent, funny, curious and stubborn.”
As for her cancer, Franks admitted she doesn’t know what the future holds. “Cancer is part of my story now. I’m willing to accept that – and only those who have endured this raw fear and threat will understand what it means to live with it.”
With her illness putting a cloud over whether she can have more children, Franks is keeping her positive outlook on life. “I would have loved to have a tribe of little humans to care for and love. But I’ve learnt to never say never, and for now I’m enjoying this precious family just as it is.”
“Cancer is part of my story now”