Amanda Wakeley: StyleDNA

In this episode of Style DNA I go on a stylistic journey with the Author, Broadcaster, Editor and Coach Rosie Nixon. Rosie is the author of three novels, The Stylist, Amber Green Takes Manhattan and Just Between Friends, plus the Be Kind book. Her new novel called Bad Influence is out this August.After a long career in women's magazines, including Grazia, Glamour and Red she became the award-winning Editor and Editor in Chief of HELLO! Magazine for an incredible 16 years. The 24/7 pressure of being at the helm ultimately led to her near burnout (which she is very open about) and like many of life's challenges, there is often a silver lining. She says that she didn't think she was serving herself as a woman saying it was all going well, so being honest about her own struggles really helped her and inspired her into the next chapter. She became a qualified life coach and in 2024 she launched Rosie's Reinvention Retreats - a series of day retreats for midlife women, to support navigating changes in career, business and wellbeing. A complete career change, starting from scratch in a way, albeit with all the knowledge built up over the years ...and I know well what guts that takes.We discuss how the magazine world has changed over the last couple of decades and the 24/7 pressure that goes with being the editor or a magazine that in its heyday sold 1 million copies a week.  We talk about Kindness and she says that she started thinking about kindness when she first started at Hello! which was slightly vilified about always being nice about people.  Rosie believes that Kindness is a super power and should be worn as a badge of honour... yes to that!  She feels that kindness is probably responsible for the longevity of the magazine and is one of it's strengths because everyone is treated with respect.  She felt proud and protective of this stance and was passionate that it should be the thread that was woven through the magazine. Of course we discuss Rosie's personal style journey, her haircuts and fashion phases...her borrowed Alberta Ferretti wedding dress (way ahead of her time back then) and the all-important discussion of dressing our age ...she admits to dressing older than herself earlier in her career to be taken more seriously ...I hope you enjoy this episode ...thank you Rosie for being such a warm, open and inspiring guest x Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode I go on a Style DNA journey with the very impressive Jade Holland Cooper Founder and CEO of her eponymous brand, Holland Cooper. Jade had a rural upbringing which was all about her ponies and horses...she didn't really think about clothes other than their functionality. It wasn't until she went to study at the Royal Agricultural College that she realised that everyone was dressed the same...that there were very few options for chic country clothing. This was her lightbulb moment. She drew up a business plan, left college, created a few tweed miniskirts that she sold from a "2 metre stand at Badminton Horse Trials" and she realised then that she was on to something. She has built an astonishingly successful brand in just 15 years, turning over 40 million pounds, and is in the process of building a 7,000 sq foot head office in Gloucestershire. I can honestly say, her achievements are extraordinary.  I ask Jade who her biggest inspiration is and she says Ralph Lauren, ironically the king of classic British style . The Lauren influence is clear but in a more obviously branded way. She admits that she wants to get the name on as many items as possible as it is effectively "free advertising". We laugh about how in the early days she bought an embroidery machine so that she could get her name embroidered onto as many pieces as possible, how she would have the machine running 24 hours a day with the assistance of a baby monitor. She tells me that her mother is her style icon, and was a designer herself, and that although they have different styles she is very inspiring. I ask her whether she thinks about her mother when designing? She says she is aware of her age group but makes the point that classic product appeals to multiple ages ...so true and so appealing to so many.  I ask her about the pressure of being the face of her eponymous brand (something I remember well), and to a degree an influencer of sorts. She admits it could be a full time job...but as the business gets bigger her "minutes get more important" but that she never want to lose the experience and interaction with her customers. She personally replies to her Instagram messages to get feedback, she is on the shop floor every 2 weeks and admits to obsessing about her business, living and breathing her customers.  Talking customers, she says that having Catherine as a good customer has been a great endorsement for the brand.  Despite her incredible success she admits that there are "many days I feel like I can't do this. It's an inner battle to get things over the line. Can I do this? It's really hard and really lonely" (gosh it is). I ask her what she reaches for on those vulnerable days and it's always a suit...the power of good tailoring is always a winner. She is clearly the style queen of Cheltenham Races...her home turf.  She is her own best ambassador, there more than anywhere else I would say,  and we laugh about how she always decides what she is going to wear at the last minute, much to the frustration of her fabulous team.I hope you enjoy this episode. Jade is a truly awe inspiring and incredibly focused human being... I wish her continued success and look forward to visiting her in her dreamy new head office later this year. Bravo! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with the award winning BBC radio host, TV fashion presenter and Influencer, who goes by the name of MiddleAgedMinx,  the fabulous and joyous Jo Good.   I first met Jo when she interviewed me for her Gold show for SheerLuxe and we clicked immediately…laughing about how age was just a number, that it is wrong to be pigeon-holed, and agreeing that we like to think of ourselves as ageless.   She talks with great humour about customising her very conservative “English public school inspired” school uniform while growing up in Australia…which included steaming her stiff boater into a Stetson shape…I would love to see a picture!   At 5 foot Jo is an inspiration to other petite women…she refuses to conform to the normal “rules” of petite dressing and has great style hacks to offer on the subject.   Jo loves to document her life in her popular YouTube vlog and her Instagram channel. We discuss the term Influencer and she makes the excellent point that as an actress she was paid to be in a lot of commercials promoting all kinds of stuff, stuff that she had no knowledge of and no affinity with the brand.  She feels that as an Influencer it is wrong to be chastised to be paid to promote things that you have actually trialled and like. As she says, the insights from Instagram will tell you how well you have performed, and this is why she has great respect for Influencers who work consistently for the same brand, because they are clearly proving their worth otherwise the brand wouldn't keep working with them.   We close by discussing her approach to Sustainable Fashion …why she doesn't do fast fashion but also why she doesn't buy vintage…in her brilliantly quick turn of phrase she says “I have a thing about vintage on vintage  - I think it can make you look really old!”    Of course the Quick Fires were far from quick and this whole recording ran on for longer than normal but it was so full of joy, wisdom and nostalgia that it was hard to cut. Thank you @middleagedminx for being such a wonderful and witty guest x Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with none other than the world-renowned self-development coach, inspirational speaker, manifesting expert, and three-times Sunday Times Bestselling author, the inspirational Roxie Nafousi. I first met Roxie when she came to one of my London Fashion Week parties at my Mayfair Store and the shy woman I met back then was worlds apart from the confident communicator that I had this Style DNA conversation with… I have to say it is heart-warming to see someone evolve so positively…and in this conversation she eloquently explains how that evolution came about. Roxie has talked opening about being lost, until she found manifesting and I ask her how her style has evolved from being the person she was previously? She admits she hated her style before, how she felt only as worthy as the man she was with and that impacted her dressing. She states that her style growth is aligning with who she is now. We talk about when she discovered her passion for fashion? Fashion had always been a bit of a mask for her…that she liked fashion for all the wrong reasons, it's probably only in the last year that she has started to take more care of what she wears. She writes about it in her latest book Confidence, that a big part of manifesting your higher self or stepping into your most empowered self is about the way you dress. In Step 8 of the book she talks about dressing the part as one of the ways that you can show up as your future self. Alongside this, she says that a big part of the manifestation journey is letting go, letting go of all things that don't serve you, whether it's bad habits, behaviours or people but also the kind of clothes that don't serve who you are anymore, or that are not who you want to become. It's definitely food for thought… She has clearly found her confidence…and feels that she is of value to the world but is humble enough to admit that she has days when self doubts creep in but she is better equipped to deal with them and most importantly wants to share her learnings… Bravo @roxienafousi…thank you for your frank and open conversation…hugely thought provoking and helpful to many I am sure x Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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 …

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. . 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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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…

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.

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

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…

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.

In this episode of Style DNA I go on a Style journey with Actress, TV presenter, Philanthropist and Entrepreneur  … the gorgeous Geordie girl Donna Air.    Donna rose to early fame aged 10 as an actress in the children's television series Byker Grove, a popular show set in the Newcastle area. She went on to form the pop duo Crush which found some success in the late 1990's. Her career has spanned presenting MTV, to the Big Breakfast as well as appearing in numerous films and TV dramas.   Donna is currently performing in the award winning ghost story 2:22 at the Gielgud Theatre alongside James Buckley, Stacey Dooley and Joe McFadden…The play, written by Danny Robins is a supernatural thriller that has received critical acclaim for its intense and gripping narrative with the story revolving around a couple who hear strange noises in the new house and begin to suspect it might be haunted… I for one, can't wait to see Donna's performance.   Success came early in life for Donna and we chat about her teenage years in Newcastle “geared around her Saturday night outfits”…in time this passion transferred to her pop video or performing clothes. She reminisces about her youthful inability to control her clothing spending, particularly whilst touring in America.   We discuss her love of strong female characters and how inspiring they are…not to mention the fact that slowly there are more female roles for women post their 30's…finally!   Donna clearly loves beautiful clothes, whilst not being remotely materialistic, but she laughs about how in the past these beautiful things have slipped through her fingers …how she would give away her clothes and accessories to friends and how her daughter Freya, now 19, keeps asking her where pieces are that she is wearing in old photographs that she would love to wear now…all since long gone!   Thank you @donnaair for sharing your stories and your insights so generously.

In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with the English singer, songwriter and TV personality Wes Nelson… His most recent claim to fame being his incredibly catchy and hugely successful collaboration with Craig David and the hit Abracadabra but during our conversation I saw Wes in a whole new light and I found his self-deprecating sense of humour, his honesty (and his chuckle) both infectious and charming…   He trained as a nuclear systems design engineer thinking he would follow his father into the motor industry but it seems that this self-proclaimed “Bloke from Stoke” has a different destiny. Passionate about music and performing from a young age, he was discovered partly through social media, and then a spell on Love Island led to his viral collaboration with Craig David (his childhood idol)… the rest is rapidly becoming history as he evolves his songwriting and music, as well as his personal style.   We laugh about how he spent WAY too much in his early days …dressing in the “expected” Rapper style for his rap performances replete with the diamond encrusted gold watch and strongly logo' d designer pieces like his Nigo X Vuitton double denim. He clearly loves his fashion and is on a journey with it, evolving his style as his music evolves… I for one cannot wait to see what this next chapter holds stylistically and musically.   We discuss the symbolism behind his different tattoos including a can of Sunny D to remind him of his grandfather… and his love of Rimowa luggage…why? Because apparently he rides it through the airport…probably not how or why it was designed, but I couldn't help laughing at the image of him riding his Rimowa down a ramp in Gatwick airport.   I hope you enjoy this episode… I found Wes a breath of fresh air and came away from our conversation with a light-hearted feeling and a knowing smile on my face… clothes, after all, should bring us joy… they certainly do Wes.   Thank you @wesnelson for bringing such a great conversation to the table…will you come back next year and update me on the style evolution that you are planning?

In this episode I go on a style journey with the Creative Director Lucinda Chambers. Lucinda has worked in the fashion industry for more than three decades…as Fashion Director of British Vogue for 25 years she certainly shaped the face of fashion and inspired the wardrobes of millions of women. She has worked as a creative consultant and stylist across both high street and luxury brands from Prada and Marni to H&M, River Island and Warehouse. We reminisce about her early days as a fantastically creative stylist at Vogue, in the pre-internet days she used National Geographic for her location inspiration…taking her to Ladakh in northern India on her very first location shoot…with Cindy Crawford and the photographer Patrick Demarchelier…sleeping in tents and drawing sticks to get the last few seats on the plane out…so naively brave… She talks eloquently about creating the story which has inspired the images…how for her image making was all about the narrative and I use the opportunity to ask about one of my favourite images of Linda Evangelista wearing Wakeley… Her journey in fashion has been a long and fabulous one …starting at Vogue as the secretary to the petty cash lady but her talent and creative vision took her the whole way…she is a phenomenally optimistic creative, making the most of every situation stating that it's never a crisis it's an opportunity...whether that was all the clothes for a cover shoot with Emma Watson being stolen from the luggage compartment of the Eurostar, to arriving to shoot in Miami as a hurricane had just flattened it… but always improvising and coming back with the shots. Since her well-publicised departure from Vogue when the then new editor Edward Enninful ushered in a new era and a new team… she has flourished creating her revolutionary shopping platform Collagerie with her ex-Vogue colleague Serena Hood. Expertly curating the best in fashion, interiors, beauty and lifestyle, the brand celebrates shopping at every price point, bringing you an innovative way to discover inspiring, and at times unexpected, designs. Thank you @lucindachambers for being such an open and generous guest …it was lovely to reconnect x

This week's Style DNA podcast episode is with the Irish chef, TV presenter, cookbook author and resident chef on This Morning - the wonderful Clodagh McKenna.It was such a treat to open the door to a joyful Clodagh who arrived carrying a freshly baked carrot cake which she proceeded to ice herself before we started our recording ... I can honestly say her carrot cake is the best I have ever eaten and it took serious will power on my part not to dig in during our conversation!Clodagh grew up in Cork and she paints a beautiful picture of her childhood family rituals including baking bread and prepping food at the weekend for the week ahead. Eating home cooked food around a lovingly laid table with fresh linen clearly influenced her appreciation of the importance of mealtime. Her mother would always tidy herself and apply lipstick before her husband came home from work which is a charming custom that Clodagh has adopted herself.Her passion for baking was ignited when a young Clodagh went on a French exchange, and she returned to Ireland able to make a cracking Tarte Tartin but also with a flavour for Gallic style which still influences her dress sense to this day.Clodagh is one of those individuals whose passion for everything she turns her hand to is infectious - she trained at the legendary Ballymalloe Cookery School. When she felt she had learned everything she could in Ireland she moved herself to Turin, Italy to immerse herself in Italian food and culture... before finally moving to London in her early 40s when she started opening up her kitchen to do dinners for guests ... a charming custom that she still does to this day. We talk about discovering her style DNA, which she feels didn't really happen until coming to London. Her formula, which clearly gives her confidence,  involves a lot of denim, white shirts and tailoring.  We laugh about last minute wardrobe changes on the set of This Morning when the all-male crew realised her top was just a little bit too revealing (let's just say totally see-through) for the viewers...and how being led by an overly enthusiastic stylist for a book launch shoot left her feeling totally lost...all good lessons learned and all stories told in a way that inimitable Irish way... 

This week's Style DNA guest is the 90s British supermodel, turned entrepreneur, TV personality, author AND pub landlady … the awesome Jodie Kidd.   We first met in the 90s, it was Jodie's first London show season at the tender age of 15. She had been encouraged to give modelling a go as a way to pay for the new horsebox she wanted as she was a competitive show jumper at the time. I remember my casting director being so excited to get Jodie in my show…but I also have a vague recollection of Jodie having to cram her feet into the shoes that I had designed for the show …at 6'2” with size 42.5 feet my show samples were a full size and a half too small… but she just did it, and as you will hear…she just carried on doing it with an incredible career trajectory walking for all the great houses doing the shows from New York to London to Milan to Paris and then on to the couture shows in between …until the pace of it all left her completely burned out, very underweight and crippled by anxiety. At which point she dramatically quit the modelling world…literally walking off a catwalk in Milan mid show.   Being a country girl at heart she found solace in nature and home grown food, and then returned to her first passion, horses. However, Jodie never does anything by halves, within no time at all she was playing polo for the country, and her need for speed then saw her set a track record on Top Gear which in turn got her noticed by Maserati, who she then went on to drive for professionally in Italy…   Jodie's career has twisted and turned …she is a true force of nature…whatever she turns her attention to she throws herself into 150%. Perhaps, because of her varied careers she is wise beyond her years but she shares her experiences and insights very openly. Her views on the mad world of fashion are initially through the lens of a very young country girl who came into the industry almost accidentally. She has warmth and charisma in spades.  I hope you enjoy this episode.

In this episode, I go on a sartorial journey with designer, businessman, author, and TV presenter Patrick Grant. Perhaps best known for his role in the TV show “The Great British Sewing Bee,” Grant is a man who has a lot to say about clothes: how many we buy, how we value them, what they're made from, and importantly, who made them and where. Patrick Grant has an engineering background and he has applied this knowledge to his fashion journey. I find myself going down a rabbit hole with Grant on the provenance of our clothes… on elastane and polymers and microplastics. We travel on with his journey of rebuilding the Savile Row tailor Norton & Sons and then on to 2015 when he bought the ailing Blackburn clothing manufacturer Cookson & Clegg, saving the factory from closure and the potential loss of all the skills of the team, not to mention their jobs. Grant has a passion for skilled British craftsmanship and in 2016 he created his campaigning clothes brand Community Clothing, which supports local clothing and textile manufacturers across the UK… just brilliant. As you can probably tell by now, Grant is a man on a mission. His recently launched book “Less: Stop Buying So Much Rubbish: How Having Fewer, Better Things Can Make Us Happier” makes for pretty sobering reading. As he says, “We used to care a lot about our clothes. We didn't have many but those we had were important to us. We'd cherish them, repair them, and pass them on. And making them provided fulfilling work for millions of skilled people locally.” This is something we have totally lost sight of in our quest for more and cheaper… a fast fashion dopamine hit. He goes on to say, “Today the average person has nearly five times as many clothes as they did just 50 years ago. Last year, 100 billion garments were produced worldwide, most made from oil, 30% of which were not even sold, and the equivalent of one bin lorry full of clothing is dumped in landfill or burned every single second. Our wardrobes are full to bursting with clothes we never wear so why do we keep buying more?” On a lighter note, we touch on some of his worst fashion moments… probably in the 80s, living in San Francisco… but, he was wearing a sarong before David Beckham famously did! Patrick is a fabulously knowledgeable guest, and he really gets you thinking about the beauty and importance of just having LESS. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

In this episode I go on a style journey with British born international visual artist Sophie Tea. Sophie has recently come onto my radar…her work is defined by her vibrant use of colour, energetic drips and signature splats – it champions inclusivity, self-acceptance, accessibility and strives to make women feel just a little bit nicer about themselves… a resounding YES to that!   Sophie's subject of choice is women…naked women. She is fresh off the back of her Send Nudes Live show at The London Palladium in which 50 naked women are painted for a live catwalk show, her 6th to date. She had a staggering 10,000 applications from women to walk in the show so she is clearly onto something. We talk about how when she was growing up she had never felt comfortable with her body shape, how the role models of her childhood were very stereotypical and how as a result of this she wants to celebrate the female form in all it's wonderful variations.   Sophie's mission is to make art more accessible… she is open about her commercial approach to this, using social media to reach her customers and offering payment instalments to her young audience who may be too intimidated to go into a gallery… she is brilliantly entrepreneurial and certainly breaking the traditional gallerist mould.   We discuss how as human beings we bond through our clothes, we sometimes connect with people simply by what we are wearing and being in a similar style tribe. We talk about how our clothes can often tell stories…Sophie undoubtedly has a passion for fashion, it's definitely a hobby for her… be it thrifting (in “posh areas”), to buying full-on designer pieces, to the joy of choosing yet more cowboy boots at the mecca of cowboy boots that is Allens in Texas… not to mention something we are both guilty of… “milestone” shopping.   I hope you enjoy this episode…thank you @sophieteaart for being such a great guest …let's go thrifting!

I'm thrilled to announce that Season 5 of my Style DNA podcast is launching with double Olympic champion, global inspirational and motivational speaker, TV presenter and Author …the simply AWESOME Honorary Colonel Dame Kelly Holmes MBE.   I loved our conversation in which we discussed the fact that Kelly spent the best part of the first 30 years of her life in one uniform or another (school, track and military)  and how she didn't even really think about her personal style before then… Emerging from a life lived in a uniform she chose to wear clothes to fit in and be less visible until… she came out. She credits the turning point for her being her authentic self started on the morning of her mother's funeral. She sat in her hairdresser's chair and had the side of her head shaved …citing that she had a choice that her mother didn't have any longer and knowing that her mother really wanted her to live her true life… this was clearly a catalytic moment for her.  Since coming out she has discovered her passion for style, colour and simply joyful dressing.   We talk about Imposter Syndrome …yes even someone with all of Kelly's achievements can experience Imposter Syndrome (a lesson there?) …and how surprisingly, a run in panto helped her overcome this…   Kelly radiates health and happiness… her face is as warm and open as her heart is …she is a true beauty inside and out and I really appreciate her transparency and openness in sharing her lessons that have been learned (like the most important ones often are)…the hard way. Thank you @damekellyholmes for sharing your feelings, your stories and your insights so generously …you certainly are UNIQUE (and huge, well deserved congratulations on the success of your memoir…Unique)

In the final episode of Season 4 Style DNA I go on a Style journey with the inimitable, iconic, Dame Prue Leith, currently best known for being a judge on The Great British Bake Off as well as her Saturday morning ITVX show, Prue Leith's Cotswold Kitchen. Prue is now in her 9th decade and appears to be speeding up rather than slowing down... she says she is still discovering her style with the help of her 2nd husband John who used to be in the fashion industry and loves nothing more than shopping for her. She credits him with suggesting her more youthful haircut which now sees her hair swept off her "lined forehead that was being hidden by her fringe" into a wonderful choppy crop that has honestly taken 20 years off her look...We discuss the lasting impact of the vibrant colours that she grew up surrounded by in South Africa  - and how she loves the fact that "many women write to me and say that they never wore colour until I saw you did it" ... and with 323K followers on Instagram alone, she is a veritable Influencer... We talk about her love of wearing trainers and how our choice of footwear can be so transformative...either making us look older or cooler...not to mention, the power of good posture.She talks about the joy of a super organised kitchen which translates into a super organised wardrobe...all colour coded for ease...  We talk about the challenges of dressing for the Red Carpet ...and, in fact, her love of all things red...the red Lanvin dress she chose to wear to her pre-wedding dinner to John, her favourite red coat and a colourist once telling her never to wear red as it is an aggressive colour ...(I must admit I think fashion "colourists" have a lot to answer for) ... And we giggle about her dislike of Botox ... at which point I try to move my forehead...(ahem, with difficulty)... and the fact that she has never worn sexy lingerie but thinks she may still give it a go...I so enjoyed this conversation with Prue Leith... thank you for sharing your thoughts with such warmth and humour.

In the penultimate episode of Season 4 Style DNA, I go on a style journey with the Broadcaster, Journalist and Radio Presenter …the gorgeous Kirsty Gallacher. Kirsty spent her childhood in Surrey watching her golfing legend father, Bernard Gallacher, wear “a lot of Lyle & Scott”…. She is a keen sportswoman herself and I asked her whether her fit, athletic body affects her style choices... We talk about her using clothes to help her navigate her role as a young female sports presenter for Sky, and working with a stylist especially for the thoroughly intimidating experience of dressing for the Red Carpet…and the counter to that…not having to “dress up” for her presenting role on Smooth Radio… we both agree that if you feel good in what you are wearing you will do your best job. Kirsty has always been passionate about fashion, an early job meant that she learned from the master himself, Joseph Ettedgui in Joseph on Sloane Street, but she is now a self-proclaimed capsule wardrobe fan …and how at 48 she finally feels more at ease in her skin as well as her style choices … I hope you enjoy this episode.

In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with the British jewellery designer, the founder of both Links of London and Annoushka, the Creative Director and Entrepreneur, Annoushka Ducas MBE.   I couldn't resist asking Annoushka her views on the difference between lab grown versus mined diamonds and how the jewellery industry is notoriously opaque…she talks about her passion for re-using existing stones from vintage jewellery and how all of her newly sourced diamonds are certified by the Kimberley Process (established in 2003 to prevent conflict diamonds entering the mainstream market) …but perhaps more importantly, the joy she still feels discovering new varieties of semi-precious stones …and how the experience of travelling to a pearl farm in the Philippines and learning about the whole process of cultivation of  golden pearls and the attention to detail and sheer hard labour that goes into pearl cultivation shone a whole new light on their beauty…   We laugh about the “trauma” of her mother's appearance at the school gates …this seems to be a recurring theme with my guests!  However, in time, some of her most precious pieces in her wardrobe are pieces that once belonged to her mother…   She talks about her first job, being a PA to her godfather Mark Birley (the supremely stylish founder of Annabels, Harry's Bar and Mark's Club) and how he took her to the then newly opened Manolo Blahnik on Old Church Street and treated her to 3 pairs of shoes to elevate her appearance…and we agree that by wearing just one really special piece (whatever that may be, jewellery, shoes or a jacket) can be transformative, and can totally up your game sartorially.    I ask her about the competition from the mega jewellery brands … she says that when she created Annoushka jewellery she purposefully positioned it between Links of London (silver) and the high jewellery brands like Cartier …  she knew she wanted to appeal to women to buy for themselves and she wanted her jewellery to have a very personal appeal with her clients… and there is nothing more personal than her My Life in Seven Charms collection…inspired by her love of Desert Island Discs…she refers to it as an 18ct gold autobiography of someone's life…just gorgeous.

In this episode of Style DNA I turn the tables and discuss all things style with fellow Podcaster Sophie Habboo. Sophie spent most of her 20's in the reality TV show Made In Chelsea. She met her husband Jamie Laing while making the show and the couple created the podcast NearlyWeds which became NewlyWeds after their wedding in 2023. She talks openly about trying to dress the part of a “Rah” Chelsea girl whilst on the show and not feeling like it was her, and she is frank about feeling a little lost when she came out of the show …after 6 years of toxicity and adrenaline (her words). Their 2023 wedding was much publicised and she talks animatedly about the journey and the many hilarious moments…she had not 1, but 3 wedding dresses, although a zip malfunction left her trapped in wedding dress number 1 for the first night! She talks about being inspired by her mother's style even though at times she didn't appreciate it as a kid at the school gates…and her mother once being invited to a wedding where the dress code for ladies was, wait for it – Amanda Wakeley… I had never heard that story and I needless to say I would LOVE to see the photos!

This week's Style DNA guest is the English singer, songwriter, actress and radio personality…the undoubted Queen of British Soul…the extraordinarily talented Beverley Knight MBE.Beverley is fabulously open about her style journey ...it's ups and downs ..and how her body confidence (and at times lack of) affected her choices, and how her gay best friend had been instrumental in helping her find her fashion mojo.We talk about how she has got braver as she has got older (a recurring theme currently) and more comfortable in her own skin. She threw a gig to celebrate her 50th birthday and wanted to make a statement by wearing a body skimming unitard.I was fascinated to understand how her first trip to Jamaica (her parent's birthplace) hugely impacted her sense of style especially during her visit ...Of course we talk about her stage costumes and some of the extraordinary events she has performed at...from Princes's post Oscars party to the closing ceremony of the London Paralympics, and the planning behind the looks...not to mention the floor length latex look she wore to collect her Olivier Award...

This week I go on a style journey with the American Television Journalist Deborah Roberts. I first met Deborah when she came to the UK to cover the Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan and she kindly chose me to guest on her ABC coverage in the lead up to, as well as on the actual day, at Windsor.   Apart from being an award-winning ABC News senior national affairs correspondent for Nightline, Good Morning America and World News Tonight with David Muir, in September 2023, she was named co-anchor of 20/20. A media veteran, Roberts has travelled the world for her reporting and has been awarded multiple Emmy® Awards for her national and international coverage of world events, including the AIDS crisis in Africa and maternal mortality in Bangladesh.   Despite some of the gritty subjects she covers, Roberts has a passion for fashion (and is very knowledgeable about brands and designers), yet she is also aware of the messages that clothes can convey. We discuss how we make a statement through our choice of clothes and the importance of dressing for the occasion … even how the Civil Rights campaigners would dress up to go on a protest.   She talks about growing up in the Deep South and going to a segregated school (yes, just a few decades ago) and how when she was in the 4th grade, at 9 years old,  the school became integrated mid-term… it's hard to imagine the importance (to her) of what she chose to wear on that first day of integration …how she would potentially be judged by her peers that she had never met before…it's hard to put oneself in her shoes at that time, not to mention horrifying that this actually happened as recently as it did…however, she speaks about it with her brilliant, eloquent journalistic grace and not an ounce of victimisation.   She is a beacon of positivity and generously shares her personal insights.

In this Style DNA episode I go on a style journey with the serial entrepreneur Marcia Kilgore, who founded a string of game-changing companies in the worlds of beauty and wellness…she is recognized globally as an industry leader, a business visionary, a beauty expert and an inspiration for female entrepreneurs everywhere.In 1997, Time Magazine chose a 29-year-old Kilgore as their cover star, pegging her as one of the new generation of entrepreneurs – whose hard work, ingenuity and fearlessness trumped the networking, business school bigshots. In May 2011, when Oprah Winfrey's final show aired, Oprah referred to her former facialist - Kilgore - as one of the most inspiring people she'd ever met. In 2022, The Sunday Times said her new digitally native business had  ‘forever changed the way we shop for cosmetics'.  In between, Kilgore had sold one business (to LVMH), another (to Alliance Boots Walgreens) and started three others. Recognised by Vogue (UK) as one of most powerful women of 2023 in their power list.I have to admit I have followed Marcia's career in awe as she built and sold Bliss Spas …followed by building and selling the upbeat, tongue in cheek Soap and Glory …and not content with those two juggernaut successes she founded the biomechanics-meets-fashion-footwear brand FitFlop (only sold over 65 million pairs of sandals, sneakers and boots worldwide to date)…and if that wasn't enough in 2016 she created my slight obsession …the fabulous buyer's club skincare and makeup brand – Beauty Pie bringing luxury beauty to a wider audience...if you don't know about it please check it out (and NO this is not an AD)  I just really believe in shining a light on things I love, especially when they are created by brilliant women.In full disclosure, Marcia is a great friend and we share a crazy passion for ski touring (walking up hill with specialist skis on) however, we use this form of exercise as a great excuse to chat about everything from beauty to fashion to LIFE! As you will hopefully see and/or hear, Marcia is one of the most brilliant raconteurs ...she shares her astute observations with wit and warmth whether it is her love/hate relationship with fashion, dressing through her body building years (yes, you heard that right), the power of a great haircut, to her best shopping tip...I hope you enjoy this episode.

I am very excited to introduce you to Season 4 of my Style DNA podcast … launching today with none other than the Supermodel who is known (for good reason) as The Body…the exquisite, effortlessly chic and serene Elle Macpherson. Elle is not only a Supermodel, she is a Mother, Businesswoman, Television Host and an Actress.   I loved our conversation …we discuss her personal style journey,  growing up in Australia and not really being into fashion as she spent most of her time outside in nature. By her own admission she took a leap of faith into modelling as a way of making some pocket money while at University.  The universe clearly had a different plan for her and before she knew it she was modelling New York, working with all the top fashion photographers and gracing the covers of all the major magazines. In 1989 Time magazine coined her nickname “The Body” after she had appeared on 3 successive Sports Illustrated covers…(with 2 more to come). At the tender age of 21 she married the famous French photographer Giles Bensimon (20 years her senior) in a glorious and avant guard Azzedine Alaia couture gown. She is open about how it felt to effectively grow up in front of the lens whilst being styled to be endless different women… and working out her own personal style when she was not in front of the lens…    She tells me about the 180 degree shift in perception…when she first started in the modelling world,  the more distanced you were from your audience, the more iconic you were and the more successful you were… and how today,  the closer you are to your community, the more accessible you are, the more successful you are…and navigating those changes. Not to mention being on the covers of magazines still at 60…   We chat about the challenge of staying stylish as the years creep by and how staying true to your essence is one of the most powerful style statements we can make… her thoughts are considered, eloquent and thought provoking.   Elle's beauty is undeniable but it is far more than skin deep … she has been on a wellness journey, inspired by turning 50 and “hitting a wall” and not being able to rely on genetics any longer…she says she didn't recognise herself anymore.  Her personal journey led her to the creation of her highly acclaimed WelleCo brand of “clean, plant-based elixirs & boosters backed by science, driven by nature”. She is the embodiment of beauty coming from within… and it was a great privilege that she shared so much with me in this episode.

For my ultimate episode of the season I go on a style journey with British luxury accessories designer Sophia Webster who is known for her fun, playful and feminine touches, not to mention her iconic butterflies. She has built a global brand in just over a decade brilliantly harnessing the power of social media to assist her on the journey.. her joyful creations have graced everyone from Beyonce and Madonna to Grayson Perry...  There really is a transformative magic in shoes and bags that Sophia understands so well.   The weekend before we met I did my research by immersing myself in her wonderful new book  “Oh My Gosh I Love Your Shoes!” … BTW how often have you said exactly that? The book is a beautiful, self-illustrated visual diary of her journey.   We discuss the sexiest heel height… her love of butterflies (actually hard-wired into her DNA)…buying her first pair of Buffalo boots (beloved by the Spice Girls at the time) and thinking that she “had made it now”… and hysterical stories of lost wedding dresses and then lost wedding shoes… not to mention unfortunate “Anthea Turner haircuts” …as she said, great on a grown woman but not quite as good on a child.   Like most women I know, I am a veritable shoe (and boot) lover so I hope you enjoy this conversation with one of the most talented young designers I have met…

In this episode I go on a Style Journey with the iconic hairstylist Sam McKnight MBE. Sam's unparalleled portfolio of work reads like a who's-who of high-fashion and A-list celebrity: he is credited with the creation of Princess Diana's iconic slicked-back hairstyle for her 1990 Vogue magazine shoot, and was her personal hair stylist for seven years. He has worked extensively with the supermodels Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Kate Moss & Naomi Campbell  from the 80's to today. Sam's work has included over 200 Vogue covers; campaigns for Chanel, Tom Ford, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Armani …the list goes on and season-after-season he influences the evolution of hair at runways shows from Chanel to Vivienne Westwood…    We talk about his time being Diana's personal hair stylist …how “slavishly following fashion trends is terribly unfashionable” (I could not agree more)… reminiscing about wearing platforms in the 70's (but having to take a pair of slippers to his driving lessons) and most importantly how good clothes can make you feel good (why I designed so passionately for 30+ years). Of course we talk about his friendship with Kate Moss who he has collaborated with for many years and has always said “Sam has the magic touch”.   I hope you enjoy the episode…thank you Sam for being such a wonderful guest.

In this episode I go on a Style journey with Singer, Songwriter and Musician Corinne Bailey Rae… and what a joy it was. Corinne shot to stardom with her self-titled, Corinne Bailey Rae debut album in 2006, featuring the global hits 'Put Your Records On' and 'Like A Star'. Corinne is one of those people who paints beautiful pictures with their words… I felt like every word that she spoke was purposefully chosen….she is wonderfully eloquent.  I was fascinated to hear about the inspirational journey she went on having discovered the Stoney Island Arts Bank in Chicago and how this fuelled so much material for her newly released and globally acclaimed album Black Rainbows. We discuss how she chooses the designers she wears for her stage looks and the album imagery she created in collaboration with the photographer Koto Bolofo. She speaks nostalgically about her mother's proud sense of style as she was bringing up her and her two sisters and how she evolved her own style through the 90's.  We talked about her becoming a widow at 29… and how she cocooned herself in her late husband's clothes as part of her grieving process. During her metamorphosis she found love again and she describes her second wedding dress, flowers and hair with such detail that it is impossible not to be swept into the love and sheer joy of their Winter Feast of a wedding.   Corinne shares her style journey so far, so beautifully… I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did having it. Thank you Corinne for being such an insightful and articulate guest...  

This week's episode is with the eponymous founder of Karen Millen, Karen herself. Her story is an interesting one…she founded her brand with her husband Kevin Stanford in 1981. Using a £100 loan they purchased 100 metres of white cotton which she whipped up into stylish shirts and they sold party-style to friends. From this they gradually grew a retail empire founded on their commitment to affordable luxury and making investment pieces accessible. In 2004 they sold Karen Millen to Mosaic Fashions under an SPA for £100m. The terms of the SPA prevented Karen Millen from using her name in connection with any similar businesses or competition in the future…challenging for any eponymous founder and she later challenged this in court but lost. Unfortunately she also lost millions in the collapse of Kaupthing Bank…but in true Power Woman style she swivelled and followed her love of interiors culminating in creating an online interiors business called Homemonger.com.     However her passion for fashion was reigniting …In 2019 the Boohoo Group bought the Karen Millen brand and in 2022, in a full circle moment, and in an attempt to inject some of the original DNA back into the brand, Karen was invited to create The Founder Collection, a capsule collection of 30 signature pieces. The huge popularity of the first collection saw her invited to create a second collection which launches this week… I loved chatting to a fellow fashion brand founder about what had driven her designs, how she has dressed through the decades including as she says a moment when she had become “rich” and how that impacted her style…not necessarily what you would expect…but amusing and insightful! I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I did creating it… thank you Karen.

In this episode I go on a style journey with Melissa Odabash MBE. After entering the swimwear industry as a model Melissa launched her eponymous label in 1999. She is credited with ‘introducing high fashion into resortwear' with her swimwear being quickly described by Vogue as ‘The Ferraris of the bikini world.'  Her first collection was curated with chic solid coloured bikinis, however this soon expanded into beachwear,  often inspired by her Mother's 1970's crochet pieces,  before developing and growing the collections to what we know today. Her collections are sold in 65 countries, available in over 500 stores. Throughout her success as a designer, Melissa continues to support her philanthropic ventures including: Fashion Targets Breast Cancer, Prince's Trust, Kidsco, CHIVA  and  has partnered with Elton John's Aids Foundation. In 2015 Melissa launched her debut mastectomy line with the Future Dreams Breast Cancer Charity and she continues to support, partner and champion their cause whenever she can.

This week's Style DNA style journey is with actor, writer, photographer and artist Lisa Hogan AKA The Tall Irish. Lisa is Co-Founder of the now infamous Diddly Squat Farm Shop on Clarkson's Farm…she is not only Jeremy Clarkson's girlfriend, she is his hilarious accomplice and harshest critic with her fast wit and dry sense of humour. Her ability to laugh at herself recounting her sartorial stories of different chapters in her life is infectious. These chapters have included modelling, working in the city, acting, being a mother, a lot of travel and, this latest chapter obviously includes her approach to “Farm Fashion” … from wellies and overalls to the inevitable pig sh*t…   I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed chatting to my old friend… thank you Lisa.

This week I go on a style journey with TV and Radio Presenter, Model, Author, Menopause campaigner, Podcast host AND Celebrity Master Chef Winner, the gorgeous Lisa Snowdon. Lisa and I worked out that the first time we met was when we were both London Fashion Week virgins…the first show she walked in was the first show I put on…Fashion has reconnected us over the years and it was lovely to sit down and chat about her journey both professionally and personally, from having a body that didn't conform to industry expectations at the time, to walking the red carpet with George Clooney, to the major looks that were created for her to present Britain's Next Top Model (and laughing about sometimes going a little too far)… as well as dressing as our bodies change…and the catharsis of a complete wardrobe turnout   Earlier this year Lisa published a book Just Getting Started – Lessons In Life, Love and Menopause… we discuss the inspiration behind it … Lisa's mission to prove that getting older just means getting better … Lisa is fantastically frank and open and I hope you enjoy this warm and collaborative chat.

Season 3 launches with none other than the supermodel that is David Gandy as my guest… I know, it was a tough job interviewing the most famous male supermodel in the world but someone's got to do it and fortunately for me, and hopefully you, he chose to chat all things Style with me. David shot to global recognition wearing a pair of tiny white swimming trunks for the iconic Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue fragrance campaign. The image saw him on a 50 ft billboard in Times Square NY over 20 years ago…we laugh about the value of those tiny white trunks now. I loved hearing about the inspiration behind his brand David Gandy Wellwear which he created during lockdown, which combines his passion for style and well-being with responsibly sourced garments … did you know that fabrics can now be infused with anti-bacterial, anti-odour or moisturising qualities? He openly discusses the challenges of the fashion industry in this post-pandemic, post-Brexit, cost-of-living-crisis-world that we are inhabiting. We talk about male body image, grooming, style icons and so much more … I sincerely hope you enjoy this next season as much as I have creating it.

This week I go on a sartorial journey with Canadian film maker David Furnish. David is CEO of Rocket Entertainment Group and Chairman of the Elton John AIDS Foundation which has raised a staggering $600 million to dateto support programs in 55 countries around the globe through prevention and education, elimination of prejudice and discrimination, and providing services to people living with the disease.   Of course we talk about shopping …and how he and Elton sometimes use the process as a reward for hard work, not to mention the benefit of how beautiful things are mood altering and make you feel good about yourself. We chat about how cathartic it is to have a good clear-out in the spirit of both circularity and fund raising for a great cause…in the process giving someone else the opportunity to enjoy those pieces – bravo to that – I have been doing the same myself and it is so rewarding to see something gorgeous head off to a new home to make new memories and be valued all over again.   David is wonderfully generous about sharing insights into the glamorous life he shares with his husband Elton… His “Pretty Woman” moment in Paris…dressing up for legendary parties from Elton's 50th to White Tie and Tiaras and so much more… He clearly loves fashion and appreciates the passion and creativity that his designer friends put into their work … he is undoubtedly a super stylish man.

In this episode I go on a sartorial journey with the Fashion Designer, Business Woman and mother of five the brilliant Anya Hindmarch CBE. Anya founded her eponymous company as a teenager in 1987 and has since grown it into an award-winning global brand known for its craftsmanship, creativity and sense of humour.  She launched the hugely successful 'I'm Not a Plastic Bag' campaign in 2007 which saw thousands of people queuing to purchase the tote from Sainsburys …a staggering 80,000 were sold on launch day. The bag garnered huge press coverage globally, igniting the debate around the use of plastic bags and contributed to the eventual decision to charge for plastic bags in the UK. Her achievements, creativity and marketing savvy know no bounds…  We talk about how we convey who we are and roles that we play through what we wear… IT bags, and why they are priced how they are.  Anya talks in an informed and passionate way about what sustainable leather and sourcing actually means (no greenwashing here)  …We chat about the power of dressing in comfortable clothes and her approach to planning her wardrobe (fascinating and helpful) as well as the history of heels!  Anya shares a fountain of insightful information on all things style related… 

This week I go on a Style journey with Philanthropist, Designer and mother of 5, the wonderful India Hicks. India is the daughter of the celebrated interior designer David Hicks and Lady Pamela Mountbatten, a lady in waiting to the late Queen.  She is a god daughter of the King, was a bridesmaid to Lady Diana Spencer and resides in Harbour Island, the Bahamas with her husband David Flint Wood and their 5 children…   We chat about being a Royal bridesmaid (obviously), what it meant to grow up in the creative world of David Hicks, being inspired by her grandmother Edwina Mountbatten (Countess of Mountbatten of Burma) and the process of choosing a dress for getting married for the first time in her 50s and so much more…     I first met India in the early 90s when the young aristocratic model walked in one of my early shows. Her peripatetic lifestyle is beautifully, and articulately, documented on her Instagram feed @indiahicksstyle.