Fashion designer August Getty is a gentle soul whose goal is to create a fully inclusive, fully immersive sartorial world where everyone is welcome. All that is required is that you be yourself 100% both in the real world in one of his one-of-a-kind couture creations, or in the digital sphere where he recently created a whole new virtual universe he has baptized Tinitus.

It is inside Tinitus that August brought to life four digital gowns for this past haute couture season, with 3D imagery so detailed it probably caused some of the biggest couture houses to turn green with envy. The designer spent six months creating these three-dimensional virtual gowns and he intends to expand on this concept with the upcoming couture shows this summer.

Based in Los Angeles, the August Getty Atelier has become a niche go-to fashion house for celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Cher, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Zendaya..and I could go on. All of them looking for outfits that are bold, unexpected, and wholly original for their galas, red carpets, and event outfits, because let's get one thing clear, August designs ensembles for maximum impact. 

For August, who is an autodidact designer, the goal of fashion, which he says he has loved all the way back to “when he was in the womb” is how transformative it can be. It can make you brave and it can give you the strength to be the person you want to become. Turn fiction into reality with fashion. That is what makes it so magical and so powerful.

072 August Getty: Couture's Virtual Visionary

Consummate creative Alexandre de Betak is an industry touchpoint in the world of fashion. He is behind some of the most era-defining fashion shows, events, and exhibitions of the past three decades. The proverbial man behind the curtain, Alex has brought to life the visions of designers as diverse as Raf Simons, Michael Kors, and Gabriela Hearst, and brands big and small, from Dior and YSL to Jacquemus and Rodarte. 

Throughout our fascinating conversation, we talk about where the spark of creativity comes from, how to keep those creative juices flowing, and how Alex is instilling in his own children that desire to experiment, to explore, and to see the world, and what it could be from different perspectives. Perspectives that will help those around them also experience a moment in new ways that challenge, delight, and mesmerize.

073 Alexandre de Betak: Fashion's Consummate Creative

I wanted to interview Alisa Volskaya, the founder of the public relations firm AVEC, for a few reasons. First of all, every time I would bump into her at a fashion show or event, our conversations about the state of the industry, future trends, and fashion in general always went well past surface chit-chat. Secondly, I was impressed by her drive and third, it just takes a lot of guts to launch a PR company during a moment when that field is in the middle of such a paradigm shift. Not to mention doing it in 2020, the year the world stood still.

Alisa started out her career working at Condé Nast International in Paris and was in charge of the fashion publishing house’s digital projects and partnerships. In 2015, she became the Executive Director at Naked Heart France, a charity founded by the top model and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova, where she was in charge of international fundraising and partnerships. Then just five years later, she decided to go out on her own and launch her firm AVEC. 

Alisa’s PR philosophy is right there in the name of her business - AVEC. She sees the work that she does for brands like Chaumet, Ralph Lauren, Chopard, and Balmain as a real partnership. One where her role is to be there with the companies every step of the way in their strategy journey, from conception to completion. But what exactly does that mean in the post-pandemic, social media-centric metaverse world we now inhabit? Alisa, just like every other time I have spoken with her, had some insightful and sometimes surprising answers.

074 Alisa Volskaya: The Future of Luxury PR

You get the sense, when you speak to designer Joseph Altuzarra, that he is that perfect combination of creativity and commerce. That as a French American, he has an innate sense of style coursing through his veins. While his American roots give him savvy business sense and a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” attitude. 

From a young age, Joseph - who was raised by his French Basque father and Chinese- American mother - has always believed in the transformative power of fashion. A self-taught designer who got a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art and Art History from Swarthmore College, his approach to this sartorial art form has always been focused on how the clothes someone chooses to wear tell a larger story. It can be the story of who that individual is or it can be one about the person they hope to become. That clothing telegraphs a message to the world about how we see ourselves.

As luck would have it, Joseph landed an internship in the design studio of Marc Jacobs in 2004 and he went on to work with Proenza Schouler before getting tapped by Riccardo Tisci to join him in Paris and become the designer’s first apprentice during his tenure at Givenchy. 

Then in 2008, Joseph returned to New York to strike out on his own. And from the moment he launched his signature brand, his work stood out from the other fashion collections being shown at New York Fashion Week. His sexy, sensual aesthetic that wove together elements of his multicultural heritage into his designs did not fit into the American Sportswear approach of many of his peers at that time. 

But standing out from the crowd served Joseph well. He was honored with the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award in 2011 and the CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear Design in 2012. He was then named the winner of the US Woolmark Prize in 2013 and in 2014 he nabbed the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year Award.

Suffice to say, Joseph, with his accolades, his brand collaboration with Target, and his stint as a judge on the first season of the Amazon Prime television series “Making the Cut” turned Altuzarra into a household name. And now with his label well established in the fashion industry, Joseph is thinking about where he wants to take things from here. 

In our conversation, we discuss what the future holds for this talented designer as he looks at his career from a post-pandemic perspective. A viewpoint that has been changed by the arrival of his daughter Emma and a desire to lead a balanced and intentional life. But one that will always have fashion at its heart.

075 Joseph Altuzarra: Finds Fashion's Perfect Balance

Designer Spencer Phipps is a born risk-taker. There isn’t a limb on his body that doesn’t have a scar from one escapade or another - that he jumped into with both feet before asking questions. The man is even missing a significant portion of one of his pinkie fingers from one memorable misadventure. And when it comes to taking risks, Spencer also has no problem doing that in business.  It was, after all, an impulse decision to launch his signature menswear brand Phipps back in 2017. When, after having worked alongside Marc Jacobs and Dries van Noten, he found himself looking to make his next move and couldn’t find a fashion house that ticked all the boxes. So instead he decided to start his own. 

Spencer, who was born and raised in San Francisco and graduated with a degree from Parsons in New York,  has over the past four years created for himself a label that scratches a very interesting sartorial itch. His clothing celebrates timeless American wardrobe staples that allude to wide open places, outdoor activities, and manly pursuits. Garments that Spencer has designed so that they revere nature, appreciate the artisanal hand, and seek to leave as little an impact as possible on the planet. While simultaneously his goal is to have them hold a long-term place of honor in a man’s closet, another sustainable pursuit.

From its inception, one of the pillars of the Phipps brand has been its commitment to sustainable sourcing and responsible manufacturing. For the designer, this means both leveraging the latest technology in terms of construction and production, as well as fine-tuning a list of transparent, sustainable suppliers that he works with regularly. His fervent commitment to crafting clothing that makes an impact but doesn't leave one on the Earth is one of the reasons why Spencer was an LVMH prize finalist in 2019 and, after just two seasons, the brand was added to the official Paris Fashion Week: Menswear calendar. 

But if I am being completely honest, on top of all the reasons I have already mentioned, Spencer is just a really cool guy that you always have fun hanging out with, as you will discover yourself with this interview.

076 Spencer Phipps is Making Sustainable Style A Manly Pursuit

I’ll never forget the first time I discovered the work of Mary Katrantzou. It was in London in 2008 I believe, and I just happened to wander into a room where a rack of her now-famous perfume bottle printed dresses was on display. On hand was her mother who was proudly showing off the stunning creations her daughter had dreamt up. 

And Mary’s mom had every right to be proud. Her work was unlike anything else going on in fashion at that time. Advancements in printing and computer technology had made it possible for this young woman to create architectural designs on fluid fabrics. Blending beautifully her passion for interior designs and her studies in the field of architecture at Rhode Island School of Design with her Bachelor of Arts in Textile Design and her Master’s in Fashion from Central Saint Martins. But it wasn’t just the print work that set Mary apart from the pack,it was that combined with her choice of vibrant rainbow colorways. The result was a collection that was the harbinger of the 2010s colorful print fashion revolution.

Since she started her signature brand in 2008 Mary, who was born in Athens, Greece, has found a way to modernize trompe l’oeil, help women fall in love with print and color again, and showed the world that clashing aesthetics can be boldly feminine and empowering. This is why powerful women like Michelle Obama, Cate Blanchett, Beyoncé, Lizzo, Jane Fonda, and Zendaya have all flocked to her creations. 

But Mary’s success goes beyond her ability to reinvent her core design principles every season. She is a very savvy businesswoman who saw early on in her career the power that collaborating with other creatives and brands could have in expanding her reach and name recognition. Her recent partnership with the high jewelry company Bulgari on a line of limited edition bags is a perfect example of this. But so is her work with Victoria’s Secret, Longchamp, Topshop, and Adidas Original. And her recent decision to create the size-inclusive year-round holiday capsule collection called  Mary-Mare also is indicative of how Mary is able to deftly read the fashion tea leaves as the industry shifts away from seasonal shows and moves into a space where smaller drops throughout a year feels more in keeping with the times we live in.

With over a decade in fashion, Mary Katrantzou is still innovating and challenging herself as a creative, and her devoted clients couldn’t be happier.

077 Mary Katrantzou:  Fashion's Goddess of Trompe L'Oeil and High Tech

Kaat Debo is the Director and Chief Curator of Antwerp’s famed ModeMuseum fashion museum, better known as the MoMu; a museum that has spent the last three years under renovation. But now, after years of waiting, Kaat is able to reintroduce the world to her second home. A museum with over 35,000 pieces of Belgian fashion in its archives and a unique history that celebrates sartorial storytellers who have helped the world see fashion from new and unexpected angles.

But while the MoMu is all about helping the larger world understand the different aspects and influences of the fashion universe, Kaat herself hasn’t been one to share her story much with the public. There is very little information about her online, other than the broad brushstroke that tell us that she studied literature and philosophy in school, that she first joined MoMu as a curator in 2001, she spent a couple of years as the editor-in-chief of A Magazine and then in 2009 took up her top spot position as the director of the MoMu. 

So I was excited to have an in depth chat with Kaat about what it takes to be a curator, especially one working in the rather new field of fashion curation. I looked forward to learning how her studies, her childhood and her mentors throughout her career shaped her world view and her collaborative nature. And I was interested to hear all about the rebirth of MoMu and how she is planning to make this museum so much more than a shire for clothes; but rather a living, breathing part of the Antwerp cultural community that interacts with the city that surrounds it and helps to nurture fashion lovers of the future.

078 Kaat Debo: The Fashion Curator Looking to the Future

Fashion entrepreneur Anine Bing is a very savvy business woman who knows how to seize her moment. An early adapter to the social media space, Anine, who is a former model and blogger, was one of the first to translate her online following into a successful fashion brand business. 

She launched her signature line back in 2012 out of the garage in her home in California. Her collection of chic staple pieces, inspired by her Scandinavian heritage and the casual cool of her Los Angeles home base, were an instant hit. Her “online first” business model, leveraging social media to market and promote her pieces was a new strategy at the time she launched. But today it's a formula that many are emulating. 

She reverse-engineered her success, starting from the digital space and then moving into the more traditional brick-and-mortar arena. Because today, Anine is sitting on the top of a wardrobe essentials empire. Not only is her collection sold in more than 350 stores globally, she also has over 15 stores located around the world. And Anine continues to expand. She has moved into childrenswear and has launched a successful line of perfumes, not to mention sunglasses, shoes, bags, lingerie, and jewelry. 

I sat down with Anine in her stylish stand-alone store in the heart of Paris to discuss her impressive success story. I was curious to learn more about a woman who was able to translate her love of timeless style and relaxed elegance into a brand that is helping legions of women look picture perfect for their selfies.

079 Anine Bing: Turning Followers into a Fashion Empire

Talk about an inspirational story. Paula Wallace, the president and founder of the Savannah College of Art and Design, better known as SCAD had a singular vision back in September of 1978,  To create a world-class art and design college that would prepare students for a global workforce. 

Under her leadership, SCAD has grown from a small art school with 150 students to a global university that spans three campuses around the world with thousands of students enrolled. Over the years it also became recognised as one of the most respected art and design schools, thanks in no small part to President Wallace, who has been the driving force behind its success for 45 years and today is one of the longest-serving women presidents in the history of U.S. higher education.

After speaking with president Wallace – and reading her charming book "The Bee and the Acorn" – which recounts the origins story of SCAD, the things that stand out about her are her drive, her sense of curiously, and her overarching desire to make sure her students are at the forefront of creative innovation. 

She is forever looking for ways for SCAD students, faculty and alumni to connect, collaborate and share their unique knowledge and perspectives. And president Wallace clearly believes that creativity is essential not only for economic growth, but also that artists and designers play a vital role in shaping the world.

This interview was recorded in May of 2022.

080 SCAD President Paula Wallace: A Life of Learning and Service

From the moment Alexandra Van Houtte first told me about her newly launched platform in 2016, describing it as Google for fashion, I knew she was onto something. Since then TagWalk, the website she founded and is the CEO of, has grown by leaps and bounds and has become a linchpin platform for anyone working in the fashion industry. 

It is the first runway image keyword search engine in existence. In a nutshell, the former stylist’s assistant created a site that, in just a few simple clicks, makes it possible for stylists to whittle down their sartorial selections for fashion shoots or mood boards from the thousands of catwalk images, lookbooks, and street style shots taken every season. It is also the perfect tool for fashion journalists and editors who are obliged to cull together images for those never-ending “top trend” texts, as the platform allows users to search for images by keyword, colour, season, brand, and more. Tagwalk also offers a variety of features that make it easy to save, share, and organize images.

In addition to its popularity with fashion professionals, Tagwalk’s democratic nature has made it a widespread tool for your average fashionista. As it allows visitors to the site the chance to explore the latest trends, discover new designers, find inspiration for their own personal style and create seasonal wish lists of the key pieces she wants to invest in.

My conversation with Alexandra really gets into the nitty-gritty of what it takes to get a start-up off the ground, how best to bring on investors and what skill sets a successful leader needs. As always Alexandra is honest and open with her answers, not pulling any punches when it comes to the hard questions about revenue streams, scaling her business and her hiring practices. I came away from our in-depth chat feeling inspired, energized and ready to take on the world. 

This interview took place in May 2021

081 Alexandra Van Houtte: The CEO who is galvanizing the fashion industry

I don’t think I have ever been as nervous about interviewing someone in my entire career as I was when my former boss and colleague Suzy Menkes agreed to speak with me for this podcast. I worked side by side with Suzy for 16 years at the International Herald Tribune, which is now known as the International New York Times. Over that period she mentored me, encouraged me and guided me. Shaping my career as I moved from her assistant to fashion writer and finally the Online Style Editor of the IHT. 

During our time together we experienced so many amazing fashion moments, from the John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacob eras at Dior, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton, respectively, to watching first-hand the rise of LVMH, Gucci Group, Kering and the whole transformation of the fashion industry from artform to billion-dollar luxury business. Not to mention witnessing the debuts of iconic designers like Nicolas Ghesquière, Alber Elbaz, Phoebe Philo, Tom Ford, Stella McCartney, Alessandro Michele, Riccardo Tisci, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Pierpaolo Piccioli and the list goes on. 

Suzy’s career as a fashion critic spans close to 60 years, starting with her college days at Cambridge where she was the first female editor of the university newspaper. But even before that, as a teenager, she moved to Paris to study at the fashion school that is now known as ESMOD. So her love of fashion as a visual expression of self and society runs very deep indeed. She started her true calling as a fashion journalist at the age of 24. Working under the watchful eye of Charles Wintour, the father of Anna Wintour, who would be an early mentor for Suzy.  

But Suzy came into full bloom as one of the most respected fashion critics in the world during her 26-year tenure at the International Herald Tribune. Her words were read in the pages of the daily newspaper by hundreds of thousands of readers around the world and eventually by millions once the internet was born. An audience that only expanded with the advent of social media and her turn as Condé Nast’s International Vogue Editor, which saw her words being translated into different languages and her reviews posted on all of the international Vogue websites. She also was the mastermind behind the idea of the modern luxury conference, events that are now commonplace but were brought into being at the IHT, and later continued at Vogue, under her guidance. 

Suzy is renowned for her honest, fair and insightful writing, and her ability to put fashion into the context of a wider global narrative. Today she runs her own very successful podcast called Creative Conversations with Suzy Menkes, where she continues to interview the leading movers and shakers within the fashion industry. She is still asking the questions every fashion lover wants to know the answers to, but now I am lucky enough to be able to turn the tables on her a bit and ask her a few questions of my own.

082 Suzy Menkes: Fashion's Greatest Critic

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

Gabriela Hearst is a self-taught designer, who only launched her signature label three years ago. This year she was nominated for the CFDA womenswear designer of the year award, just opened her first flagship store in New York, debuted a permanent showroom in Pars. She is also currently on track for being profitable by the end of the year.

But Hearst is no overnight success. She has years of experience in the fashion industry. However, it was her conscious decision to shift to only creating clothing using the best materials she could lay her hands on, to focus on versatile timeless garments and to design pieces with multitasking women in mind that made all the difference. In an industry built on the idea of the accumulation of things, Hearst is finding her global success with a less, but best, philosophy.

When we spoke she had just signed her lease for her store and her nomination for her CFDA award was still very fresh in her mind. But even though she had a lot of exciting news about her nascent company, it was when she spoke to me about the core message of her company that I really felt I got a better and deeper understanding of this exceptional business woman.

026 Gabriela Hearst - A Woman with a Signature Brand and a Plan

Glenn Martens is the creative director of the brand Y/Project. He is also one of the most talented young designers working in Paris today. His Spring/Summer 2019 show was a seminal collection that beautifully underlined the real breadth and width of his conceptual creations. Designs that have their foundation in streetwear but their execution is of a couture level.

Born in Bruges, Belgium, Glenn was not one of those designers who dreamed about fashion from an early age. Instead he studied interior design and just by happenstance ended up applying to the prestigious - and famously rigorous -  Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where in the end he would graduate at the top of his class. 

From there Glenn landed a gig as a junior designer for the women’s pre-collections at Jean Paul Gaulter and he also spent time working as the first assistant to the founder of Y/Project, Yohan Serfaty. Then in 2012 Glenn launched his own signature brand before being asked by Serfaty’s business partner to come back to the Y/Project brand as its creative direction when Serfaty passed away in 2013.  

From that moment until today Glenn has produces collections that are filled with shape shifting clothing. Pieces that appear sliced and diced together, have intriguing appendages or layers that make them look both familiar and fantastical. And the fashion world has taken notice of Glenn. In 2017 he was awarded the ANDAM prize, winning $280,000 and a year-long mentorship from Francesca Bellettini , the CEO and president of Yves Saint Laurent. 

I spoke with Glenn just a few weeks before he presented his latest menswear collection at Pitti Uomo in Florence. Forgoing a Paris showing for the prestige and the honor of presenting his clothing in an arena that celebrates the best that menswear has to offer.  
But what I love most about Glenn is that none of his burgeoning fame, nor the growing number of accolades he receives have gone to his head. He is just a great guy you would be happy to grab a beer with and talk the night away.

029 Glenn Martens - The Mastermind at the heart of the Y/Project Brand

The first thing you notice when you meet Arthur Arbesser, besides his head of floppy hair and big round glasses, is his upbeat attitude. He radiates nothing but positivity and you get the impression that he always has a sunny side view on the world. It’s a perception that is further supported by the fashion he creates – which is colorful, often with graphic motifs, and rich with artistic references that span many different fields, from architecture and painting to sculpture and ballet. 

His sartorial style is eclectic and original and it perfectly dovetails with his own creative history as a designer born and raised in Vienna, Austria, to go on to study at the prestigious Central Saint Martins College in London, and for many years now calling Milan his home. 

Arthur’s talent was right off the bat. Shortly after graduating from college, he was hired by Giorgio Armani and worked alongside the famed Italian designer for 7 years before deciding to launch his own signature brand in January 2013. That same year he was a winner of the “Who Is On Next?” competition in Italy, which is designed to highlight talented young designers. From this, Arthur’s work began to generate positive reviews by the likes of Suzy Menkes, and in 2015 he became an LVMH Prize finalist.

Today, Arthur is balancing two creative hats on his head; not only does he design for his own brand but since September 2017, he has held the position of creative director of the esteemed Italian brand, Fay. 

In fact, we met up in the headquarters of Fay in Milan to do this podcast interview just as he was preparing for his next presentation for the house. It was there that he opened up about just how deeply architecture and design influence his old world approach to fashion and how not being an Italian designer helped make his mark in Milan, as well as what it takes to simultaneously design for two fashion houses. 

After our chat, what I took away from our conversation was that as much as Arthur is an upbeat fun loving person, he takes his work and his love of fashion very very seriously.

038 Arthur Arbesser- The Austrian Designer Making it in Italy

There are some fashion insiders who call Alexandre Mattiussi “a one in a generation” fashion designer. And I would have to agree with that assessment. He is a bit of a fashion unicorn in that, not only is he a down to earth, friendly and gregarious guy who happens to be a very talented fashion designer, he also has a real head for - and a love of - both the business of fashion and the theatricality of it. 

Born in 1980 in the Normandy countryside, Alexandre studied at the Duperré fashion design school in Paris and decided to specialize in menswear design as he astutely saw that the market was much less saturated than the womenswear market at that time. 

Early on, back in 2002,  he tried his hand at starting his own business, selling t-shirts he had designed but decided to press pause on that adventure to really learn his trade inside the walls of established menswear brands before stepping out on his own. To this end, he worked at Dior’s “30 Montaigne” menswear line and then joined Givenchy where for five years he built up real-world experience as he led the menswear design team before the arrival of Riccardo Tisci at the house.  Following that,  he had a stint designing for Marc Jacobs Men.

It was while at Marc Jacobs, as he was working on some ultra-luxury menswear items, that Alexandre had his sartorial epiphany. The beautiful things he was creating, though he would never be able to afford to buy them, he wanted to create clothing that he would see being worn on the street –clothing that would make people happy as they went about living their lives. 

And so, in 2011 his brand, AMI, was born. The name, which means friend in French but is also the composition of his initials and the last letter of his last name perfectly encapsulates both the designer and his designs. He seems to be friends with everyone and everyone wants to be friends with him. And his clothing does act like friends for those who wear them. This is a brand filled with staple wardrobe pieces; the perfectly cut pair of trousers, the great chunky sweater and the evergreen outerwear– menswear that was so well done that women wound up flocking to his work, and also wearing his designs.

Today, AMI has over 300 stocklists across the globe and online and has freestanding stores in Paris, Tokyo, London, and China. And last year he finally launched a “menswear for women” line in response to the high demand for his designs by women around the world. 

I caught up with Alexandre at his headquarters in Paris after he and I had both just returned from a whirlwind tour of Asia. I was attending Shanghai Fashion Week and Tokyo Fashion Week and he also happened to be there as well. He was showing his first collection outside of Paris in Shanghai at the same time as its fashion week, and then held an event in Japan during its fashion week. All of it was a way to thank his Asian customers and friends who have become a very big part of his business. 

What did I tell you, Alexandre, a savvy businessman, but an even better friend.

040 Alexandre Mattiussi - The founder of AMI, A Menswear Brand That Is Everyone's Best Friend

Casey Cadwallader is a man with a mission. As the artistic director of Mugler, he is building the brand for a new generation of women and showing the world how sexy, sensual and strong clothing can also be very inclusive. Already he has generated quite a buzz around his runway casting which has included models of all shapes, sizes, ages and colors. 

Having singer Cardi B sit front and center at his first show helped set the tone for this new era at the house. A house that has struggled, until now, to find a designer with a clear enough vision to take on the potent DNA of the brand and reinterpret it in a modern way for women living in the body-positive, female empowerment, post #Metoo age. 

Born in New Hampshire, Casey studied architecture at Cornell University before landing an internship at Marc Jacobs that sent him on a whole different career path. From there he progressed to become Narciso Rodriguez’s right-hand man, was the head of womenswear at Loewe and most recently was designing at Acne Studio before taking on the top spot at Mugler. 

Since he arrived at the house in 2017, Casey has presented collection after collection of body con ensembles, cut with a scalpel tailored suiting and second-skin dresses that hug the body in all the right ways. Casey says that he looks to both haute couture and strippers to guide his design aesthetic. 

I met up with Casey right before the latest Fall/Winter 2020 shows were about to take place in Paris. We spoke about a wide range of topics in his office at his headquarters, which is just steps away from the famed Opera Garnier. Everything from the origins of his name, the fashion dos and don’ts that his expansive career has taught him over the years and, perhaps most importantly, how he now intends to refocus the Mugler house into a brand where creativity and bold ideas lead the way.

After our discussion, what I came away with from our time together is that Casey is that rare self-aware designer who has a head for business, an innovative heart and a soul that sings with creativity.

043 Casey Cadwallader - Mugler's Man with a Mission

Dana Thomas is a dyed in the wool, true blue journalist. She lives it, breaths it and consumes it every day. She is the Woodward and Bernstein or the Ronan Farrow, if you will, of the fashion industry. Her deep dive, investigative books into the inner workings of the fashion world have earned her the respect of her peers and I am sure, when she comes knocking, a few shivers of fear down the spine of at least a couple of CEOs during her career. 

In 2007 she published the New York Times bestseller, "Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster" which explored the dark side of the multi-billion-dollar business and exposed the hidden secrets that luxury brands didn’t want to have see the light of day. Then in 2015 she published “Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano”. In that book, Thomas explored how two of the most creative and influential designers of the past 30 years cracked under the pressure of the 24/7 incessant demands of a business built on always coming up with the next big thing, must-have accessory and the designer as superstar approach to creating a global fashion powerhouse.  

And now Thomas is back with another timely and on-point book called “Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes”. This time she examines the damage wrought by the global clothing industry and the role that sustainably, accountability, fair trade and transparency must take if the world of fashion wants to stay viable in the coming decades as the needs of the consumers and the climate both change. 

After a year in Paris working as a model, Thomas moved back to the United States to start her award-winning career by cutting her teeth in journalism writing for the Style section of The Washington Post. She then returned to Paris and was, for fifteen years, a cultural and fashion correspondent for Newsweek in the city of light. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, and Architectural Digest, just to name a few.  And in 2016, the French Minister of Culture named her a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. 

I met up with Thomas in her home in the 7th arrondissement in Paris. There, surrounded by her collection of rare and out of print fashion books, with her dog Daisy at her feet and her daughter Lucie studying in the next room, we talked about her new book, her life long love of fashion and her ability to spot a seminal story before anyone else.

044 Dana Thomas - Fashion's Leading Investigative Journalist

Burak Cakmak, the Dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design in New York is a man with a mission. His entire career has been in the pursuit of making the fashion world more streamlined, socially responsible, and sustainable. 

Born in Turkey during a time when the country was a closed market and under a single-party rule, Burak saw first hand what it was like to live and survive with minimal options in front of him. As the country opened up, so did Burak’s eyes to what the outside world had to offer, and through education, he grabbed it with both hands. Studying political science and getting an MBA. His thirst for knowledge pulled him towards California and the tech world. But the impact of his formative years led him down a different path, one headed towards the field of sustainability. 

During his career, he has helped to shape the social responsibility strategy for Gap, Kering, and the Swarovski Group. Each job bringing forth new challenges and opportunities to educate and enlighten some of the fashion industry’s biggest movers and shakers. 

Then in 2016 Burak decided that instead of trying to change the current state of sustainability at established brands, he wanted to go to the true source of the fashion supply chain and became the Dean of Fashion at Parsons. This is his first role in the world of academia and over the last 4 years, he has reworked the school’s fashion focus, giving it a broader and more inclusive vision. And he challenged traditional customs with innovative thinking to help ignite a fire of social responsibility in his students. Students who will, of course, be the fashion leaders of the future.

I particularly wanted to talk with Burak now, as the world is facing a pandemic paradigm shift. To hear from him how he sees the future of fashion taking shape. And it was a relief to me to hear someone who is such a realist being so optimistic about where we go from here. 

Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that -  as is the new normal these days - Burak and I did our interview over Zoom Video.  So don’t be surprised by 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 let’s listen to Burak let us in on what the future holds for us.

047 Burak Cakmak - The Man Making the Fashion World Socially Responsible

I have been following the career of Belgian fashion designer Olivier Theyskens pretty much from the beginning. I have seen him grow from a wunderkind, whose dark goth-like gowns were being worn by the likes of Madonna to the Oscars when he was just 21 years old, into the established and well-respected artist he is today. A designer who has come up with a signature style of dark romantic ensembles that are formed from rigorous attention to construction, precise tailoring, and meticulous fabric choices.  

Olivier has never been one to bend to the ebb and flow of fashion. Instead, his work stands like beautiful sartorial rocks, which the world of fashion crashes up against but never erodes away. His singular vision could be felt in each professional chapter of his career.  During his years as the artistic director at Rochas, he single-handedly came up with intriguing new silhouettes for the house. Shapes that instantly put the brand back on the fashion map and garnered him the title of Best International Designer by the CFDA in 2006. Then as the artistic director of Nina Ricci, he developed even further his feminine yet sensual aesthetic creating sculptural dresses and statement suiting. 

Next up was a stint in America where the designer’s couture talents were put to great use in the world of contemporary fashion as Olivier teamed up with the brand Theory to become its artistic director. Elevating the label’s global profile and also injecting its offering with sartorial sophistication. But the call of his inner voice to relaunch his own label eventually became too strong for Olivier to ignore any longer, and in 2016 he returned to Paris to relaunch his fashion house. 

Over the past four years, Olivier has methodically and systematically grown his company. Taking his time to be strategic about his choices and focusing on once again giving voice to his unique and uncompromising vision. A vision that is so singular that he is one of the youngest designers in the industry to have already had not one- but two- retrospectives of his work put on display.

With all of the groundwork laid out for his own brand’s success, this past February Olivier also took on the role of artistic director at Azzaro. A fashion house with over 50 years of archives for the designer to wade through before presenting his first collection of couture and ready-to-wear pieces during the Paris haute couture presentations in June.
 
I spoke with Olivier via Zoom video about his impressive career, how he will balance the workload between the two brands he now oversees, and how he plans on presenting his debut work for Azzaro now that the haute couture shows had been canceled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

What is clear is that this is one designer who is looking to the future with a cool head and an open heart.

049 Olivier Theyskens - Fashion's Dark Romantic Designer

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

I have known JJ Martin for my entire professional career. And yet, until this podcast interview, I hadn’t realized just how much our lives were parallel. We are both California girls, we both left the United States to follow our hearts to Europe, and we both became top fashion journalists in international fashion capitals. 

Now all of this is a fun side note to this interview. But the real reason I wanted to speak with JJ is to finally learn the how and why behind her choice to launch her company, La Double J, in 2015. If ever there was an inspirational story about how to be fearless when it comes to pivoting and creating a second act for your career, it’s JJ’s story. 

But I am getting a bit ahead of myself. In this podcast, you will hear all about how JJ was able to start to follow her passion for fashion through the fields of advertising and marketing. How she ended up living in Milan, not speaking a word of Italian. And how a chance meeting with the renowned fashion journalist Godfrey Deeny put her on the path to becoming one of the top fashion writers in Milan, eventually spending 15 years on staff at publications like The Wall Street Journal, Harper’s Bazaar and *Wallpaper. 

Today, however, JJ’s love of fashion, and more specifically bold prints and great Italian artisans, has manifested itself into one of the industry’s most beloved independent businesses. La Double J is an e-commerce website that extols all things vibrant and vivid. Her curated selection of vintage patterned prints on easy to wear dresses, pants, and tops have made her site the go-to place for anyone who loves to be the center of attention when they walk in a room. 

Better yet, JJ has smartly evolved the company to become an avenue for her to highlight the work of Italian artists and brands that she feels need to be celebrated, such as the porcelain company Ancap, the Venetian glassmaker Salviati, the luxury handbag company Valextra and Acqua di Parma, by creating collaborations that blend their work with her own uniquely colorful universe.  

More recently JJ has expanded La Double J even further into the lifestyle brand space with a new focus on the world of wellness and helping women around the planet find their inner goddess. In the section on her site dedicated to living like an Italian, JJ discusses topics like the power of color on the psyche, chakras, and the movement practice of Qi Gong.

Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that JJ and I did our interview over Zoom video. So don’t be surprised by 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.

Now get ready to be inspired by JJ’s story. How she was able to manifest the career she wanted through passion, determination and hard work should motivate all of us. now more than ever, to start following our dreams.

051 JJ Martin: The Entrepreneur Putting a Bold Stamp on Fashion

In the fashion world, there are a handful of times that you run across an up and coming designer that is so earnest, articulate, and talented that you make a secret wish in your heart that you hope they’ll make it big. That is exactly how I felt after talking with the 28-year-old designer Kevin Germanier for this podcast. 

I had seen his work before first hand at press day presentations in Paris. And Kevin’s vibrant, beaded, and bold designs always stood out. But what also made them stand out in my mind was when I discovered that his garments were of the luxury upcycled variety. Kevin’s made to measure and limited edition collections are as far away from the hippy hemp and organic cotton, Birkenstock wearing image - that sustainable fashion is still strongly associated with- as you could get. 

This Swiss-born designer, who graduated from Central Saint Martins and launched his signature line in 2018 while still a junior designer at Louis Vuitton, found a way to make sustainable fashion look sexy. Look feminine. And look fun. His sculptural silhouettes and love of embellishments firmly place his work in the “statement dressing” category. But isn’t it nice to know that his commitment to conscious design sees his garments covered in shimmering upcycled crystals from Swarovski and the fabric comes from offshoots that are getting a second lease on life.

Not surprisingly Kevin’s vivid designs have already been worn by the likes of Lady Gaga, Björk, and K-pop star Sunmi. He was also shortlisted for the 2019 LVMH Prize for young designers. And the leading fashion e-commerce platform MatchesFashion picked up his debut collection for its site, which it has been carrying ever since. So it looks like he is off to a very strong start. And maybe that secret wish of mine might actually come true. 

Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that Kevin and I did our interview over Zoom video. So don’t be surprised by 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.

Now come with me to discover the glamorous, colorful, and eco-friendly world of Kevin Germanier.

054 Kevin Germanier - The Designer Making Sustainable Fashion Glamorous

Rebecca Todd is one of those “she is just born with it” stylists. Self-taught and a straight talker she is at the top of the stylist game in Hollywood. And that is because Rebecca is constantly hustling, networking, and pushing herself creatively. That drive has resulted in a highly successful career in both styling and costume design that spans over 20 years. And her mile-long list of clients includes everyone from Blake Lively, Kobe Bryant, Melissa McCarthy, and Dwayne Johnson to Elle MacPherson, Ryan Hansen, Lizzy Caplan, and the one and only Betty White. 

Rebecca started out in Hollywood in public relations, which evolved into merchandising and buying before she got bitten by the stylist bug. And almost from the moment she decided that being a stylist was her dream job her career took off. In less than a year, she was styling for America’s Next Top Model and then became the head of the wardrobe departments of numerous shows on the E! Entertainment channel and The Style Network.

Over the span of her career, she has done everything from celebrity styling and fashion magazine editorials for publications like Flaunt, People, Us Weekly, LA Confidential and Maxim to creating the visual story for advertising campaigns for companies such as Ford, Nike, Pepsi, Starbucks, Showtime, Google, AT&T, Budweiser, Toyota, and Universal Studios - just to name a few. Not to mention her red carpet work at all the top awards shows, The Oscars, The Emmys, The Golden Globes as well as the MTV Music and MTV Video awards shows. 

Earlier this year she continued to challenge herself during the quarantine and designed to launch her own clothing line called Grey Hayes. Its message t-shirts, hats, and masks are all inspired by the lockdown. The clothing, sporting phrases like Stay Home, Worst Birthday Ever, Essential, Back The F#CK Up and Mental Distanced, have been selling like hotcakes. 

Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that Rebecca and I did our interview over Zoom Video. So don’t be surprised by 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.

Now to all you future stylists out there, get out your pens and paper and pay close attention to what Rebecca has to say in this podcast. Her tips and tricks are a masterclass on not only how to become a successful stylist, but also how to stay on top in Hollywood.

055 Rebecca Todd - The Straight Talking Hollywood Stylist

The art of a costume designer is to tell a story without saying a word. So let’s just get this straight right from the start, Hollywood costume designer Mary Vogt has spoken volumes over her impressive career. One that is filled with spellbinding sartorial stories that have stood the test of time. Because let’s face it, it doesn’t get more iconic than having the ensembles you designed for a film become tentpole cosplay outfits and Halloween costumes for generations.

Mary is the mind behind the amazing costumes in the staple Halloween film Hocus Pocus that starred Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker. She is also the woman who came up with Michelle Pfeiffer’s unforgettable Catwoman suit in Batman Returns. And she made “I make this look good” Will Smith and the rest of the Men In Black team look sharp and sleek over the span of the three MIB films. And for those of you who are more interested in fashion-focused feature films, well then you can thank Mary for bringing you Crazy Rich Asians. Arguably the most fashion-loving film of recent memory, filled with one unforgettable designer outfit after another.

From a very young age, Mary knew that being a costume designer was her calling. While everyone else in her theatrical hometown of Long Beach, Long Island wanted to be an actor and stand center stage in the local theater troupe, Mary was only interested in creating the costumes. After high school, she attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and then later she went to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. She quickly realized that instead of being a traditional fashion designer, her creativity was sparked by a good story or character which she could then build a wardrobe around. 

Mary got her toe in the door in Hollywood as an illustrator and then eventually got her first big break working alongside Bob Ringwood on David Lynch’s epic film Dune and would work with Ringwood again later, but this time as his co-designer, on Tim Burton’s Batman Returns. And we all know what costumes came out of that collaboration. 

With close to 50 costume designer film credits under her belt, Mary is at the top of any Hollywood director’s must hire list. Her expert ability to use clothing to help her directors advance their story or transmit the underlying message they want to subconsciously communicate with their audience is highly sought after. All you have to do is take a look at her most recent collaboration, with Gina Prince-Bythewood, the director of the Netflix film The Old Guard - that drops today on the streaming platform - to understand just how skilled Mary is at telling a story with clothing. 

Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that Mary and I did our interview over Zoom Video. So don’t be surprised by 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.

And now it's time for Mary to come out from behind the curtain and take a well-deserved bow under the spotlight and at the center stage of this podcast.

057 Mary Vogt - The Hollywood Costume Designer You Need to Know

I’ll never forget my first Christian Lacroix fashion show. Watching all of the supermodels walk his catwalk in outfits that mixed colors, patterns, and prints in combinations my mind could never have conceived would ever work together, let alone look as fabulously as they did on the Lacroix catwalk. 

Lacroix’s shows were always full of energy, passion, and precision but above all love...with just the perfect dash of joie de vivre added in for good measure. By the end of every show, the audience was always revved up to throw out onto the catwalk, during the grand finale, the single carnation that was systematically placed on each seat at each show throughout the designer’s prodigious career. 

That was why, when I showed up at the Dries Van Noten Spring/Summer 2020 fashion show and saw a single carnation sitting on my seat...well...I am going to be honest...my heart skipped a beat. Was this the return of Lacroix I asked myself? And to a certain extent, it was. The famed designer, who had walked away from the catwalk after his fall/winter 2009 haute couture show, was back. This time working in collaboration with Van Noten for one season only. 

Let’s just say it was a fashion moment, and the show was certainly a highlight in my career. 

But Lacroix hasn’t been in hiding since he stopped doing fashion shows. He turned to theater and Opera houses, creating dreamlike confections for the stage. A place where his theatrical sartorial inclinations were right at home. And also he consulted for big name brands in need of a designer who is a master of the color wheel and has never met a print he doesn’t like.

I spoke with Christian in the wake of his triumphant return to the catwalk. To take a joyful stroll down memory lane together. For me, it was a pure moment of bliss. I know, when you listen to our conversation, it will be one for you as well.

059 Christian Lacroix: Fashion's Master of Color and Print

For decades in the world of fashion, there has really only been one man who has given the industry its sonographic soundtrack. And that man is Michel Gaubert. Michel eats, sleeps, and breaths music. It has been the framework of what he does in his career, as a sound director for most of the leading fashion houses on the planet, and it has been the guiding force in his life as well. His fascination with music is what pushed him to learn English, move to California in his youth and it is through music that he has made some of his deepest and lifelong friendships.

Michel’s passion for music has always been intertwined with fashion. As early as 5 years old, he dreamed about being a musician; as much for the amazing clothing, they wore as the music they made. Later, at the end of the 1970s, his years-long devotion to music turned into a two-pronged career. During the week he was a buyer of international music for the renowned record store Champs Disques, and on the weekend he was a DJ at the famed Le Palace nightclub. 

Karl Lagerfeld was an avid collector of music and it was at Champs Disques that the designer first crossed paths with Michel. Later it would be Lagerfeld that would give Michel his first big break designing the soundtrack for one of his signature shows. And eventually, he would call on Michel to do the music for Chanel as well, the first time with less than 24 hours notice. Their artistic collaborations would continue for close to four decades and span the Chanel, Fendi, and Lagerfeld brands. 

Over the years Michel has gone on to create musical memories for brands and designers big and small. From Dior, Valentino, Gucci, and Loewe to Raf Simons, J.W. Anderson, and Jeremy Scott. Not to mention the music he has created for the fashion store Colette, numerous exhibitions, store openings, and global events. His collaborations with designers tend to endure for decades as Michel’s encyclopedic knowledge of music, his collaborative nature, and, without question, his endless positivity and good humor make him someone you just want to spend time with. 

If you want to get an even better sense of Michel after listening to this podcast, besides listening to some of the amazing mixes he has created for shows over the years, I suggest following him on Instagram at @MichelGaubert. His feed is a riot and is always an instant pick me up.

Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that Michel and I did our interview over Zoom Video. So don’t be surprised by a couple of very minor audio issues. 

Now, it’s time to enjoy the dulcet sound of Michel’s own voice as he talks about the love of his life - music.

061 Michel Gaubert: Fashion's Master of Music

This intro is going to be a very short one. Basically, I want to jump right in and let you all listen for yourself as the French fashion critic Carine Bizet, who is not one to live her life as an open book on Instagram, finally gives us a glimpse into her life in fashion. Carine is one of only a handful of true “take no prisoners”, speak truth to power fashion writers working in the industry.

Well, actually she is no longer working in the industry. Earlier this year, after building a name for herself at Madame Figaro and leaving an indelible black ink mark on Le Monde with her must-read fashion reviews as the renowned French newspaper’s lead fashion journalist, she quietly, with no fan fair or big send-off, decided to leave it all behind. After decades of working at the epicenter of the fashion universe, sitting in the front row at ALL of the shows and interviewing every designer under the sun...that she found worth profiling….Carine decided to start her second act, working in a totally different field. Yes, a creative one, but still a 180-degree change from her career as a writer.

So I felt this was the perfect time to speak with her. To have a no holds barred discussion about what got her interested in fashion in the first place, the current state of the industry, and where she thinks it will go. And why, when she was at the top of her game she decided to walk away from it all to chase a new dream.

Full disclosure. I have known Carine for years and I feel that I can say without a doubt that, in a world where superficial friendships are part of the game, she is ride or die. Carine is one you can count on. She will give it to you straight, whether you are one of her closest friends, a designer, or a billion-dollar fashion house. 

Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that Carine and I did our interview over Zoom Video. So don’t be surprised by a couple of very minor audio issues. 

And now I am going to turn it over to Carine, because if there is one thing I love to do is listen to her tell it like it is.

062 Carine Bizet: The Fearless French Fashion Critic

Creative director and stylist Sascha Lilic is a fashion month’s fixture. His distinctive look, of a beret and monocle, always makes him easy to spot at a show. You can also always count on Sascha to give you a great sound bite about what he thinks of a presentation, and it’s often something that will make you laugh out loud or blush. Maybe it was all those years working alongside his mentor, the iconic photographer Helmut Newton, who was also known not to mince words, that formed Sascha’s talent for finding the perfect bon mots.

But to be fair, Sascha, who was born in Yugoslavia and grew up in Germany, was always fascinated by the world of fashion and its fundamental transformational properties. By the tender age of 16, he was already working as a hairdresser and make-up artist, before he finally got his first break as a stylist. And once he did, he never looked back. 

Sascha became the fashion & creative director of influential 90s era SPOON magazine before moving on to become the editor-in-chief of ABOVE magazine, which Sascha launched in 2004 and sold for a pretty penny right at the height of excess before the global recession of 2008. And since then, he has been using his talents on all sorts of different fashion fronts, as a stylist, fashion consultant, creative director...you name it...if it has to do with fashion and creativity, Sascha is your man. 

A claim that is backed up by the laundry list of publications, photographers, and celebrities he has worked with. Which include, but not limited to Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Interview, V Man, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Glamour, LʼOfficiel, and Grazia. And besides his longtime collaboration with Newton, Sascha has also teamed up with other leading photographers like Ellen von Unwerth, Norman Jean Roy, and William Klein...and I could go on. His visual eye has transformed everyone from Lana del Rey, Jessica Chastain, Sienna Miller, Rihanna, Lily James, Diane Kruger, Keira Knightley, Lea Seydoux and I could go on and on. 

So let’s just say that Sascha has quite a lot of great fashion stories to tell. Which is why I wanted to jump on a zoom call with him for this podcast. To tell us all about his extraordinary life, lived to the fullest, in fashion.

065 Sascha Lilic: The Stylist Who Tells It Like It is

Declan Chan is one of those front-row fashion fixtures that you always keep an eye out for at the shows. A fashion editor and stylist by trade, Declan has also become a favorite subject for anyone who loves to appreciate those who take the time to put together a look. Declan always looks put together, but with flare. And his outfits are just as eye-catching as the spreads he creates in the pages of publications like Vogue Hong Kong, The New York Times, the South China Morning Post, and Men’s Uno Hong Kong, or the campaigns he crafts for companies like Calvin Klein, Cartier, Estée Lauder, and Lane Crawford. 

Ostensibly, Declan is based in Hong Kong, but if you follow him on Instagram, his real home, up until the pandemic, seemed to be on an airplane...or a series of hotels... as he is continuously crisscrossing the world to oversee a fashion shoot, attend a fashion week, or just be a part of all of the “you had to be there” fashion happenings. 

What I like most about Declan, besides his style, is his honest, frank, and often funny reflections on fashion in general and fashion shows in particular. I always look forward to checking in with him at least once a season to get his thoughts on what he saw - the upcoming trends - and even which pieces he has already put a personal order in for. Declan’s point of view is important because he has become one of the central go-betweens linking the Chinese consumer to the fashion catwalks. Communicating via his editorials a sartorial message that will shape how the Middle Kingdom sees a collection, understands a designer, and ultimately, which brands they decide to invest in.

I know that once you have listened to this podcast you will be as enchanted by Declan as I am.

069 Declan Chan: China's Most Stylish Fashion Stylist

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.

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