Photographer Sasha Samsonova is generating quite a buzz with her striking images of women who are comfortable in their own skin and unabashedly sexy. A female Helmut Newton, Sasha is all about celebrating the beauty and strength of the women who stand before her lens. 
 
Born and raised in Ukraine, Sasha is an autodidact photographer who was already shooting for Harper’s Bazaar by the time she was 17 years old, having picked up a camera after her plans to become a professional ballroom dancer fell by the wayside. But her innate understanding of how the body can express emotion in the way it moves has had a direct impact on both her photography and the films and videos she is now directing in Hollywood.
 
Sasha has worked with celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Lili Reinhart, Khloe Kardashian, Emma Roberts, and Kate Bosworth, her images have been featured in the pages of Vogue, L’Officiel, Elle, and Playboy and she has collaborated with brands such as Google, Fear of God, and Revlon. 
 
When you see Sasha’s work it’s all about sensual strength. And when you listen to her speak, you know that her goal in life is to make women feel as powerful as possible. And she has the photos to prove that she is doing exactly that.

071 Sasha Samsonova: Photographing Female Power

Guillaume Delacroix is a luxury brand whisperer. His entire career, from his early days working at Karla Otto and KCD to his time at Giorgio Armani and Balenciaga, to his current role as the founder and CEO of DLX, he has been helping leading prestige companies craft their narratives in ways that spark conversations, engage the public and create lasting impressions. 

Guillaume launched DLX nine years ago and since then he has built up a reputation in the industry for both spotting and supporting budding design talents but also for helping more established companies create bold new chapters in their brand strategy. A born storyteller, Guillaume doesn’t limit his clientele to just fashion labels but instead uses his skills to create memorable moments with a variety of companies. He has worked with everyone from Matches, and the famed Samaritaine department store in Paris to hot niche brands like Sophie Carbonari Skincare, the Zurich-based On athleticwear label and the current must-have swimwear brand Hunza G. 

The common denominator across all these companies is they are cool. And if they weren’t cool, by the time Guillaume works his magic on their brand strategy, communication rollout and event activations…well they damn sure will be.

I have known Guillaume for years and considering his impressive track record in the luxury space what still strikes me the most is how humble and self-effacing he is. I mean just Google the guy. For someone who can weave a brand narrative like nobody’s business, there is very little about Guillaume himself online. I hope this podcast will help change that. As he is one man worth knowing. 

This interview took place in June 2021

083 Guillaume Delacroix: Fashion's Badass Brand Strategist

Olivier Rousteing, the creative director of Balmain, talks about his new collaboration designing costumes for the Paris Opera house, the debut of his make-up line with L'Oreal, his childhood, his friendship with Kim Kardashian and where he wants to take the Balmain brand.

001   Olivier Rousteing - The Creative Director of Balmain

The world is starting to get back to work which means many women are turning to shapewear brands to help counteract the last few months of comfort food consumption. So I thought this would be a perfect time to chat with Jens Grede. Jens is the partner and board director of Kim Kardashian West’s shapewear brand SKIMS. And this Sweden native is a savvy fashion executive whose eclectic career path has given him quite a unique and clear-eyed perspective on the industry. 
 
After a stint working at the interior design magazine Wallpaper* at the start of his career, at the tender age of 25, Jens decided to start Saturday, a London-based creative agency. He launched it in 2003 with his business partner Eric Torstensson. The organization quickly grew to include a stable of companies focused on everything from brand management, public relations, and art direction to talent brokering, e-commerce, and publishing - in the form of the highly respected Industrie magazine. Later renamed Saturday Group, with offices in the four fashion capitals, the business eventually also dove into the apparel side of fashion when, in 2012, it debuted the well regarded California lifestyle brand FRAME.

Today, along with his duties as co-executive chairmen and co-executive creative director of FRAME, Jens also has taken up the task of scaling the shapewear phenomenon that is SKIMS. The brainchild of Kim Kardashian West, the company has seen exponential growth since its launch in September of 2019. Its inclusive approach to shapewear with its broad size range and extensive skin tone color options has seen the company sell out of most of its stock within the 24 hours of a drop and has garnered an enviable loyal client base with 38% of first-time shoppers becoming returning customers.

During our Zoom video call, Jens and I talked about the difficulties of trying to break into a market that is dominated by a single player. How hands-on Kim is with the creative direction of the company, the clear advantages of e-commerce focused business built on transparency, and how Jens plans to expand the growing SKIMS empire into new categories.

Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that because Jens and I did our interview over Zoom video you might pick up on a couple of very minor audio issues. And if you happen to be more of a visual learner, feel free to head over to my signature YouTube channel to watch the video version of this podcast in action.

Ok, now it's time to discover just how Jens sees the future of both fashion and SKIMS.

050 Jens Grede - The Man Shaping SKIMS Future

The Fashion Your Seatbelt podcast gives its listeners the rare opportunity to hear from some of the leading voices working in the fashion industry today. Each podcast is an exclusive one-to-one conversation with a creative who is crafting the future of fashion. Hosted by the renowned and award-winning fashion journalist Jessica Michault, this podcast is designed to take its audience directly to the heart of fashion and discover what makes it tick.

050 Jens Grede - The Man Shaping SKIMS Future

Fashion Your Seatbelt

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