Episódios
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In this final episode of Season 7 of Style DNA I go on a Style journey with a true icon of British design, my friend, the world-renowned Interior Designer, Author of 10 books, affectionately dubbed the 'Queen of Taupe', ...the titian haired, inspirational pocket-rocket power house that is Kelly Hoppen CBE. I first met Kelly when she was looking for a wedding dress...there are some designs that you never forget as a designer and to this day, 35 years on, I could sketch that dress, coat and shoes precisely ... all very pre-Raphaelite...I was thrilled to learn that Kelly still owns it and what's more still wears the floor length velvet coat over jeans.She talks openly about how long it took her to find her style and how much more relaxed she is in making her purchasing decisions now that she has her style formula...her Style DNA.We laugh about her going to give a talk at Bloomberg and how she dressed up to fit in with what she thought was expected of her, as though she was going into a boardroom, only to be told by someone very close to her to go and change, asking "where has Kelly Hoppen gone?!" and reminding her that Bloomberg had invited her because of who she was. This was clearly a pivotal moment for her, and the lesson was to never lose your own identity because of what you perceive to be someone else's expectations of you. Such good advice.Of course, I had to ask her about her time as a WAG when she dated the footballer Sol Campbell (16 years her junior) and she talks honestly about some of her fashion choices being "quite questionable" for a time.Now she lives between London and the Cotswolds and we discuss what country dressing means in that uber glam part of the country...it's certainly not jeans and tweeds!But more importantly, we chat about her being chosen by L'Oreal to be one of the faces of their brilliant Age Perfect Campaign...a real pinch me moment for Kelly but one that she truly deserved. The Kelly I know has always worked diligently at her fitness and wellbeing and at 65 she has never looked better, clearly comfortable in her skin, and more relaxed than ever. Bravo Kelly and thank you for sharing your Style journey, Prozac boots and all!I hope you enjoy this episode ...it was a treat for me to take a journey through time and style with someone I have known for so long...thank you @kellyhoppen for friendship and this style chat xx
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If you’ve ever wished that beauty treatments could come to you at home instead of the other way around, then you have Venetia Archer to thank. In this episode of Style DNA, I sit down with the brilliant entrepreneur behind Ruuby, the concierge beauty app that has revolutionized the way we book and receive our treatments.
A true multi-hyphenate, Venetia started out in the corporate world, where she quickly realized that busy women (herself included) needed a more flexible way to fit beauty into their schedules. And so, Ruuby was born—a service designed for the busy modern woman who barely has time to grab a coffee, let alone schedule a salon visit for a beauty treatment.
Prior to founding Ruuby, Venetia worked as a geopolitical risk analyst, specialising in Somali piracy - and spent a stint in Kenya researching pirate gangs and negotiating with Somali pirates (yes, really) – and during that time she learned that fashion isn’t just about looking good—it’s a tool for power and confidence.
We dive deep into her mother’s influence on her personal style...lucky Venetia appears to have the perfect source of vintage designer pieces care of her mother’s generous cast offs!
We chat about how fashion has always been her armour—from boardroom battles to fundraising rounds. In the early days she admits to a bit of a rebellious ripped jean, cool jacket tech spirit and how now the armour of a great jacket and a heel are her go-tos when she wants to feel empowered.
We discuss the joy of buying a “treat to self” to mark time or a deal …has anyone else discovered the sheer independent delight of that?
Venetia is as sharp as she is stylish, and our chat is filled with gems…whether you’re into beauty, business, or just love a great fashion story…Thank you Venetia for sharing your insights.
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In this episode I go on a style journey with the longest standing former editor of British Vogue … Alexandra Shulman CBE.
As a young designer at the time I will never forget being invited by Alex to a one on one lunch at San Lorenzo not long after she became Editor in Chief. I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I came away thinking how kind and approachable she was…in fact the polar opposite to the intimidating image of most editors at the time…There was never anything Devil Wears Prada about Alex.
In this episode she talks openly about her relationship with fashion …proclaiming she knew nothing about fashion when she took the job and maybe “ignorance was bliss”. But when she took the helm of Vogue it was a unique moment in fashion…there was an incredible pool of British design talent and at the same time the High Street was breaking through and democratising fashion. Of course I ask her what she wore on her first day in the ever-imposing Vogue House…
We talk about the pressure of dressing to attend all the shows around the world and she is wonderfully pragmatic about how she knew she was never going to be a “Carine or an Anna”… How the editors grand hotel rooms would always be laden with flowers on arrival from all the big houses, often with handwritten notes from the designers…and a time that Karl (as in Lagerfeld) wrote several pages to her as to how he was feeling about a particular situation…
During her editorship she was asked by the then Kate Middleton to recommend British designers for her wedding dress…Alex submitted her ideas, bearing in mind the possible dynamic between the designer and Kate, the obvious need for incredible security not to mention, could the designer/house create a dress worthy of making history for all the right reasons. She had no idea until the wedding day who had actually got the job.
She talks lovingly of spending time in her mother’s dressing room as a child (the only time she and her siblings got to see her during the week), watching her get dressed for work as the editor of Conde Nast Brides magazine. How glamourous and stylish she was and indeed still is in her 90’s…
Alex’s book Clothes and Other Things that Matter… is not only about clothes but about the way we live our lives. “From childhood onwards, the way we dress is a result of our personal history”. Not dissimilar to this podcast, our clothes have stories …
I hope you enjoy this episode…it was a rich conversation peppered with stories of the crazy world of fashion.
Thank you @alexandrashulman for being so wonderfully open and brilliantly eloquent x
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In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with one of the original YouTubers Jim Chapman. It’s hard to believe that that was only 15 years ago and yet it feels, to me at least, like half a life time ago. I am showing my age now, but when I was Gen Z age the internet didn’t even exist and we were consuming our news the old fashioned way…via a printed newspaper or on television, now online is the primary source of news information. So it is not surprising that characters like Jim Chapman achieved such a massive following so quickly…it was a moment in time and by his own admission it happened by accident. But as one of the original ‘content creators’ he has also carved out a role as a high-profile brand ambassador, presenter and writer. He has amassed an audience of over 7.5 million people across social media, has written for various publications, including British GQ, and is a published author.
Jim graduated in psychology but wanted a creative outlet, so he turned to creating content and posting it on YouTube, inspired by his sisters the makeup artists PixiWoo who had started to post makeup tutorials. In terms of building a following it was a unique moment in history, it was new and exciting with very few people doing it and followers were truly organic. By the time Instagram was launched he was ready to pounce on it. Over the years his audience has not only grown, but grown up with him.
With a psychology degree under his belt of course we talk about how we message through clothes. He grew up in Norfolk and his stylish mum ran a second hand clothes shop … he always had an opinion on what she wore but he also talks about how he has blanked out his abusive father’s style (unsurprisingly).
We talk about the next chapter in the world of Social Media …there are so many issues with it. He has concerns about the fact that the platforms are drawing us all in to get that tiny hit of dopamine as we scroll but as he says, that hit is net negative as you are not doing anything that is constructive, which actually makes people less happy. He is hopeful that there will ultimately be legislation around usage and the need to register your identity so that no-one can post anonymously…idealistic perhaps, but well-meaning for sure.
I am always fascinated by how men approach clothes versus women…
I hope you enjoy this episode. Thank you@jimchapman for being such a great guest.
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This episode's Style DNA guest is the Best-Selling and multi award winning English Singer, Businesswoman, Model and Actress - the truly fabulous Rachel Stevens. Rachel is best known as one seventh of one of the largest pop bands of the noughties, S Club 7. Rachel tells me about her sliding doors moment when she was in the right place at the right time to audition for the band and the rest, they say, is history. She was just 19 years old when the band was formed by the brilliant Simon Fuller and by her own admission it was not the easiest time in her home life, S Club provided a "huge and exciting escape". Did she know who she was? Perhaps not...the 90's were high octane but behind the glossiness she had her vulnerabilities and in her words she was "playing a part". The process of writing her recently published book Finding my Voice - A story of Strength, Self-Belief and S Club 7 was clearly a cathartic process. I ask her about finding her own stylistic identity within the group and it is clear that she has always had a passion for fashion and a really clear vision as to what she likes and what works on her... and being a diminutive 5 foot tall has also made her critically aware of proportion. This has stood her in good stead for her collaborations with various fashion brands ...work that she clearly loves.Of course we discuss all of her various costumes from S Club to Dancing on Ice to Strictly and how her clothes have always been part of her performance ..."style is a silent communicator"...so true.It hasn't all been perfect ...she recalls wearing a yellow Julien McDonald dress for the Brits which was not her finest style moment...I couldn't help but ask her about being voted FHMs Sexiest Woman of all time in 2014...quite an accolade whilst being a lot of live up to! She chats about loving the collaborative process of working on the shoots for FHM, how they were done with integrity and how she was fully in control of her sexy image. Refreshing to hear. I hope you enjoy this episode. Thank you Rachel for being such a great guest x
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In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with the Author, Diversity Advocate, Speaker and Influencer, the simply positively infectious and inspirational, Candice Brathwaite.
Candice is a prominent British author. Her latest book, Manifest(o) was released in September 2024, becoming an instant Sunday Times Best-seller…with good reason. Sharing her revolutionary and inclusive approach to manifesting, The Law of Attraction…call it what you will, there's no denying that using your mind to bring your dreams into reality is having a moment. Believing that you deserve abundance is the route to inviting it into your life. But what if your life experiences so far have demonstrated the exact opposite? What does Manifesting look like if you're not white, thin, traditionally pretty, or able-bodied? In Manifest(o) Candice, with her customary no bullsh*t candour, shows you that manifesting can be for everyone - not just those to whom the universe has already been kind…
The conversation I had with Candice had me laughing and nearly crying …she has a lot to say and she says it well…she is massively entertaining often when the joke is on her. Whether recounting stories of slipping out of her school “uniform”, to her clothes now being her armour. We talk about the sheer luck of finding her perfect wedding dress …or did she manifest it? …her Oscar de la Renta dress had first been priced at a whopping £22,000, yes you read that right… reduced to the £700 she actually paid for it.
In terms of discovering her personal Style DNA she tells me how she had a lightbulb moment in her early 30s and decided to dress as her and not to cosplay anymore…but not before a time of being in the public eye and feeling the pressure to “be dressing like everyone else” …but the everyone else at the time were “white, middle class, yummy mummies” wearing Boden, M&S and hiking boots…she confirms that all photographic evidence of this chapter has since been deleted!
We also talk about the inspiration for her shaved head and red lips…and much much more.
Thank you @candicebrathwaite for sharing your style and life stories so beautifully... you are truly inspirational xx
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In this episode of Style DNA podcast I go on a style journey with a long time friend and collaborator, the woman who I think is the most passionate fashion editor I have ever met… the inimitable and fabulously energetic Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou. Sophia is the Founder, Global Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of 10 Magazine, 10 Men and 10+. In 24 years, the 10 Magazine empire has grown to include a series of international sister publications, including 10 Australia, 10 USA, 10 Japan and most recently 10 Deutsch. She began her fashion career at British Vogue, and went on to hold Fashion Director titles at a slew of revered publications, including The Independent Magazine, Sunday Times Style, Harper’s Bazaar UK and Vogue China, Japan and Russia. Throughout her career, she has worked alongside industry renowned brands including Antonio Berardi, Elie Saab and Roland Mouret and was Collection Creative Director for Victoria’s Secret for nine years.
Sophia talks so knowledgeably about the industry…we chat about the incredible spectacle of the shows, especially the immersive experience of the Cruise shows put on in exotic locations by the very big houses, and how tough it is for smaller designers trying to compete with that spending power. I ask her about how younger designers can cut through and who has done it well…and of course we chat about the joy of working with both the models and the brilliant creative teams on the Victoria’s Secret shows.
Sophia undoubtedly has real fashion chops but aside from her infectiously positive personality, I have always admired the fact that she found her personal Style DNA quite early and then she has honed it through the years whilst staying very true to herself despite the vagaries of fashion and trends. She talks about being a “curvy girl” and which brands she has always been drawn to…the timeless appeal of Alaia and The Row in particular. I ask her about trade discounts and much quoted press freebies, but for as much as I am sure that there have been those, they do not sway her opinion on what she wears and she is fully prepared to pay full price as she works on the price-per-wear mentality.
We laugh about her choice of wedding dress as a 23 year old Greek/Cypriot bride …considered an “older bride” at the time…and her mother’s reaction to the dress she had commissioned.
We talk about her 600 pair shoe collection…yes, but they have clearly been acquired over decades and all have memories attached…a nostalgic diary of sorts. Then there are the bags…
Thank you Sophia for sharing your warmth, fun and wisdom x
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I kick off Season 7 of Style DNA with a dose of true hilarity from the queen of quick quips and feminist observational wit, the brilliant and irreverently funny million copy best-selling author Kathy Lette.
Many moons ago we shared a hilarious evening at a bar in Florence… I can remember howling with laughter all night…
Oh my, how I have laughed and laughed re-listening to this recording, trying to whittle down the clips. We talk about everything from ageist sexism, she was dropped by both her agent and her publisher because she wanted to write a book about middle aged women and being told that “Middle aged women are like Mogadishu and Sudan…we know they exist but no-one wants to go there”…She admits it knocked her confidence but the resulting novel, The Revenge Club about four scorned women and one perfect plan (every snippet apparently true but reconstructed for the purpose of the story) has clearly been Kathy’s best revenge, together with a huge dollop of humour and well deserved success…
We laugh about the misogyny she and her girlfriends experienced growing up in the “surfy” culture of Australia which included “tan tattoos” …and then 80’s fashion, replete with perms and shoulder pads…how she invented the term Pussy Pelmet (who knew that widely used term was her wordsmithing?). How and why she started wearing comedic clothes including a custom suit printed with corgis, originally made for when she commentated on Kate and Wills wedding for Australian TV, and then pulled it out again for an Aussie gathering at Buckingham Palace which the late Queen found highly amusing. She confesses to being “a bit of an Imelda Marcos” when it comes to shoes and the joy of receiving her good friend Kylie’s cast offs …every story delivered with a sharp, often feminist, wit.
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did having it…and if you need some light relief I urge you to download The Revenge Club or HRT Husband Replacement Therapy on Audible and let her mellifluous tones accompany you on your morning walks or a long journey … I promise your abs will get a work out and you will probably also have some light bulb moments to chuckle about.Thank you Kathy for being such a fabulous and hilarious guest.
But I first came across Kathy’s writing when her cult classic Puberty Blues was published in 1979. It is the definitive story of teenagers navigating the chaos of life…her observational and totally relatable humour had me, as a teenager at the time, totally hooked on her writing and I have chuckled and guffawed through most of her novels since.
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In the final episode of Season 6 of Style DNA I go on a style journey with none other than the Retired Ballerina, the President of the Royal Academy of Dance, Presenter, Judge and Classical Ballet Coach at the Royal Ballet Company …the dazzling and divine Dame Darcey Bussell DBE.
Full disclosure, I have been a fan of Darcey’s dancing for as long as I can remember …not only was she the most technically brilliant ballerina she danced with such a palpable joy and flare that she was mesmerizing to watch. Much of our conversation centred around dance and she talks openly about her body, dancer’s bodies, and I ask her how she went about de-tuning hers after the intensity of training for at least 8 hours a day for 20 years. She admits that having had two children during her career helped prepare her for stopping but obviously nothing prepares you for the full stop and losing the “family” of the Company.
Darcey is the consummate professional, you don’t get to the very top of your field without 100% commitment and she certainly has always had that. She is passionate about the transformative power of dance and is working hard to get it into all schools, as much for mental wellbeing as for physical wellbeing.
She was invited to perform at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics for which she came out of retirement, giving herself, her confidence and her body 8 months to prepare. She laughs about how little rehearsal time they had at the stadium itself and that the actual pyrotechnics had never been rehearsed…it wasn’t until she was gliding down the wire with the pyrotechnics alight on the frame around her that she thought about how much hairspray she had in her hair and the potential flammability of it! But even for someone of Darcey’s stature she admits it was still a pinch me moment to be part of it all.
We talk about preparing for a show and the inevitable conversation about pointe shoes…fascinating.
We chat about her 7 years as a judge on Strictly and being in control of her own image for that…something she hadn’t been for all her years as a ballerina where you are a complete chameleon to the role you were dancing.
Talking image – The National Portrait Gallery owns 9 images of Darcey and she talks about one of her favourites being the one taken by the photographer Bryan Adams of her in a very covered yet sheer McQueen dress wearing “very high heels” and not a lot else…
I hope you enjoy this episode…thank you @darceybussellofficial for this fascinating and insightful conversation.
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In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with the British television personality, entrepreneur, and social media influencer, best known for her role on the reality TV show Made in Chelsea, the wonderfully down to earth Mother of 3 Binky Felstead. Binky’s new show, Beyond Chelsea, has just launched on E4 and she assures me that it is a very different kind of show…more a diary of her life as a mother, wife and entrepreneur with a fraction of the drama, and jeopardy (something that reality TV producers tend to strive for, often pitching individuals against each other…). She talks with disarming honesty about her lack of interest in fashion and style when filming MIC, often turning up on set in holey jumpers and the crew having to lend her their clothing so that the scene could be filmed.
She was the first of her contemporaries to have a baby at the age of 26. She talks openly and relate ably about losing her identity when she had her baby India. The anticipation of a front cover for Women’s Health Magazine saw her back in the gym getting fit and “strong not skinny” …she has a refreshingly healthy attitude to her body. Then, with the help of a stylist she has clearly been finding her style mojo, recently attending The Pride of Britain awards looking truly sensational… a far cry from her self-proclaimed fashion disaster when she was collecting her BAFTA. The endearing thing about Binky is that she really doesn’t take herself too seriously and it is charming and funny.
She tells me about her wedding dress(es) journey…from Chelsea Registry Office to the beach in Corfu…
We chat about disastrous hair extensions, Botox and the dreaded salmon sperm facial…
Binky has a transparent and inspiring approach to life and parenting. She shares her learnings in her 2023 book titled The Making of You: a guide to finding your identity and bossing motherhood…two things she has done rather well IMHO.
Thank you @Binkyfelstead for our happy chat …
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In this episode I go on a style journey with former British number one Tennis player, Broadcaster and Commentator the serene and gorgeous Annabel Croft.
Annabel is the BBC commentator and pundit for the coverage of Wimbledon and hosts the Wimbledon finals ceremony … of course we chat about planning her on screen looks particularly for the final’s days.
Annabel grew up on the tennis circuit, (the Tour), and in her words she spent her entire childhood in a uniform …either school or tennis kit. We chat about her choice of tennis dresses and how important that was to her in an era before the fantastic technical fabrics we have now and how the Williams sisters have set a new bar in terms of women’s tennis fashion.
She talks openly about getting a little lost stylistically after having her children but Annabel clearly loves fashion and her daughters Amber and Lily have become her trusted style gurus, sometimes pushing her out of her comfort zone but always knowing what will work on her.
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We talk about her brilliant (and brave) participation in Strictly Come Dancing in 2023. Obviously we talk about her wardrobe, the talented team led by Vicky Gill and her partner Johannes, with an incredible eye for detail, having a lot of input into her costumes to make sure they enhanced the dance and her movement. But SO brave, as Annabel had lost her husband, the love of her life, Mel, just a few months prior to this after a short battle with cancer. She talks movingly about still sleeping with his scarf … and the pain of seeing his clothes in the wardrobe … and the emotional attachment she has to certain items that he bought her or loved seeing her wear…
Annabel talks with an almost disarming honesty …such openness and warmth … I loved this conversation with a woman I am lucky enough to call my friend. Thank you Annabel for this lovely conversation.
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In this week’s episode of Style DNA I chat with the original Princess of Punk, the truly extraordinary, iconic and zany, Dame Zandra Rhodes DBE.
Known for her fabulously bold prints, she launched her eponymous fashion brand 56 years ago. Rhodes is renowned for perfecting the art-of-print as an intrinsic influence on garment shape. With dramatic designs and her own distinctive look, she paved the way for fashion as theatre and entertainment.
We chat about dressing international stars including Freddie Mercury, Diana Ross, Barbara Streisand and Jackie Kennedy, as well as British Royalty, most notably, Princess Diana and Princess Anne… and I cheekily ask her if, given the opportunity, what she would design for the current Princess of Wales…
She talks about how her big career break was in the 70s, meeting two Ukrainian models who persuaded her to take her collection out to America where they were sure they could find her a backer… she arrived in New York with a letter of introduction to Diana Vreeland who fell in love with her designs and instantly commissioned a huge shoot for Vogue starring Natalie Wood…and the rest, as they say, is history.
Rhodes grew up in Kent and was surrounded by fashion from an early age as her mother was a pattern cutter for The House of Worth. She would quietly watch the bridal fittings and appear in the children’s section of the shows. She evolved her own style including her love of pink hair and a dramatic eye…and always has, and still does, wear the clothes she has designed.
In 2020 she formed the Zandra Rhodes Foundation, a charity that ensures future generations of designers, artists, researchers, students and educators are able to study her life and designs, with an emphasis on her methods and techniques. Dating from the mid 1960s to the current day, the Foundation is working to catalogue her six thousand garments, printed textiles, drawings, accessories, fashion films, kodatraces, silk screens, press cuttings, personal memorabilia and collected artworks. A central collection will stay with the Foundation and the remaining material will be donated to permanent collections of major museums across the world, including the Fashion and Textile Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Now in her 80’s her focus more recently has been on strategic collaborations with fashion and lifestyle brands such as IKEA of Sweden, Happy Socks and Poppy Lissiman. In 2003, she founded London’s Fashion and Textile Museum, which to this day showcases some of the best in fashion and textile design.
She recently published a book, Iconic - My Life in Fashion in 50 Objects …it’s an insightful memoir told through a variety of mementos collected over the years, in which
Zandra shares her life story for the first time…definitely worth a read!
I hope you enjoy this conversation … thank you @Zandra_Rhodes for taking me on your style journey.
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In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with Entrepreneur, Celebrity Influencer, Presenter and Media Personality …the exquisite Rosemin. I first met Rosemin when she hosted a dinner for me in Dubai in 2018 to promote my new collection…what was lovely is that pretty much every woman attending that dinner arrived wearing Wakeley, and it felt like the most generous endorsement of me as a designer.
Rosemin grew up in Canada, her family emigrated there from East Africa in the 70’s escaping Idi Amin’s regime and effectively having to start over but exhibiting an incredible entrepreneurial work ethic to Rosemin and her brother. Her early passion for fashion took her to study fashion marketing at The London College of Fashion and then Rosemin cut her teeth in the fashion world working for Mr Ford, as in Tom Ford himself. Clearly the opportunity to work so closely with him was incredibly important to Rosemin, witnessing first hand how he approached his Creative Director role.
Following her time at the Gucci Group she was head hunted to help launch Juicy Couture in the UK and Europe. Her honed eye meant that she approached celebrity seeding in a very targeted way, and it worked. Celebrities from Kate Moss, to Gwyneth Paltrow to Queen Rania of Jordan were all photographed wearing the newly expanded collection of Juicy… the sunglasses, the slip dresses and the trench coats.
Rosemin recently remarried in Paris and we talk about her Faraz Manan wedding lenge (exquisite) and her Tamara Ralph gown (fairytale)..and why she chose these designers. We discuss the longevity of Chanel…what a brilliant job Stella McCartney is doing championing sustainability in fashion…her style icons…and the joy of wearing an Abaya …
I hope you enjoy this episode …thank you Rosemin for being such an inspiring guest!
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In this episode of Style DNA I go on a Style Journey with the Founder and CEO of the online publisher SheerLuxe … the brilliant Georgie Coleridge Cole. Georgie founded SheerLuxe from her kitchen table back in 2007 inspired by the concept of sharing her recommendations, magazine style in a digital format. It was early days in the digital revolution, but knowing that she had slightly missed the heady days of print publishing she backed herself to create the now formidable SheerLuxe which has shaped what successful digital marketing looks like in the UK. She has a team of over 70 employees, over 700,000 newsletter subscribers, over 2 million social followers and a myriad of emerging and well-established brands and retailers as its commercial partners – from Net-a-Porter, and Harvey Nichols, to Reiss, Charlotte Tilbury & Chanel. Alongside well established retail brands they are huge supporters of British founder led businesses and entrepreneurship. Not surprisingly Georgie has a great sense of her own style and we chat about how her mother and she approach clothes and style in a very different way…but both care deeply about their appearance. I question Georgie about being a deb in the 21st century and we talk about how her wardrobe has evolved now she is spending more time at her new office in the Middle East. I challenge her on ageism in fashion…something that I feel a lot of brands and publishers are missing a trick on…I do firmly believe that this is going to be the next big Ism… I hope you enjoy this conversation – and if you haven’t signed up to SheerLuxe I highly recommend it.
Thank you Georgie for being such a great guest.
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In this episode I go on a Style Journey with the world-renowned florist, author and designer, affectionately dubbed the UK’s ‘Queen of Flowers’. . .the whimsically wonderful Willow Crossley. She is best known for her innate floristry skills and knowledge of botanicals and has worked with brands from Dior to Chanel, and private clients (including The Royal Family) in phenomenal spaces in Britain, Europe and America. She is also the author of four books: The Art of Handmade Living; Inspire: The Art Of Living With Nature; Flourish; and The Wild Journal: A Year of Nurturing Yourself Through Nature.
Willow and I chat about her inspirations, growing up in the country, in the wilds of Wales… where she absorbed a love of colour. Back then all her pocket money went on magazines which she would devour and analyse with her stylish mother. She moved to London and studied at the London College of Fashion and went on to work at both Vogue and Tatler which certainly honed her aesthetic eye in an era when the editors were “super glam”.
We talk bridesmaids dresses…Willow has been a bridesmaid an astonishing 14 times!…and then her wedding dress and her blister-inducing Louboutins…and then moving to Provence and spending the summers floating around in Edwardian cotton pieces that she had collected over time.
Back in the UK and based in the Cotswolds with a burgeoning business and 3 boys, we discuss her eclectic style, her love of colour, her passion (borderline obsession) for sneakers, and the challenge of staying warm and stylish for her frequently chilly work, as well as her collaborations with the likes of Brora and her approach to sustainable floristry as well as fashion.
Thank you @willowcrossleycreates …I so enjoyed our happy conversation xx
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In this episode of Style DNA podcast I take a Style Journey with the fabulous, inimitable and hilarious Katherine Ryan.
Unsurprisingly, being the brilliant comedienne that she is, Kathryn’s observations on life are hysterical and our conversation is peppered with witty quips. We discuss the fine line that comics walk so as not to expose too much of their family life but she has me hooting with laughter time and again as she peppers the conversation with snippets from her home life, including her husband Bobby’s inspired step-parenting, not to mention Botox (apparently you can’t have too much when you have babies as they need to see your expressions), and the side effects of having to take steroids during a pregnancy…all dryly delivered…
When it comes to clothes, we discuss the power of dressing for the occasion – she says she “wants a world where females dress for their worth”…what’s not to love about that? Being drawn to older women. Why Celine Dion is her style icon and the fashion mistake her stylist didn’t allow her to make…and so so much more
I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did recording it …thank you @kathbum for entertaining us all so brilliantly…
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In this episode I go on a sartorial journey with the celebrated British Milliner Stephen Jones OBE. Jones is considered one of the most radical and important milliners of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He is also one of the most prolific, having created hats for the catwalk shows of many leading couturiers and fashion designers, from John Galliano, Kim Jones and Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, the house of Schiaparelli to Rei Kawakubo at Commes des Garcons. His work is known for its inventiveness and high level of technical expertise. Stephen’s hats have adorned Rock Stars and Royalty and way beyond… His major retrospective exhibition opens in October at the Palais Galliera in Paris.
Stephen is chatty and has a wonderful way with words, painting pictures as he goes…We discuss jointly dressing the then Meghan Markle for her first Royal engagement when she attended the Commonwealth Service in 2018 with Prince Harry. He shares his insights on the process, the importance of the Royal Family to the world of millinery, and how people the world over use hats and headwear as style signifiers.
I ask him to explain his quote “You wear clothes – and hats – to convince yourself and others that you’re a certain way. Fashion is still a fabulous, fabulous lie.” …needless to say his answer was both insightful and amusing.
Fashion and appearance clearly run deep in Stephen’s veins and he talks with such knowledge, intuition and wisdom…and more than a little cheeky humour. I felt privileged, and entertained having this conversation with him.
Thank you Stephen for sharing your wit and wisdom.
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I am launching Season 6 with someone who is known well to her 1.3 million followers as she lives her life so openly via her Instagram channel … she is warm and engaging, the sort of girl you feel is your friend even though you have never met her personally… I am talking about the lovely Lorna Luxe.
Lorna started her career as cabin crew for Virgin, back in the day when you had to do “X Factor-like day long auditions” for the 800 places that 800,000 applied for that year. She loved her job flying around the world, proudly sporting her “empowering” Virgin uniform…that is, until her anorexia got the better of her. Unbelievably, Virgin HR used to measure each of their crew members in their annual reviews … clearly another era (not so long ago) and another story…
Lorna had always loved her fashion and became an early adopter of Instagram back in 2014…she takes me on her Instagram journey and the secrets of her success but it is all underlined with a real passion for beautiful clothes, accessories and beauty. She is very considered …knows her fashion well, and talks with a wonderful Northern pragmatism. It wasn’t until she had 500,000 followers that she started to monetize her feed…she is rumoured to consistently take home in excess of 7 figures a year…yes, you heard that right.
Lorna is driven and always wanted to create her own brand, she talks about her journey starting up @LA Space with total transparency and honesty. We chat about her love of mood boarding, her style icons and being passionate about size inclusivity. It doesn’t surprise me that she has built the community she has, and the success alongside - she is one authentic, clever and intuitive woman… I loved our conversation. Thank you Lorna x
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In this final episode of Season 5 of my Style DNA podcast I go on a style journey withPrince’s Trust Women for Women Ambassador and transgender fashion designer Serenity Mason. Serenity started her fashion business in 2018 - Vault of Serenity, a stall in Tunstall Market, Stoke, after completing The Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme. The programme had offered her practical advice about tax, business planning and pricing her items, as well as the support of a business mentor.
I met Serenity at a Prince’s Trust fund raising dinner and I was so struck by her and her story that I felt the best way for me to help shine a light on the incredible, life changing (and, at times) even life-saving work that the Prince’s Trust is doing was to use my Style DNA platform. It’s a fascinating and optimistic conversation and I have to thank Serenity for sharing her story so openly…to be so frank about her gender identity and her struggles. I really hope that this is heard by many and reaches the ears of some who may find it helpful…
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In this episode of Style DNA I go on a Style journey with the award winning BBC broadcaster, TV personality and DJ, bowel cancer survivor and Marathon record holder, the remarkable Adele Roberts.Adele is a wonderfully open and vulnerable guest talking about how she never felt feminine growing up ...gravitating towards the menswear section because she didn’t feel like she fit in and feeling like she would be judged...heartbreaking actually. She is trying to be more vocal about this now to help other kids who perhaps don’t feel like they fit in. Her life partner of 20 years, Kate Holderness, is clearly helping her to understand that clothing is a form of expression and self-love, gently navigating Adele's style journey with her... She says that it wasn’t until she had cancer, and then a stoma, that she learned to love her body ...we talk about dressing around the stoma (which she has affectionately called Audrey...there is a story behind that) and the joy she is now finding in fashion...even wearing a bikini on a recent holiday with her stoma showing with pride.She has written a book about her life and her cancer journey... Personal Best - From Rock Bottom to Top of the World which is a beacon of hope...she has clearly done a lot of soul searching especially when she was preparing for her record breaking Marathon run... in her opinion she was holding onto too much toxicity which was possibly the cause of her cancer...it is an inspiring read.I hope you enjoy this sincere and soulful episode...thank you @adeleroberts for being so beautifully honest and open... I loved our conversation x
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