Fashion communication isn't just about the clothes. It's about how we talk to each other.
Meet Lou Croff Blake, a Berlin-based non-binary fashion practitioner, scholar, artist and community organiser. Their work merges queer theory with community-building, advocating for intersectional equity and amplifying the visibility of marginalised genders. Which sounds like a of words! Because it is. Carefully considered words chosen to challenge the dominant narrative.
British model Junior Bishop - who just so happens to be a wheelchair user - spoke at the Houses of Parliament recently, she called on the fashion industry to do more to tackle its disability access issues. Representation is an important first step, but we can’t stop there.
Bet you can think of a thousand places where career progress is affected by your postcode, where you went to school and what your parents did. And lurking behind all that: race, gender, sexuality, difference, not to mention how much cash you've got...It's time for a power shift.
Meet Rahemur Rahman, a British-Bengali artist, educator and designer who is determined to change the system, not simply tinker round the edges of representation.
Here are some questions for you: How much is enough? How can creatives incorporate the idea of sufficiency in their output? If you make physical objects, what does it really mean to be sustainable in your practice? And, how can you, as my guest this week, Irish fashion designer, artist and maker Richard Malone, puts it, "do your own thing and stick to it" in the context of fashion's relentless push for newness?
Why does fashion have such a problem in accepting all bodies they way they are, and recognising the beauty in different shapes and sizes? I know, I know, we’ve heard it all before, yet depressingly little changes.
Our guest this week has had enough! Self-described as “that body morphing b*tch”, Michaela Starck is a super-talented London-based Aussie dreamboat who’s beautiful work includes her own glorious self, as well as Paris-worthy, bow-bedecked frillies.
STYLE LIKE U IS A PLATFORM CREATED TO CHALLENGE THE OUTDATED OLD RUBBISH ABOUT WHAT’S BEAUTIFUL AND WHAT’S NOT STILL SPRUIKED BY GLOSSY MAGS.
Founders Elisa Goodkind and her daughter Lily Mandelbaum want us to take back our power from mags, advertisers and the global fashion business, so that getting dressed each day becomes an act of self-love. Here's to a more inclusive future.
OCEAN PLASTIC IS A NIGHTMARE - BUT SOMEONE’S GOT TO SOLVE IT. MEET MARINA DEBRIS - TRASHION ACTIVIST. American visual artist Marina DeBris calls herself a TRASHION designer, as well as an environmental activist, and anti-plastics campaigner. She makes her "Beach Couture" collections from rubbish she finds washed up on the beaches of Los Angeles and Sydney.
There’s a history of fashion designers referencing rubbish. John Galliano's controversial Spring 2000 haute couture collection for Christian Dior featured newspaper prints inspired by the homeless people he used to jog past along the Seine river in Paris.
80 % of GARMENT WORKERS ARE WOMEN, most aged between 18 and 25. Most have children and aren't paid nearly enough for their toils. In this powerful Episode, Kalpona Akter - executive director of the Bangladesh Centre for Worker Solidarity (BCWS), self-professed NOISY WOMAN, and former child labourer who began working in a garment factory at age 12 - tells her extraordinary story.
It includes dark tales of murder and danger as well as stories of resilience and hope. She explains what it’s really like for female garment workers in Bangladesh, and gives her first-hand account of the aftermath of RANA PLAZA. She shares her insights into what we, as consumers, can do. And it doesn't involve boycotting 'Made in Bangladesh'.
Getting dressed every morning is a political act says this weeks guest, fashion designer Ramon Martin. With Ryan Lobo, his label TOME is known for collaborating with, and taking inspiration from, female artists. Hear how they looked to the GUERRILLA GIRLS for a show inspired by the WOMEN'S MARCHES and the TRUMP administration's attacks on Planned Parenthood.
How can high fashion combine the pursuit of gorgeousness with serious messages about diversity and equality? What role does the runway have to play? In this Episode, we discuss fashion activism, sustainability, TOME’s White Shirt Project and winning fans like Amal Clooney, EMMA WATSON and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Getting dressed every morning is a political act. What you wear makes a statement about who you want to be and how you wish to communicate with the world around you. What’s your wardrobe saying?
THIS is what you need to know about our plastic problem. In this Episode, scientist Dr. Jennifer Lavers tells the story of her research on remote HENDERSON ISLAND in the South Pacific and its debris-littered beaches. What happens to plastic when it enters our waters? What’s the deal with bioaccumulation? What are MICROPLASTICS & why are they linked to the fashion industry? How can we turn the story of ocean plastic around?
You know those teachers who you never forget? The ones who ignite a passion for a particular subject in you that changes the course of your life? Timo is one of those. Former Assistant Professor of Fashion Design and Sustainability at PARSONS NEW YORK, he is now associate professor and course director of Fashion and Textiles at UTS in Sydney.
He is an expert in ZERO-WASTE FASHION DESIGN, as well as a cross-stitch artist currently stitching a letter to humanity to be read 100 years from now. Oh, and he's a birdwatcher…
Timo teaches his students to rethink traditional ways of approaching design to consider the entire lifecycle of a garment, and factor in reducing waste from the outset. But it’s not just about cutting waste from initial design...of the BILLIONS of GARMENTS produced each year, up to one third are never sold. Much of this surplus is destroyed.
In this Episode, Timo argues that we must conquer our cynicism and use our CREATIVITY to find solutions. THE FASHION INDUSTRY, which he describes a ‘seemingly grotesque, wasteful, deadly’, is also a source of endless possibility.
Let's tackle ocean plastics, shall we? Marine biologist model Laura Wells is an ambassador for Greenpeace, 1 Million Women and Take 3 for the Sea, and divides her time between advocating for our imperilled oceans and working as one of Australia’s top body positive models.
Why did a woman with two degrees, who thought modelling was “a waste of time”, decide to embrace life in front of the lens? What’s the deal with the ‘plus-size’ label? Why should we all get out more and embrace our WILD SPACES? You’re going to love listening to Laura explain her journey from ‘animal-not-loving’ Sydney kid to butt-kicking SAVIOUR OF OUR SEAS and land-based natural environments. You’re going to love Laura full stop. Unless you’ve got a single-use plastics habit.
