Jessica Michault 7/12/20 Jessica Michault 7/12/20

🎙️ Mary Vogt

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 eventually got her toe in the door in Hollywood as a sketch artist 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 costume 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 list. Her expert ability to use clothing to help her directors advance their story or 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.

Photo: Amy Graves, for South China Morning Post.

Jessica Michault 7/3/20 Jessica Michault 7/3/20

🎙️ Gabriella Cortese

What is that old saying, “do a job that you love and you will never work a day in your life”. That is the life that Gabriella Cortese is lucky enough to lead. She is the founder and visionary behind the brand Antik Batik and as part of her job, she gets to travel the world for months at a time looking for new ways to incorporate the beauty of ethnic designs and craftsmanship of local artisans into her Bohemian chic collections.

What is that old saying, “do a job that you love and you will never work a day in your life”. That is the life that Gabriella Cortese is lucky enough to lead. She is the founder and visionary behind the brand Antik Batik and as part of her job, she gets to travel the world for months at a time looking for new ways to incorporate the beauty of ethnic designs and craftsmanship of local artisans into her Bohemian chic collections.

Born in Turin, Italy Gabriella grew up with eclectic style inspirations all around her. Her mother instilled in her a love of beautiful things and an eye towards well-made clothing. While her Hungarian grandmother expanded her style palette by introducing her to the beauty of the Mitteleuropa aesthetic. After living a rather sheltered childhood Gabriella decided to explore the world when she turned 18.

A choice that found her living in Paris, France, and working as a dancer at the famed Crazy Horse cabaret. There she learned how effective the use of pattern and light can be as it plays on the body. A skill that would come in handy later at Antik Batik when she began to design clothing out of graphic and dramatically printed fabrics.

But before the idea of starting a label had ever entered into her mind, Gabriella decided that while she was young she wanted to continue to see the world and she spent years visiting places like Bali, Tibet, Nepal, and India.

Then, not unlike Ralph Lauren who got his start selling men’s ties, Gabriella began her business by selling a single item - the Pareos. Her beautiful wrap skirts, that she had created with local artists in Bali using the batik printing technique, were an instant hit. So in 1992 she launched Antik Batik and began to corner the market for those women looking for a sophisticated slant on hippy chic ethnic fashion at a time when minimalism was at its peak.

From its inception, Gabriella was determined that Antik Batik would be an eco-friendly brand dedicated to supporting artisans in far-flung countries who have the unique skill set to create her colorful and richly embroidered designs. And for the past three decades, she has built up long lasting relationships with many of her suppliers in India and elsewhere. She sees them as part of her extended family and the work they do as the beating heart of her successful business.

Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that Gabriella 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, it's time to discover how Gabriella built up a global business out of her passion for travel and her devotion to ethnic elegance.

Jessica Michault 6/26/20 Jessica Michault 6/26/20

🎙️ Rebecca Todd

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 Distancing, 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.

Jessica Michault 6/20/20 Jessica Michault 6/20/20

🎙️ Kevin Germanier

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.

Jessica Michault 6/12/20 Jessica Michault 6/12/20

🎙️ Hillary France

A self-described “supply chain nerd” Hillary France, the CEO and co-founder of Brand Assembly, is helping fashion creatives focus on crafting their visions of the future while she and her team take on the day to day, back of house fundamental tasks that any growing small business has to master if it wants to become successful. Her full-service BtoB business does everything from bookkeeping, warehouse management, and running e-commerce operations to creating costing sheets, merchandising and sales plans, and even social media and global marketing strategies.

But Hillary, who founded her company in 2013, wanted to do even more for her clients. She also organizes trade shows and created a coworking space called The Square, with locations in New York and Los Angeles, for people to meet up and hopefully collaborate on the next big thing. She also hosts monthly panels and workshops to help her clients stay on top of the latest innovations taking place in the industry.

Before branching out on her own, Hillary, who is a graduate of Duke University, cut her retail buying and wholesale teeth at marquee brands like Diane von Furstenberg, Kate Spade, Guess and Kimberly Ovitz. And was even behind the launch of the Rachel Zoe brand for the Li and Fung company.

Today, just like thousands of other fashion-focused companies Hillary has had to pivot her business’s working model post-pandemic as the world continues to maintain social distancing practices. So she is launching later this month a new virtual show portal and a new digital experience that she is calling GRID. She is also planning to add other forms of online content such as Zoom panel discussions or digital showroom walkthroughs with designers on the dates she would usually have her real world trade show, from June 16 through June 18th.

The tagline for Brand Assembly is “Our mission is simple: help brands reach theirs”. It is clear that Hillary has taken this message to heart and has no intention of letting something like a global pandemic or a corona economy keep her from giving brands the support they need to become the successes they always dreamed of.

Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that Hillary 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 let’s listen to Hillary talk about how she sees the future of fashion shaping up, as she takes on the topics of seasonal collections, markdown cycles, and the growing power of the digital space for fashion brands.

Image by Alec Kugler.

Jessica Michault 6/5/20 Jessica Michault 6/5/20

🎙️ Nellie Partow

It says something about a brand that when you click on the about page on its website to get the backstory on the designer, a YouTube video of her boxing in the center ring at Madison Square Garden pops up. Showing her winning her title fight in front of a sold-out crowd. If nothing else the footage clearly illustrates that designer Nellie Partow knows how to roll with the punches and has no intention of ever being down for the count.

Which is a good thing considering that her independent label finds itself in that ambiguous middle ground of no longer being a new brand on the rise nor one that has achieved world domination. Partow, which the designer launched in 2011, is one of those sleeper hit fashion houses. You know the ones I am talking about. The brands whose names you whisper in the ears of only your closest friends when they ask you where you got that amazing relaxed fit purple suit or the dress with architectural pleating on the bodice or strategically placed cut-outs. Partow’s aesthetic is one of modern minimalism. Where the use of color and structural detail work help to elevate the understated foundation to a more refined realm.

Nellie’s design approach is perfectly understandable considering that - after graduating from Parsons - and just like with her boxing training, she put in the hours, days, months, and years learning her craft. Working at Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, and John Varvatos for a cumulative 10-year stint before she hung up her own shingle.

Her slow but steady wins the race philosophy to fashion has worked well for Nellie. Only three years after launching her brand she found herself making a profit. Something that is almost unheard of in the industry. In 2015 she became a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, AKA the CFDA. And 2019, according to the designer, was her best year yet - as she started to scale up her label adding in new categories to her staple “work as hard as the woman wearing them” designs. Even the pandemic hasn’t stopped her from moving forward with the launch, this month, of an e-commerce component to her website.

Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that Nellie and I did our interview over Zoom video. So don’t be surprised by a couple of very minor audio issues and the sound of Nellie’s very friendly dog Mika barking with excitement while we chat. Also 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, for all you future fashion designers out there my advice would be to take a page out of Nellie’s playbook. She launched her brand in the wake of the 2008 recession but since then she has continually been punching above her weight to create a knockout brand that has the potential to go all the way.

Image by Alec Kugler.

Jessica Michault 5/29/20 Jessica Michault 5/29/20

🎙️ JJ Martin

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.

Image by Alberto Zanetti.

Jessica Michault 5/27/20 Jessica Michault 5/27/20

🎙️ Jens Grede

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.

Jessica Michault 5/21/20 Jessica Michault 5/21/20

🎙️ Olivier Theyskens

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.

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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 cancelled 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.

Image of Olivier from Numero.

Jessica Michault 5/14/20 Jessica Michault 5/14/20

🎙️ Alison Lowe

Now more than ever start-up fashion labels are in need of a guiding hand when it comes to best practices for the new normal corona economy the world is entering. That is why it made perfect sense to speak with one of the industry’s leading experts in the field, Alison Lowe.

For close to two decades Alison has travelled the world consulting emerging fashion labels about how to make it in an industry saturated with competition. Most of it with bigger budgets, wider reach, and international awareness. Her calm, plan talking guidance and overall positive attitude has helped countless labels carve-out practical and sensible approaches to running a business. One that is able to find that sweet spot balance between creativity and commerce.

Alison isn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves and do the heavy lifting if it means helping someone fulfil their life long goal of becoming a designer and running their own business. It's something she can relate to on a personal level as well, seeing as she currently owns and runs not one, but two fashion support agencies she started from scratch.

Her commitment to lifting up budding fashion labels earned Alison a meeting with HRH Queen Elizabeth, who awarded her an MBE for Service to the Fashion Industry in 2017.

After years of public speaking, lecturing at fashion universities, and consulting clients Alison finally decided to publish a book last year that pulls together all of her institutional knowledge in one handy tome. Aptly titled “How to Start Your Own Fashion Label”, the book is a step by step guide for those wanting to follow their fashion dreams. Already a best-seller, the book has quickly become a bible for designers wanting to wade into the volatile world of fashion while holding onto a level headed lifeline.

Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that Alison 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 let’s listen to Alison’s advice for young brands trying to break into the business in 2020. I think you will be encouraged by her vision.

Jessica Michault 5/4/20 Jessica Michault 5/4/20

🎙️ Burak Cakmak

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.

Jessica Michault 4/17/20 Jessica Michault 4/17/20

🎙️ Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele

Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele has always been a woman who follows the beat of her own drum. She speaks her mind. Follows her gut. And has an unparalleled eye when it comes to making unexpected sartorial combinations work.

The godmother of the high/low fashion mix, she famously and fearlessly combined the most basic pair of stonewashed denim jeans with a Christian Lacroix haute couture top that featured a beaded and bejeweled cross for Anna Wintour’s very first American Vogue cover as the magazine’s editor-in-chief, back in 1988. It was a watershed fashion moment that people point to as the harbinger of modern fashion. Where wearing off the rack garments with custom pieces is not just permitted, it is expected and encouraged as a way of expressing one’s true character through their clothing.

Carlyne made the street not only chic but cool.

Born in Saint-Tropez in the south of France, as soon as she could, Carlyne got herself to Paris, the heart of the fashion action. There she let her innate sense of style speak for itself, first at Marie Claire then at Elle, before she left for the United States to work at American Vogue.

She is an instinctive layerer - I know that isn’t a real word but Carlyne is famous for making up her own so I am sure she would approve. She loves to pile on the accessories and clothing until a look is just right. Even if that means very little layering at all. Her career is also multilayered. She is a stylist, fashion director, and creative consultant all rolled into one slender powerhouse.

She has worked with the best photographers and designers in the business. From Irving Penn and Richard Avedon to Patrick Demarchelier and Steven Meisel. Helmut Newton even captured her on film at her most dramatic. And she shaped the iconic visual identity of both Versace and Chanel during the 1990s, and today gives Jeremy Scott’s Moschino collections her unique polish.

Carlyne and I caught up over tea in the heart of Paris, just off the rue saint honoré in a busy little cafe. And while there are lots of things I admire about her, perhaps what I admire most is that even after so many years as an insider at the top of the fashion pyramid she still sees herself as an outsider.

She calls it like she sees it. And what an eye she has.

Jessica Michault 4/3/20 Jessica Michault 4/3/20

🎙️ Michelle Elie

Michelle Elie is a fashion aficionado who has elevated the concept of a collector to dizzying new heights. The American-Haitian born jewelry designer and former fashion model literally walks the walk and talks the talk when it comes to her profound love of the work created by one of fashion’s most avant-garde designers, Rei Kawakubo.

For decades Michelle has not only collected, but regularly wears, some of the most envelope-pushing pieces Kawakubo has ever created for her Comme des Garçons brand. Not surprisingly she is an evergreen favorite of street style photographers outside the shows during Paris Fashion Week. While inside the show venues guests who are seated next to Michelle are often in for quite an experience as they try to co-exist with her often voluminous, three-dimensional Kawakubo designs.

Let me just say that the smart fashion PRs know to always seat Michelle at the end of a row.

However, for Michelle, wearing Comme des Garçons isn’t about attracting the attention of others, rather for her, wearing the clothing is a very personal statement. In particular, she connects on a fundamental level with the pieces that exaggerate or deform her body when she wears them. They speak to her own body image issues and have helped her to become more accepting of her own natural curves, a subject she struggled with during her years as a model.

Die-hard Comme des Garçons fans are in luck because Michelle has finally decided to fling open her closet doors. On April 3rd, the opening of the “Life doesn’t frighten me, Michelle Elie wears Comme des Garçons” exhibition will take place at the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt, Germany. There 50 pieces from the over 70 Comme des Garçons garments Michelle has collected over the past twenty-five years will be on display for the fashion-loving world to enjoy up close.

And the always inventive Michelle is not letting the global quarantine stop her from sharing her exhibition. She will be doing a virtual tour of the exhibit so people around the globe can see it in all its digital glory. Thankfully the exhibition is open until August 30th, which should give fans of Michelle and Rei’s work plenty of time to make the trek to Germany.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Michelle during the most recent Paris Fashion Week and was enchanted by her story and also blown away by her pure dedication to fashion and her passion for Comme des Garçons.

Jessica Michault 3/20/20 Jessica Michault 3/20/20

🎙️ Dana Thomas

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.

Image of Dana Thomas credit goes to Nick Gregan.

Jessica Michault 3/13/20 Jessica Michault 3/13/20

🎙️ Casey Cadwallader

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 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 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 have 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 a rare self-aware designer who has a head for business, an innovative heart and a soul that sings with creativity.

Image of Sara Casey Cadwallader from Document Journal.

Jessica Michault 2/14/20 Jessica Michault 2/14/20

🎙️ Sara Sozzani Maino

I think few people in the fashion industry would argue with me if I said that Sara Sozzani Maino is one of the hardest working women in fashion.

I think few people in the fashion industry would argue with me if I said that Sara Sozzani Maino is one of the hardest working women in fashion.

Sara is the head of Vogue Talents and Italian Vogue’s deputy editor for special fashion projects. And pretty much no matter where I am in the world or what event I am attending, I invariably seem to spot Sara, with her lion’s mane of black hair, her monochrome - usually black - attire and her practical footwear, which is a must since she is in constant motion. I see her working the room, wherever she is, and make sure to say hello to everyone. She is always giving kind words of support and encouragement to the young designers who are endlessly seeking her out and she is forever crisscrossing the globe on the hunt to discover new talents to celebrate within the pages of Italian Vogue and Vogue Talents.

Sara grew up surrounded by strong women passionate about fashion. Both her mother, Carla Sozzani, who is the founder of the famed fashion concept store 10 Corso Como in Milan and her aunt, Franca Sozzani, the iconic editor in chief of Italian Vogue, from 1988 until her death in 2016, showed her what a strong work ethic can achieve and how powerful and transformative fashion can be on a global scale.

Initially, Sara didn’t have a particular interest in fashion. She worked a bit in the early 90s, when she was just out of school, at the newly opened 10 Corso Como before getting a job as an intern in 1994 at Italian Vogue. Over the years she worked her way up through the ranks of the magazine and found her own niche, that of spotting up and coming talents that she would bring to the attention of the rest of the editorial team. Not surprisingly, in 2009 Franca put Sara in charge of the newly created Vogue Talents project. It was her mission to unearth the future designer diamonds in the rough in the worlds of womenswear, menswear, accessories, and fashion photography.

And she has quite an eye for spotting those that have what it takes to make it to the top of the fashion pyramid. Designers like J. W. Anderson, Simone Rocha, Marco de Vincenzo and Glenn Martens, just to name a very few, were clocked by Sara very early on in their careers. It’s no wonder that every young talent fashion jury on the planet is clamoring to get Sara on their committee.

2019 marked the 10 year anniversary of the launch of Vogue Talents and I caught up with Sara right after that momentous milestone. And to give you an idea of just how busy this woman is, we ended up recording our podcast in the back of her black town car in between two fashion shows.

All you have to do is listen to this podcast to know that Sara is one of those amazing people who you know you can always count on. She wants everyone to be a success, and if she can help you get there, she will pull out all the stops to make it happen.

Image of Sara Sozzani Maino from Antidote Magazine.

Jessica Michault 1/15/20 Jessica Michault 1/15/20

🎙️ Vikki Kavanagh

Vikki Kavanagh is the Global Buying and Merchandising Director at The Outnet, the sister e-commerce website to Net-a-porter and Mr. Porter. And the reason she has held that venerale position at the company for almost three years now is because she is a true buyer’s buyer.

Vikki Kavanagh is the Global Buying and Merchandising Director at The Outnet, the sister e-commerce website to Net-a-porter and Mr. Porter. And the reason she has held that venerable position at the company for almost three years now is because she is a true buyer’s buyer.

What I mean by that is that she has the art of buying coursing through her veins. Since she was a teenager she has been fascinated by this aspect of the fashion industry. And it was right out of school, at her first job working in a House of Fraser department store, that she first laid eyes on the glamourous women who were crisscrossing the world ordering up the stock that would line the shelves of the store in the season to come, that she knew that being a buyer was going to be her calling.

She liked the idea of finding just the right products for the people who frequented the store she worked for, be that online or within the walls of a storefront. To find for them both the things she knew they would need, but also those they didn’t know they needed until she found it for them and those items that they didn’t need at all, but wanted, and couldn’t live without.

Over the years she has proven herself to be very skilled at being in tune with her customers. Be that buying for Fenwicks, House of Fraser, Harvey Nichols, the fashion e-tailer Very Exclusive or finally The Outnet.

The Outnet, which just celebrated its 10 year anniversary, has become so much more than just a place were end of season stock goes on sale. In fact, today 90% of the stock is sourced directly from the brands on buying trips Vikki makes with her team to the fashion capitals of the world. She has helped build deeper relationships with brands which has lead to exclusive partnerships like a recent one the company did with Mary Katrantzou as well as unexpected collaborations.

Vikki helped put into place a collaboration between the brand’s in house line - Iris and Ink, which - by the way - consistently ranks in the company’s top 5 selling brands on its website, with the style icon, model and entrepreneur Julia Restoin Roitfeld. A first for the company.

Today, for Vikki, being a fashion buyer means being nimble, using data to help hone your choices but making sure to still leave room to follow your gut. In our conversation, Vikki talks about what it takes to be a great buyer, the evolution of the luxury consumer, and the new landscape of seasonless shopping as well as The Outnet’s role in a circular economy and why she will never understand the appeal of bicycle shorts.

Image of Vikki Kavanagh from GPS Radar.

Jessica Michault 11/14/19 Jessica Michault 11/14/19

🎙️ Alexandre Mattiussi

There are some fashion insiders who call designer 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, and then 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 he had his sartorial epiphany. The beautiful things he was creating, well he would never be able to afford to buy them and 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, the evergreen outerwear. Menswear that was so well done that women wound up flocking to his work, and wearing his designs, as well.

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 in his Paris headquarters 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. 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, both a savvy businessman, but an even better friend.

Image of Alexandre Mattiussi from DrapersOnline.

Jessica Michault 10/18/19 Jessica Michault 10/18/19

🎙️ Joey Zwillinger

When I began to do some research on Joey Zwillinger, the co-founder of the sustainable footwear brand Allbirds, it was hard not to notice the pull quote from Time magazine on the company’s website that referred to its Merino wool sneakers as “the world’s most comfortable shoe”, or when Refinery 29 said “we won’t blame you if never wear any other shoe ever again”.

Clearly, the brand that Zwillinger, a biotech engineer, created with Tim Brown, a former football player from New Zealand, has fans, including the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio who invested early in the company – raising 2.7 million dollars in seed funding before it officially launched in 2016.

Since then, Allbirds has become a shining example of sustainable style at its finest .

The breathable temperature-regulating wool used to make the company’s signature sneakers uses 60% less energy than a typical sneaker. But, the brands sustainable initiatives do not stop there –It turned to recycled plastic bottles to craft the shoe’s laces. Allbirds came up with a brand new material that they call SweetFoam, which is an eco-friendly alternative to the traditional petroleum-based shoe soles, made from sugarcane off shoots. The company’s revolutionary material is an open-source technology so that other brands can also take advantage of the carbon negative material. Oh, and even the shoe boxes the Allbirds footwear comes in are made from 90% recycled cardboard.

Currently, the company, which reportedly is now a $1.4 billion dollar business, is moving quickly to expand out from its original direct-to-consumer selling strategy. It already has 12 stores across the globe and intends to open another 20 in the next year. It has also expanded its inventory range, launching a weather-resistant collection called Mizzle that is also crafted from all-natural materials and the cleverly named Sole Mates socks that are made from TrinoTM –a new proprietary yarn that blends together the natural fibers of the brand’s Tree and Merino materials.

Without a doubt, the company is riding the crest of the current sustainable fashion wave. But after speaking with Zwillinger, there is no question that building a globally successful business isn’t his primary goal but instead, helping to build a better world for the future is.

Jessica Michault 9/17/19 Jessica Michault 9/17/19

🎙️ Arthur Arbesser

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.

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