The Conversations

It sounds like an odd question... However, in this episode, we flow through streams of thought about the dynamics of the famous/infamous relationship between multi-hyphenate Ye and actress Julia Fox - and how this could be mapped against a new and much larger approach to marketing and PR, ultimately fueling his multi-billion dollar enterprise.  As always we would love to hear from you about this and any of our other topics - feel free to reach out to us via Instagram @TheConversations.podcast. Please also subscribe and rate us (*****) - we always appreciate your support :)    

Andre Leon Talley was a unique and giant figure in fashion. Subsisting on Vogues from a tender age, armed with an Ivy League education, Talley became a chronicler and arbiter of style and culture. And he navigated these two worlds more skilled and informed than most - landing positions at WWD, Ebony, and (most notably) Vogue magazines. As a writer, creative director, mentor, bon vivant, Talley occupied a singular space as a well-versed, towering Black figure prone to fantastical prognostications steeped in erudite references.  He knew his stuff and centered his world in one of pomp and circumstance as detailed in his recent memoir, The Chiffon Trenches. But Talley was a complicated figure whose legacy is rife with complexities. He championed many Black talents over decades but categorically ignored others, building his inner circle with white socialites, power brokers, and designers. He indulged in the excesses and riches of luxury but kept rooted in the humility of his faith. And in the end, while willing to expose the ills of the fashion world, one could say Talley was wholly defined by it. In this episode we discuss the many layers to Talley's legacy, challenges being the only one, when your excellence outshines everyone else in the room, and again, why this is a cautionary tale. We would love to hear from you - contact us via @theccoversations.podcast on Instagram and as always, we ask that you support by subscribing and rating (*****) to our podcast x 

Welcome back to our second episode this season! The on-trend dress sense for influencers, celebrities, millionaires, and the average consumer of fashion comprises a head-to-toe arsenal of high fashion labels with a preference for prominently displayed logos on all categories of products: caps, t-shirts, sweatshirts, shoes, even socks. The trend is largely driven by Black youth culture and has permeated fashion to the extent that it's defining the current style zeitgeist.   In this episode, we unpack the cultural significance of conspicuous consumption and its steep history in Black identity and belonging. We interrogate Black spending power and how it shapes our sense of worth and social mobility. Questions are asked, including; is consumption a form of defying racism for this flex generation? And have the values in the Black community shifted from the church to money?  We want to hear from you on this! Feel free to reach out to us or comment via our Instagram @the.conversations.podcast. We hope you enjoy the episode and as always subscribe and rate us (*****) if you can :)  

To start our new season and to mark our return to the the airwaves, in this episode, we first look back at what's transpired in our personal and professional lives while on hiatus for the last a year and a half.   Henrietta talks about her personal journey with a serious illness, meanwhile Jason breaks down the subjects covered in his new Race Relations column for The Business of Fashion and the response to his The Cut feature, “They invented the Supermodel,” an anthology of Black American models. We touch on the state of Black organizations in fashion and the work they've shown with endowment support, and ask, ‘where is the money?' We eulogized Virgil' Abloh's wide-ranging, far reaching contributions to the industry and the chasm of hope he left behind for Black professionals. And finally we provide a general overview of how the industry is unfolding and what's next.    We're so glad to be back - a massive thank you to all of you for your support over the last 4 years and we hope you enjoy this episode and season! As always, please rate and subscribe, follow us and keep in touch via @theconversations.podcast :)    

PR and nightlife entrepreneur Natasha Slater is best known for producing Punks Wear Prada (PWP), the iconic weekly club night (that, along with Marcelo Burlon's Pink is Punk), helped to define the early-mid aughts Milanese fashion party scene. Under the PWP umbrella, Slater drew on her British hipsters and international influencer network to collaborate with top-shelf brands, including Gucci, Prada, and Dolce & Gabbana, to kick-off fashion week events, promote product launches and to generally bring the cult of cool to these Italian fashion houses.   But as much as this era was marked by celebration and fabulosity, this period was also rife with abuse of power, substance abuse, and toxic work culture. In this episode of our veteran talent series, Slater (who is five years sober as a result of this chaotic and painful period) joins Jason to discuss how it was for an outspoken English single mother to navigate the strong patriarchy in Italian culture, her complicity in promoting toxicity in the workplace, how she weathered the controversy of being called out and what life looks like now that her priorities are different. We hope you enjoy this conversation! Follow and DM us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast and let us know what you think. Please also subscribe and rate this podcast (*****), we love and appreciate all your support :)    

Susie Lau's Style Bubble blog is one of the pioneering voices in the digital fashion space. Since 2006, the fashion journalist has remained a fixture on the global scene seemingly effortlessly adjusting roles from post collegiate digital marketer to blogging to commissioning editor at Dazed to independently publishing Style Bubble (pre-dating the social media space with a number of brand collaborations and special projects: Gap, Google and Selfridges) to emerging as one of today's most visible influencers.  In this episode, in addition to discussing Lau's evolving profile over nearly two decades in the industry, we also dive into how for some her personal cutting edge style conflicted with a strong command of the written word, when was she afraid to pivot, journalism vs influencing, and the state of Asian influence in fashion. And with a degree in history, why her sights are firmly steered ahead, not looking in the rear view mirror to what this industry once was. We hope you enjoy this conversation! Follow and DM us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast and let us know what you think. Please also subscribe and rate this podcast (*****), we appreciate all your support :)

Years in advance of the 2020 racial reckoning  in fashion, Giannie Couji was an already established and consistent voice in anti-racism advocacy in fashion on social media.  Model, long time iD Magazine stylist, and editor of Ubikwist Magazine, Couji cut her teeth in Europe working on editorials and campaigns with the likes of Jean Baptiste Mondino and Jean Paul Goude, but it's her move stateside over a decade ago that has shaped her current profile as activist - spotlighting racist practices and generally intolerable behavior across the fashion industry. Couji is an outlier whose view on the industry has placed her squarely at the intersection of the tired old school practices and the deafening demand for change. In this episode Couji details her journey from Martinique to Paris, London and New York chronicling the discovery of the world of styling as career, Judy Blame as collaborator and mentor and her amplified voice in the age of Covid. We hope you enjoy this conversation! Follow and DM us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast and let us know what you think. Please also subscribe and rate this podcast (*****), we appreciate all your support :)  

London-based creative director and stylist Karen Binns is also an uncredited historian, muse, and collaborator.  In this 3rd installment of our veteran talent series, the multi-hyphenated fashion original takes us on a bi-continental journey from New York nightlife and the downtown art scene, to the indie workspaces of Europe's visionary and up and coming talents.  Names from Jean Michel Basquait and Warhol to Andre walker, Bianca Saunders and Wizkid pepper Binns' resume but it's her role as creative director to style queen Tori Amos for over 25 years that's arguably secured her place in the canon of style architects.  But why is so little known about this creative maverick? Listen up on why Karen Binns just might be the Viola Davis of fashion.   We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we enjoyed having it! Follow and DM us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast and let us know what you think. Please also subscribe and rate this podcast (*****), we appreciate all your support :)

Lysa Cooper is a fashion OG. Her rise from nightlife impresario to fashion stylist detail a long and storied resume bookended by influential cultural figures from Keith Haring, Basquiat and Beyonce, to Rihanna and Ashton Kutcher. Cooper's influence runs deep but she is not to be mistaken for an “influencer,” a title of cultural critic is more suited to her. Long before Fashion was forced to confront a racial reckoning, Cooper was sounding the alarm on the industry's transgressions. When stylists only stan-ed for their clients, Cooper spoke honestly of the behind the scenes shenanigans. Now that speaking out is en vogue, for the second installment of our veteran talent series, we went to the original outspoken voice to hear about her journey through the ranks of fashion, Black people, then and now and why is she so optimistic? We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we do! Follow and DM us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast and let us know what you think. Please also subscribe and rate this podcast (*****), we appreciate all your support :)

Stylist Memsor Kamarake kicks off our end of year talent series where Jason talks to fashion professionals to discuss their history and gather their take on the current, unprecedented state of affairs in the industry. Kamarake details his rise from retail at Ralph Lauren to fashion director at Vibe Magazine to stylist to Wendy Williams, journeying through the halcyon days in the late nineties and early naughts across the fashion capitals to the current racial uprising that's shaking all corridors of the industry. In addition to his contribution, Kamarake speaks to Blacks' long and often, unattributed contribution to the industry and in response to the racial reckoning, he weighs in on the Black community's response in addressing the magnitude of the moment that demands us being seen and heard. Kamarake also break down his role in styling and co-producing a series of films for the organization INTHEBLK, a timely response showing Black creatives working in collaborating.  We hope you enjoy this kick off episode, continue to support by subscribing, rating us ***** and following us on @TheConversations.Podcast.

In keeping with the big-issues theme of our season opening episodes, to kick off season 4, we pan out to take a broad look at the hot button issues in fashion. Covid 19's economic impact on the industry has dominated the headlines for months but time has shown that the pandemic has only ruptured the structural cracks that were already there in the system.  In this episode, we delve into economic hit from shifting consumer shopping habits and its influence on the declination of the department store. And if engineering an unprecedented economic recovery wasn't enough, fashion is doubly tasked with the serious demand of representing better social and cultural practices as it relates to racial equity and sustainability. Even the functions of marketing and communication in fashion demand a reset. The industry just finished its fashion month showing a mix of virtual presentations and fashion shows and one thing is clear is that the path forward is anything but clear. And while our multi-billion dollar industry in a state of flux, there's a dearth of media to try to make sense of the chaos.   The big issues in fashion are big indeed, welcome to Season 4! We'll be discussing multiple elements in and around these shifts and more, along with some great esteemed guests! We hope you enjoy this kick off episode, continue to support by subscribing, rating us ***** and following us on @TheConversations.Podcast.

The racial unrest swept across the fashion industry like a tsunami, blindsiding and swiftly sidelining many, primarily female, executives in its wake. Leandra Medine Cohen founder of the popular fashion and lifestyle website Man Repeller is one such executive who “step(ed) back” from her CEO role, leaving the reigns in the hands of her team, announcing at the time that “the team deserves a chance to show you what Man Repeller can be with me on the sidelines.” Since her announcement in early June, Cohen has remained silent on just what happened to induce her sudden departure until this month with the launch of her newsletter - the first letter announcing her come back. We invited Leandra to speak to us this episode to discuss the topic of introspection - what that looks like for her, the process that got her to this point and the elements that helped her along this path. We hope you enjoy this episode! DM us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast and let us know what you think. Please also subscribe and rate this podcast (*****), we appreciate all your support :)

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's hyper-sexualized single and video WAP (Wet Ass Pussy) has been the main topic of cultural conversation this week.  Raw and definitely unapologetic, these female superstars rap of their honeytrap sexual prowess and the ensuing wet rewards. Reminiscent of the raunchy tracks from Lil Kim's 90s heyday, nothing is left to the imagination in lyrics that demands not suggests, “bring(ing) a bucket and a mop for this wet pussy.” The sexualized narrative in WAP's lyrics and video paints the woman having agency over her body and sexual pleasure. But the discourse in the Culture posits, is this display vulgar, sending the wrong message and thus culturally damaging or is it simply the embodiment of female expression and empowerment? We discuss this and ask the broader question in this episode, does WAP represent a positive or negative reflection on the Culture?  We would love to hear what you think about this very charged conversation - DM us on Instagram @TheConversations. Podcast. Please also subscribe and rate this podcast (*****), we appreciate all your support :)

It didn't take a global pandemic for Bandana Tewari to rethink her future role in fashion. Four years ago, the former Vogue India Fashion Director, left the glamour and excess of that title behind, and moved from Bombay to Bali to work independently as a fashion journalist and sustainability activist. Tewari calculated to stay in fashion in a more beneficent role, still showing support for creativity while promoting slowed production. But for so many other fashion professionals, the reality of whether they can remain a part of a profits-over-product, profits by-any-means-necessary industry, is a moral question and for a contingent may no longer be a choice, but an inevitable outcome — in no small parts deepened by the pandemic, economic downturn, racial fallout, harmful environmental impact, constant exposure of unethical labor, wage and manufacturing processes, toxic work cultures and technological takeover.  On this episode, Bandana Tewari  joins us to discuss how the industry values have changed in the last 20 years, her journey advocating for sustainability and why we should expect a mass exodus from fashion. We hope you enjoy this conversation! Please let us know what you think and also subscribe, rate this podcast (*****) and follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast for more.

The current call to address the systemic and structural ills across fashion has exposed an already broken industry that was undergoing significant disruption to its purpose and values. But the sheer breath and scope of the demands for deep industry-wide clean up due to issues ranging from rampant sexual assault to toxic work culture, nepotism to racism, begs the question, how does the industry plan to go about instituting these much needed changes?   Discussing issues of leadership and secession, journalism, critical thought and system vs segment or democracy, in this episode we ask, has fashion lost its center?    We hope you enjoy this conversation! Please let us know what you think and also subscribe, rate this podcast (*****) and follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast for more.

In this episode, we talk about the new Netflix documentary 'The Remix: Hip Hop x Fashion'. We discuss our immediate reactions and the main themes we thought about within it, as the film works to capture the influence of Black culture and specifically Hip Hop culture on global fashion, the making of the multi-billion dollar streetwear category and celebrate the stories of unsung icons including Misa Hylton and April Walker.   We hope you enjoy this conversation! Please let us know what you think and also subscribe, rate this podcast (*****) and follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast for more.

In general terms, the emergent cancel culture movement targets to empower the voice of the marginalized to hold oppressors and abusers accountable to their myriad offenses. But as quickly as the movement is taking hold, so has the pushback. “Has to cancel culture gone too far?”, “It's getting out of hand if it hasn't already,” are some effective headlines aiming to discredit the calling out and actions demanded for all things from genuine human rights injustices (including toxic work environment, racism, sexual harassment) to subjective behavior across fashion and culture. Upholders of the status quo are having a field day leaning on the annihilative implications in the word “cancel” to delegitimize this movement. With the threat of reducing this culture war to arguing semantics and distracting from the important work to be done, we revisit our 2018 “Call-Out Culture,” episode, with "To Cancel or Not to Cancel", that is the question. We hope you enjoy this conversation! Please let us know what you think and also subscribe, rate this podcast (*****) and follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast for more.

For millions of influencers, the rapid rise of the largely unregulated $8 billion influencer marketing economy has resulted in little to zero labor rights protection, disproportionate endorsement rates, multiple practices of racial bias (including visibility and pay inequities), as well as the easy trap of falling foul of community guidelines. This is all compounded by the current demand for authentic, purpose driven, messaging — while maintaining a stellar, inoffensive online footprint, among other minefields to navigate in the content creating space — influencers are often left to simply figure it out for themselves. And with no shortage of critics of their perceived undeserved success, it's not surprising influencers would organize to bring some regulation to their livelihood. The American Influencer Council, a newly formed trade organization has stepped in to replace the current trial and error approach to influencer marketing with policy and protection written “by creators for creators.” The AIC's founder Qianna Smith Bruneteau and influencer and council member Chrissy Rutherford join us on this episode to breakdown the little understood influencer landscape that's full of gray areas... the relationship between brand, influencer and policy, creator rights and responsibilities and how AIC will help to navigate the culture of fear and uncertainty with no central nervous system or clear rules in an economy that's proving to be working. And about that massive Times Square billboard when AIC launched and other elements Diet Prada have taken issue with in their recent post - we address that too. We hope you enjoy this substantive conversation, it certainly gave us a lot to think about. Please let us know what you think and also subscribe, rate this podcast (*****) and follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast for more.

A damning Medium essay, titled 'The Truth About Essence', was published last week detailing a toxic culture of abuse, intimidation and underpayment at Black-owned, Black run Essence Magazine. Authored by a group of employees named Black Female Anonymous - this stunning unfolding in the midst of the rise of several Black-led professional groups demanding equity across the fashion industry - inspired us revisit our Black leadership episode from last year.  Additionally, during this time, a recent New York Times article, 'It's Time to End Racism in the Fashion Industry. But How?' detailed several Black groups and their varying, not yet unified initiatives, aimed at changing the current oppressive structure of racial inequality in fashion. The article insinuates that the disparate Black voices lack a collective game plan or more salaciously, are in competition. Journalistic devise notwithstanding, the journey to dismantling white supremacy in fashion is froth with some issues within the Black community also, including the desire to uphold toxic and elitist systems, Black oppressors, and in parts the ruthless advancement of personal and territorial agendas. In this episode, we ask as it pertains to the race issue in fashion; is there an element where we as Black people are doing it to ourselves? This is a very delicate topic, but as always, we hope you get involved and let us know your thoughts - a conversation is key! Please also subscribe, rate this podcast (*****) and follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast for more.

To kick off their virtual, vintage shopping weekend (#avirtualaffair), vintage platform A Current Affair, invited us to an Instagram Live conversation tailored to this influential and growing fashion community. We touch on the genesis and near three year history of this podcast, our roles in fashion and discuss the current events, bringing context and summary to the racial climate that's led to the disruption and fallout across our industry. And finally we talk about the vintage community; the joy and sustainability they bring to the fashion business.    Join Jason at 2.30 EST today (June 27th) for his Instagram Live show @jasoncampbellstudios where he'll be selling a selection of vintage clothing and accessories.   **PLEASE EXCUSE THE AUDIO QUALITY FROM THIS LIVE SESSION, WE HAD A COUPLE OF TECHNICAL ISSUES - WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THE SUBSTANCE OF THE CONVERSATION NONETHELESS**

As companies are starting to seriously examine the damaging issues of racial inequality, micro-aggression, toxic work culture and unjust systems, a more sustainable, compassionate approach to conducting business is demanded of our C-suite leaders.   And while the revolution in the streets is the agency for much needed social changes taking place across industries, how are companies to go about transforming from a shareholder interested, profits-led business to one of connectedness, compassion and diversity? And are the steps to change one of gradual reform or should business leaders bring the radical energy from the streets to the corporate suites?  In this episode, we're joined by values-based strategist, transformation consultant and founder, CEO of 822 Group, Mory Fontanez to discuss her methodology that involves quieting the “chaos” that consume work environments, while rooting out systemic issues and working with businesses leaders on a “cellular” level “to create purpose-driven brands that connect with customers”. As always, we hope you get involved and let us know your thoughts, comment, subscribe, rate this podcast (*****) and follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast for more.

In our third week of civil unrest, in parallel, the racial fallout continues in fashion. As audiences, the Black fashion community and allies grow more suspicious and frustrated with brands, their missteps, formulaic messaging and a general lack of tangible action. Additionally, a number of executive exits due to claims of racism and toxic work environments (including the founders of Reformation, Man Repeller, Refinery29 and The Wing this week alone), expose in greater detail how problematic the fashion system is. Within all of that and more, many Black fashion professionals are also unpacking the trauma induced by the continued systemic racism in the workplace, fashion generally and beyond. ⠀ ⠀ In this episode, we talk to psychiatrist (who will be joining faculty at McLean-Harvard) and author, Dr. Alisha Moreland-Capuia, about Black trauma in fashion, it's impact, implications, strategies to foster understanding, tools for healing and advice for protection. This is one of the most powerful conversations we've had thus far, we implore you to listen and continue the conversations in your homes, work spaces and communities. Please also keep in touch with us via Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast, subscribe and rate this podcast (***** :)⠀ ⠀ Lastly, make sure you pick up a copy of Dr. Alisha Moreland-Capuia's book, Training for Change: Transforming Systems to be Trauma-Informed, Culturally Responsive, and Neuroscientifically Focused, which you can find via the link here. You can also follow her on Twitter (@DralishaMD) for regular goodness!! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

This week has been a mess for fashion. In the second week after the murder of George Floyd and subsequent civil unrest, brands, companies, influencers, corporations and fashion personalities came out en masse to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement. With that, in too many cases, the veil of inclusion, diversity, representation, empathy and transparency that has been carefully curated over the past few years, has been removed to expose fashion's deepest rooted problems: systemic racism, toxic work environments, a general culture of silencing and complicity and co-opting.⠀ ⠀ On the flip side, the most positive and progressive moves have been made towards the fight for racial equity thus far. More Black people and people of all races are speaking up and speaking out. People are owning their part in this and taking real, meaningful steps to reconcile. People are connecting, mobilizing and strategizing to dismantle the parts of our industry that do not serve all of us. More conversations are being had and connections made, than ever before, between people, brands and organizations who want to put their resources to work. ⠀ ⠀ We recognized that this is a watershed movement. In this conversation we recap the past week, review our hopes for the future and also discuss the feedback from our trending Business of Fashion Op-Ed: 'Fashion Is Part of The Race Problem'. ⠀ ⠀ As always, we hope you get involved in this very important conversation and let us know your thoughts, comment, subscribe, rate this episode (*****) and follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast.⠀ ⠀ Article reference: ⠀ In this episode Jason reference's Vikram Alexei Kansara's BoF article: 'Luxury's Inequality Problem' 

Over the past few days, again, the world has been reckoning with the unconscionable police brutality after yet another unarmed black man, George Floyd, was murdered in the US. With consequential civil and racial unrest, and an overwhelming rallying cry for allyship and systemic change, social media has been policing the fashion industry tracking who in fashion is being vocal and who is remaining silent, what valuable action is being taken, as well as who is getting it wrong, what can we do more of, how can we do better, what this all means in the context of fashion.   In this episode, we have a candid conversation on race and fashion with Imran Amed, Editor in Chief and CEO of The Business of Fashion (BoF). We discuss the role of fashion at a time like this, the varied responses from brands across the globe and his approach re: BoF to taking a position on these issues.   This is a tough issue and a challenging but much needed conversation to have! We will continue to have it. We ask that you keep in touch, let us know what you think as well as subscribe, rate this episode (*****) and follow us @TheConversations.Podcast for more!   **THIS EPISODE IS PART OF OUR SERIES RECORDED REMOTELY WHILE IN QUARANTINE, SO PLEASE EXCUSE ANY AUDIO DISRUPTIONS / AUDIO QUALITY, PARTICULARLY AS THIS WAS RECORED ACROSS A COUPLE OF CONTINENTS :) **

Image-making has never been so democratic. A visual curation of our lives is the order of the day, with millions counting themselves as image-makers. But can brands still discern quality from attainable or the amateurs from the professionals and does it matter? And in the mist of the pandemic and beyond, where budgets are dwindling, teams are being downsized and digital platforms are key and met with very meaty KPIs, what is the place and value of strong, quality or high-end imagery? ”Art is what you can get away with,” is a disputed quote attributed to Andy Warhol and the starting point of this week's conversation, where we're joined by one of our industry's most distinguished creative directors - Ruba Abu-Nimah.   Ruba's impressive background as a graphic designer and image-maker, makes her a great voice to add to this conversation with us, having worked for over 30 years across global brands including Nike, Tiffany & Co, Marc Jacobs, Bobbi Brown, Pat McGrath and Shisheido. She was the first ever female creative director of American Elle Magazine, a founding designer at French Glamour and works with the iconic culture publication iD. She's worked with the biggest names in image-making and currently leads creative as SVP Creative Director at Revlon. ⠀ ⠀   We have an insightful conversation with Ruba about art, the shifts re: image-making in a digital age, the ongoing power and relevance of strong brand imagery, her expectations for image-making in a post Covid landscape, her thoughts on process and non-creatives making creative decisions.    As always, we hope you enjoy this conversation, that you keep in touch, subscribe, rate this episode (*****) and follow us @TheConversations.Podcast for more!  

In the last week, a cross-section of globally placed designers got together to mandate a reset of the fashion system. Most agree on a post-Covid shift to in-season retail—essentially syncing deliveries and the global fashion weeks to natural weather patterns—to better reflect modern consumers‘ shopping habits. Change to the rampant mid-season, deep discounting is the other top priority for designers including Dries Van Noten, Alyx, Tory Burch and Altuzarra who agree is an industry killing culture. Other operating model changes from de-gendering fashion weeks, lessening the demand for travel and other belt tightening reforms also emerged from these resetting conversations. But for an industry that speaks to coalition and collaboration more than it actually acts on it, is this yet another one of fashion's smokes and mirrors, hollow talk of a community? Or now that its clear the system is truly broken, is it now that we need “our community” to fix it? In this episode we discuss what a fashion reset may actually look like.    As always, we hope you enjoy this conversation and that you keep in touch, subscribe, rate this episode (*****) and follow us @TheConversations.Podcast for more!

Fashion is buzzing about former Vogue Magazine creative director and writer Andre Leon Talley's soon to be released memoir, 'Chiffon Trenches'.  Leaked excerpts from the book details key events (some salacious, racist, and hurtful) from this bon vivant's 50 years working at the top echelon of fashion. He writes of being exiled and left emotional scarred by the industry in recent years, most notable by his former champion and employer Anna Wintour who he claims has come to find him too fat, old and uncool. No doubt fashion is a brutal business but those who operate at the very top where Talley satellite'd, tend to protect each other with plum employment and professional homage to the very end. Talley's distinction, however, is as the lone black professional who's worked at this level in the industry.   In this episode, we discuss Talley's career. Was he building community or pre-occupied with his own profile? Does he represent a cautionary tale especially for blacks in the business. And why it's important that he has claimed his legacy.    We hope you enjoy this conversation and as always we ask that you keep in touch, subscribe, rate this episode and follow us @TheConversations.Podcast for more!

Independent designers, unlike the cash-flushed, fast fashion, DTC and multi-national luxury sectors, are most under threat of insolvency in this pandemic shutdown. Short on resources, independents are facing serious challenges including unpaid vendor invoices, stalled production runs (and the outstanding bills), compounded by near zero consumer demand, to name only some of the difficulties. Yet if there are to be future businesses, independents will have to imagine beyond the immediate obstacles and current structures and envision how things may look and operate differently.  In this episode we are joined by Milan-based independent fashion designer Edward Buchanan of Sansovino 6 and ID Magazine and VICE MEDIA Editor-At-Large Gloria María Cappelletti to discuss what it means to be a true independent working in fashion, how COVID-19 has complicated an already thorny landscape for independents, and their thoughts on collaboration and Amazon... We hope you enjoy this conversation and as always we ask that you keep in touch, subscribe, rate this episode and follow us @TheConversations.Podcast for more!  

In this episode, we are joined by fashion educator and independent researcher, Kimberly M. Jenkins. Here we dive into many topics framed around the illusion of inclusion in the fashion industry; why the current fashion structures look the way they do, the issues faced by people of color (POC) in pre and post Covid-19 landscape and how POC can build systems for greater equity moving forward.    Kimberly is uniquely positioned to engage this much needed dialogue around the intersection of race and fashion. In 2016, she introduced the 'Fashion and Race' course at Parsons School of Design, in 2018 received the award for ‘Outstanding Achievements in Diversity and Social Justice Teaching' from The New School. She has spent her career developing a suite of pedagogy that explores the intersection of fashion and race through three platforms: classroom lectures, a website and an exhibition. She is also the founder of the digital humanities project: The Fashion and Race Database, the goal of which is to provide a dedicated platform with open-source tools that address the intersection of power, privilege, representation and aesthetics within the fashion system. She also worked with Gucci as an educator in the wake of their public racial gaff in 2018.   We hope you find this conversation as illuminating as we did! Please continue to support, subscribe and rate this podcast and remember you can now follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast and also check out Kimberly @KimberlyMJenkins. Thank you for listening - we appreciate you!   ** Please excuse any sound disruptions, patchy service or background noise - because quarantine.

In this episode we have a compelling cultural conversation with our great guests - photographer and film maker Ronan Mckenzie and stylist and Garage Magazine Fashion Director Gabriella Karefa-Johnson.    During this global lock down, where furloughs, layoffs, cut budgets, low sales and potential bankruptcies loom, in fashion, there is little to no focus on anything other than business survival. With that we wanted to get together to discuss the role of strong image making in a post pandemic fashion landscape and how that impacts themes of inclusion and representation along the way.    We'd absolutely love to hear all your thoughts on this one - please DM us at our newly formed Instagram account @TheConversations.Podcast and be sure to follow us there also. As usual we hugely appreciate your support in listening, please subscribe, comment and rate this podcast :)

Right now marketing is a creative minefield rife with sudden challenges — that if executed ineffectively — can render a brand tone-deaf and out of touch. Marketing in the age of Covid-19 demands razor sharp messaging that balance art and a pitch perfect proposition (if any) to buy. Still during this crisis, brands, especially those in fashion, must stand for something, now more than ever. But how are they to focus on brand message to sell product when demand is dead, bank accounts are evaporating and in some cases, bankruptcy looms? In this episode we talk through the panic to identify marketing approaches to consider in the fight for survival during this unprecedented economic crisis. However, with this level of uncertainty, everything is still inconclusive, but well worth the conversation we think. Thanks for joining the conversation, please continue to support by commenting, subscribing, rating this episode AND now you can follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast! We so much appreciate all your support :)  

The COVID-19 pandemic has mostly shut down the fashion industry, causing a shockwave of record unemployment in roles up and down the supply chain. From independent brands to mega-retailers, companies of all sizes have been forced to lay off, furlough, and fire staff in staggering numbers - and it's only the beginning.  So while the the economic impact grows more grave each day, out-of-workers are left to ponder the sudden disruption of their income, and the still-employed are wondering for how much longer. In this episode, we discuss the different approaches brands are taking to cutting staff and COVID-19's colossus impact on industry unemployment.   We appreciate you taking the time to listen - let us know what you think, rate and subscribe :)

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has shut down the fashion industry. Aprox. two hundred million of us worldwide are confined to our homes. Over 30,000 retail store fronts are closed, and all fashion events scheduled through May are canceled. Meanwhile, still in the early stages of this unprecedented world event - with no clears signs of when the quarantine will let up - the negative economic impact on the industry is forecasted to reverberate for years to come. With the whole supply chain at a standstill, companies have started layoffs and home confinement and ban on group gatherings has largely rendered fashion a non-essential on the demand side. So to start to wrap our heads around the unimaginable but potentially very real repercussions, a world event of this magnitude can have on our livelihood, mental state and an entire industry; in this episode, we start the conversation on, what the Coronavirus will mean to the future of The fashion industry?    We're recording this from our respective homes, on a new app, so please excuse any sound interruptions, we promise we'll get a handle on it and it'll improve.    Please let us know what you think about what's currently happening and also what you'd like to hear from us, any topics that are most relevant for you and we'll discuss! 

In this episode we chat with Vanessa Hong, influencer and fellow podcaster, about if our changing relationships with fashion has the power to really change the larger industry. We asked Vanessa to join this conversation specifically after she posted a very candid and honest account of how her relationship with fashion has become increasingly challenged, during what she describes as her breakdown and existential crisis during this recent Paris Fashion Week. This conversation perfectly dovetails from our previous episode about the state of influencer culture, with many key takeaways that offer both inspiration and a lot food for thought.   This is the beginning of what we hope will be a series of meaningful discussions, dissecting where we go from here as the industry and the people who make it work continues to evolve. We hope you enjoy the conversation and let us know your thoughts. If you could rate, comment and subscribe, that would be a gift we'd very much appreciate :)  

When it was reported a couple of weeks ago that the New York City Commission on Human Rights entered into a multi-year diversity resolution agreement with Prada outlined in clear goals to hire more people of color, it signaled a new age of accountability. But it also put a spotlight on companies like Prada, with a checkered history on race, desperately trying to reinvent itself without atoning for its legacy—and it's working. Prada has dragged along a new generation of black influencers, short on recent industry knowledge, to cheerlead their sudden anointment of black people. We welcome the evolving stance yet still we must ask, what was going on in those two decades when Prada largely ignored, if not suppressed the influence of black people? And, can Prada do no wrong, is it too big to fail?

For this episode, we conclude 2019 discussing a big topic that has had Jason riled up for a while re: black leadership in fashion. Black is in. The visibility of blacks in fashion as models, stylists and influencers is at a high. The influence of black culture from the dominant streetwear trend to the current curvy ruling body standard are setting the fashion trends. Loose organization surrounding the return to Ghana has well up among the black creative elite and an overall reverence for the Renaissance of the African motherland is afoot, but worryingly this black “uprising” lacks leadership. What looks like an opportunity to make some corrections and reparations as it relates to representation and recognition in fashion, is being Shanghai-ed by self-interested players plotting their own payday. Here, we talk about the advancements and the challenges, and address the question, where is the black leadership in fashion? We're incredibly grateful for all the love and support in 2019 and since we started the podcast! We will be back in Feb 2020 with all new episodes. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy, engage and rate (*****) this Conversation and we'll be back soon!    

With the ever evolving landscape of fashion media - from people buying fewer newspapers and magazines, to the changing role of advertising and reviews, to editors becoming influencers and vice versa, we discuss the direction that fashion journalism is taking in the age of digital and social media. In addition to writers Robin Givhan, Vanessa Friedman and Cathy Horyn mentioned in this episode, other personal favorites I (Henrietta) forgot to mention in the early morning moment is: Alexander Fury, Tim Blanks and Pam Boy - check them all out! As always we hope you enjoy the episode, subscribe, comment, rate (*****) and continue to DM us, we always love hearing what you have to say and very much appreciate your support :)

Increasingly over the last three seasons of our podcast, it seems evident that the solutions to many of fashion's problems are actionable creative solves, that are often not implemented. We've also seen that the fashion landscape for the most part, is merging into a more homogeneous marketplace with fairly little to separate one from the pack - from brand identities and content across platforms (think DTC brands sharing the same look and feel for performance purposes), to trends being applied almost identically across designer, contemporary and fast fashion brands, to the importance of profits by any means necessary - regardless of the human and / or environmental impact. Could this be because money is becoming the ultimate objective, over a founding principle of our industry - creativity? In this episode we discuss the merits and our opinions on this very topic. We hope you enjoy and participate in this conversation - we'd love to hear what you think! DM us: @jasoncampbelstudioisback and @henriettagallina. Also, please subscribe, comment and rate (*****) our podcast - we greatly appreciate all the support!

Performance artist, poet, and speaker Alok Vaid-Menon is a tireless crusader, an unapologetic presenter, and a beacon in the fight for degendering fashion — while simultaneously decrying half measures, meaningless platitudes, and tokenism — in the battle to getting there. In this episode, this change agent joins us to discuss their not so radical roadmap to genderless fashion and why it's important to accelerate and elevate this topic as one of the most important issues in our industry today. We highly recommend - if you're not already - to follow Alok's work on Instagram (@alokvmenon) and wherever they is performing, speaking, etc, for more game-changing ideas, conversation and solutions. We'd love to know what you think also, so please comment, subscribe, rate, DM us via Instagram (@jasoncampbellstudioisback and @henriettagallina) and continue to join and elevate the conversation!  

This week's episode follows on from Jason's experience at the BoF Voices conference in England, where we discuss one talk that was surprisingly one of the most talked about moments from the conference - the coverage of Garance Doré's take on why she 'Quit Fashion Week'.

In this episode Jason fills us in on his experience - upon his return from the Business of Fashion Voices conference in England. He breaks down the key themes, his highlights and the main takeaways. We hope you enjoy, subscribe and rate this episode and as usual join the conversation!

American fashion designers have been riding the hype machine for over two decades. The playbook often involves Anna Wintour's anointment closely followed by Vogue, the CFDA and few other retailers and gate keepers as 'one to watch'. Hollywood is courted, then muses and clients, with the public expected to follow suit, leading a designer to great long term success. As evidenced by the closure of a host of American labels in recent years — most recently the well-liked Zac Posen — is this formula is flawed?  What was once seen as a dream making recipe has proven otherwise, with the rise of digital, social media, direct to consumer practices and increasing consumer power. In this episode, we dissect the America fashion scene.    We hope you enjoy, subscribe, comment and continue to support and join the conversation! 

Social media influencers are the arguably the most powerful tastemakers and trendsetters in fashion today. Their influence extends beyond how we dress and beyond our beauty routines to impacting the very way we consume and think in the rise of the direct-to-consumer sales model. Anchoring our conversation in Instagram's move this week to stop publishing 'Likes' as a measure of a post's success (in the US), we deep dive into the influencer landscape discussing from our perspective what we have found both challenging and optimistic about it overall. We hope you continue to weigh in on the conversation, support, like and subscribe this episode!  

In this episode, we circle back on our sustainability conversation from S2 E11, and this time we're joined by Céline Semaan - writer, advocate, founder of The Slow Factory, Study Hall and one of our industry's leading voices in this issue. With fashion's environmental impact being brought to the forefront as an issue of our time, solutions and greenwash marketing are being added to the mix in equal measure. The answers to solve our industries waste, climate change contributions and human rights violations are layered and complicated - requiring but not limited to; legislative action, major financial investment, addressing our relationship with selling and consumption, innovation, business and manufacturing restructuring, radical executive updates and complete participation from all industry players. With so much at stake it's a challenge we can't afford to ignore, but with the aforementioned requirements for reconciliation before it's too late, can fashion truly tackle sustainability? We take a second look at these topics with Cèline and cover much more. We hope you enjoy this episode, participate in the conversation, rate and subscribe! Thanks for all the continued support :)

In this episode we ask, who are our fashion heroes? With fewer barriers to entry in fashion right now, one can catapult to the highest ranks of the industry with a pretty face and a t-shirt concept. But when we seek out innovative leaders, unbridled creators, or razor sharp business strategists, it's less clear who the real players are in today's crowded landscape, with so many variables to consider against new and undefined markers. What do you think? We hope you continue to support, subscribe, rate and keep in touch!

In this episode we attempt to tackle the ideas behind what it takes to be a brand in the current saturated fashion landscape. With so many variables pertaining to channel, distribution, HR and business strategies, paired with cultural themes including sustainability, inclusion and political correctness, folded in with growing economic pressures, and increasing customer power, fatigue and shorter attention spans - how is a brand to stand out and not just survive, but thrive? We discuss and ask you to join the conversation! We hope you enjoy listening, subscribe and rate :)

"In the current culture of accountability, where activism is shaping the zeitgeist, the fashion industry has staged an extraordinary consumer-facing performance, checking the boxes on race, body, gender and other forms of inclusivity. In an industry that's hardwired to embrace the new only to quickly move on to the next trend months later, is fashion's current interest in inclusivity simply a fad?" - writes Jason in the introduction of his Business of Fashion op-ed for their current print and digital issue, the theme: Inclusivity. In this episode we'll be breaking down the topics Jason covers here, as well as discussing the grievances made by Pyer Moss designer, Kerby Jean-Raymond in his own op-ed about BoF's founder and EIC, Imran Ahmed's handling of the making of this Inclusive issue and it's subsequent celebratory gala event. Welcome to season 3 of The Conversations! We hope you enjoy, subscribe, rate and join the conversation.   

  CAMP: Notes On Fashion is the highly polarizing theme of this year's Costume Institute exhibition at The Met and the subject of this week's podcast. We discuss the many different perceptions of camp and the campiest ones to own the attitude and help define “the movement,” since the invention of the contrapposto pose. Some subjects were soundly handled in the exhibit, but other influencers got barely a mention. If camp is in the eye of the beholder, was the exhibition an accurate representation of camp? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.     

There's no room to make a wrong move in your messaging, imaging and opinion-making in culture today. Traditional, nontraditional media, citizen reporters and straight up mean girls are there to call you out and there is no shortage of platforms from which to air ones' grievances. Call-out culture is a powerful tool in bringing attention and action to issues, but when is it doing more harm than good, what are the dangers when we conflate issues and meanings and what are the responsibilities of the people doing the calling out? We debate this question, highlighting some of the most recent controversies brought on by to call-out culture.

This week we discuss the increasingly hot topic of sustainability in fashion. What does it mean, what does that look like, what are some of the solutions, what are the advantages and disadvantages of marketing and what are some of the barriers that will need to be reconciled in order to shift towards a more sustainable industry? We don't have all of the answers and it's clear this is a very complicated and involved subject, but in this episode we explore the multi-pronged discussion - in what will continue to be one of many layered conversations we have here on the podcast. 

Ultimately us being in the fashion industry is underpinned by our love for it and staying in it requires being inspired constantly. In today's episode we discuss just a few entities that we're loving at the moment - from shape shifting stylist Ib Kamara (@ibkamara) to up and coming hybrid designer Mowalola (@mowalola), artist and musicians Desire Marea (@desiremarea) and Dev Hynes (@devhynes), incredible photographers Ronan McKenzie (@ronanksm) and Mar+Vin (@marvin) to fashion goddess Lulu Kennedy (@_lulukennedy) of Fashion East (@fashioneast), we breakdown what it is that they're doing that has us feeling inspired.