Happy New Year! It's the first new Sew & Tell of 2015, and I've got the perfect accessory to start off your year in style. Mikuti is a jewelry collection launched by Erika Freund in 2009. During time spent in Sub-Saharan Africa, Erika discovered a wealth of incredible resources, both in materials and talent. She was so excited by what she found there that Erika spent four years researching and developing a sustainable way to bring the beauty of Africa to customers around the world. On today's show, Erika talks about the path that led her from social work to jewelry, the traditional African technique of bead-wrapping, some of the challenges she encountered in establishing an ethical brand in Africa, the collection's bold aesthetic and its personal significance, the one bright element in her wardrobe (besides her jewelry) that she absolutely loves, and more.

Plus, a wonderful winter-y playlist mixing folk and pop, featuring tracks from Lay Low, My Brightest Diamond, Lia Ices, and sister duo Lily & Madeleine. So join us for a fresh stylish start to 2015, right here on BreakThru Radio!

This week on Sew & Tell, as the station looks at questions and concepts of identity, we'll take a look at unisex fashion. I'm joined by designer Rad Hourani, whose unisex line is admired worldwide for its minimalistic, sculpted aesthetic. A particular favorite of Lady Gaga, Rad's collections are built to be seasonless, timeless, and gender-less, offering unrestricted freedom of expression to the world of fashion. On today's show, Rad talks about his passion for math, art, and symmetry in design, his interpretation of unisex style, the differences in his process for designing haute couture vs. ready-to-wear pieces, some of his upcoming projects, and more.

With a new year just around the corner, I'm taking this opportunity to look back at 2014 on Sew & Tell. This week's show is my annual year-end highlight show, featuring just a few of the incredible guests who have contributed to this year's engaging fashion coverage. You'll hear clips from my conversations with: Lisa Padovani, costume designer for HBO's Boardwalk Empire; Gabriel and Sarah Chrisman, a young husband and wife in Seattle who have adopted a "Victorian lifestyle," complete with historically accurate clothing (including corsets!); Kara Eschbach, co-founder of Verily, a women's lifestyle publication with a firm no-Photoshop policy; and documentarians Ismail Ferdous and Nathan Fitch, co-founders of Cost of Fashion, who covered the 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse. It's a great, but by no means exhaustive, cross-section of guests from 2014, and I hope you'll also take some time to check out the links to other highlight shows from the past year that I've provided on today's playlist page.

I'm also featuring music highlights from the past year - you'll hear my favorite tracks from my favorite 2014 albums on today's show. So join me as I look back at a year full of fashion, here on BreakThru Radio...

It's the holiday season, and the holiday season means giving (and receiving) gifts! So for this week's Sew & Tell I've tapped five of BTR's culture DJs for gift ideas. You'll find lists of their stellar suggestions on today's playlist page, covering everyone from your globetrotting BFF to your bookworm uncle. Plus, I asked each DJ to weigh in on their personal favorite fashion find of 2014, and they shared their discoveries. You'll hear from DJ Jen about her experience going shampoo-free, DJ Dane about his Ebay vintage watch obsession, DJ Jess about her favorite new travel-friendly label, DJ Meredith about Nike's great new designs, and DJ Kory about an innovative young sportswear label in L.A.

Plus, I've got a playlist of holiday-friendly indie tracks, including music from Tweedy, Pink Mountaintops, Sufjan Stevens, and more. So check your shopping list and get ready to add a few last-minute purchases - your gifts are sure to be a hit this holiday season, thanks to BTR's savvy DJs!

Originally aired - December 13, 2013

It's Network Week on BTR, so I'm taking some fashion cues from a hot new addition to the style network in my hometown of Minneapolis, MN. Askov Finlayson is a craft and quality-focused boutique for men, opened in 2011 by brothers Eric and Andrew Dayton. The storefront stocks independent labels from MN, the USA, and abroad, and is part of a Minneapolis neighborhood trifecta of cool, sitting alongside the Dayton brothers' other two businesses, farm-to-table restaurant The Bachelor Farmer and the elegantly laid-back Marvel Bar. On today's show, we'll hear from co-founder Eric Dayton about why he chose to invest in the Twin Cities culture scene, a few of the local and long-distance labels carried in Askov Finlayson, their newly developed in-house label, and the quirky story behind the boutique's unusual name.

Plus, a playlist full of indie Minnesota music genius, including tracks from the Eastern European-influenced Dark Dark Dark, Jagjaguwar labelees Peter Wolf Crier, Paste Magazine favorite We Are The Willows, and more. So take a wintery trip up north with me to my hometown, and embrace some its rustically refined style here on BTR!

This week on Sew & Tell, I'm joined by Taylor Johnston, a horticulturist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston who, dissatisfied by the lack of stylish, durable workwear available for women, took matters into her own hands and created the perfect solution: Gamine Co. Today on the show, you'll hear from Taylor about how fashion legend Bill Cunningham played a role in the creation of Gamine Co.; the practical and aesthetic considerations behind each Gamine Co. piece; the label's production process, which honors historic American manufacturing; some of the exciting new projects ahead for Gamine Co., and more.

Plus, I've got a beautiful, nature-inspired playlist of tracks for you featuring Beach House, S. Carey, Iron & Wine, and Tweedy, AND a great holiday gift guide full of suggestions for your favorite botany nerd. So roll up your sleeves and dig into some fresh fashion with Sew & Tell on BTR!

Who doesn't love a good costume drama? Television audiences are clearly big fans, given the recent popularity of shows like "Downton Abbey," "The Tudors," and "Game of Thrones." HBO's Prohibition-era "Boardwalk Empire" brings the vintage action home to NYC with sharp writing, masterful acting, and exquisite design, set in the middle of 1920's - '30's Atlantic City. For this week's show, I had the honor & pleasure of chatting with one of "Boardwalk Empire"'s head costume designers, Lisa Padovani. Lisa has had a distinguished career in period design for film and TV, and in addition to four years on "Boardwalk," her resume includes projects like "Oz," "Mad Men," and the wildly imaginative 2007 Bob Dylan film biopic "I'm Not There." On today's show, Lisa shares about how she got her start in costume design, some of the challenges and benefits unique to designing for a period TV show, a few of her favorite "Boardwalk" costumes, and more.