In this episode I go on a style journey with British born international visual artist Sophie Tea. Sophie has recently come onto my radar…her work is defined by her vibrant use of colour, energetic drips and signature splats – it champions inclusivity, self-acceptance, accessibility and strives to make women feel just a little bit nicer about themselves… a resounding YES to that!

Sophie’s subject of choice is women…naked women. She is fresh off the back of her Send Nudes Live show at The London Palladium in which 50 naked women are painted for a live catwalk show, her 6th to date. She had a staggering 10,000 applications from women to walk in the show so she is clearly onto something. We talk about how when she was growing up she had never felt comfortable with her body shape, how the role models of her childhood were very stereotypical and how as a result of this she wants to celebrate the female form in all it’s wonderful variations.

Sophie’s mission is to make art more accessible… she is open about her commercial approach to this, using social media to reach her customers and offering payment instalments to her young audience who may be too intimidated to go into a gallery… she is brilliantly entrepreneurial and certainly breaking the traditional gallerist mould.

We discuss how as human beings we bond through our clothes, we sometimes connect with people simply by what we are wearing and being in a similar style tribe. We talk about how our clothes can often tell stories…Sophie undoubtedly has a passion for fashion, it’s definitely a hobby for her… be it thrifting (in “posh areas”), to buying full-on designer pieces, to the joy of choosing yet more cowboy boots at the mecca of cowboy boots that is Allens in Texas… not to mention something we are both guilty of… “milestone” shopping.

I hope you enjoy this episode…thank you @sophieteaart for being such a great guest …let’s go thrifting!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the final episode of Season 4 Style DNA I go on a Style journey with the inimitable, iconic, Dame Prue Leith, currently best known for being a judge on The Great British Bake Off as well as her Saturday morning ITVX show, Prue Leith's Cotswold Kitchen. 
Prue is now in her 9th decade and appears to be speeding up rather than slowing down... she says she is still discovering her style with the help of her 2nd husband John who used to be in the fashion industry and loves nothing more than shopping for her. She credits him with suggesting her more youthful haircut which now sees her hair swept off her "lined forehead that was being hidden by her fringe" into a wonderful choppy crop that has honestly taken 20 years off her look...
We discuss the lasting impact of the vibrant colours that she grew up surrounded by in South Africa  - and how she loves the fact that "many women write to me and say that they never wore colour until I saw you did it" ... and with 323K followers on Instagram alone, she is a veritable Influencer... 
We talk about her love of wearing trainers and how our choice of footwear can be so transformative...either making us look older or cooler...not to mention, the power of good posture.
She talks about the joy of a super organised kitchen which translates into a super organised wardrobe...all colour coded for ease...  
We talk about the challenges of dressing for the Red Carpet ...and, in fact, her love of all things red...the red Lanvin dress she chose to wear to her pre-wedding dinner to John, her favourite red coat and a colourist once telling her never to wear red as it is an aggressive colour ...(I must admit I think fashion "colourists" have a lot to answer for) ... 
And we giggle about her dislike of Botox ... at which point I try to move my forehead...(ahem, with difficulty)... and the fact that she has never worn sexy lingerie but thinks she may still give it a go...
I so enjoyed this conversation with Prue Leith... thank you for sharing your thoughts with such warmth and humour.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with the British jewellery designer, the founder of both Links of London and Annoushka, the Creative Director and Entrepreneur, Annoushka Ducas MBE.

I couldn’t resist asking Annoushka her views on the difference between lab grown versus mined diamonds and how the jewellery industry is notoriously opaque…she talks about her passion for re-using existing stones from vintage jewellery and how all of her newly sourced diamonds are certified by the Kimberley Process (established in 2003 to prevent conflict diamonds entering the mainstream market) …but perhaps more importantly, the joy she still feels discovering new varieties of semi-precious stones …and how the experience of travelling to a pearl farm in the Philippines and learning about the whole process of cultivation of  golden pearls and the attention to detail and sheer hard labour that goes into pearl cultivation shone a whole new light on their beauty…

We laugh about the “trauma” of her mother’s appearance at the school gates …this seems to be a recurring theme with my guests!  However, in time, some of her most precious pieces in her wardrobe are pieces that once belonged to her mother…

She talks about her first job, being a PA to her godfather Mark Birley (the supremely stylish founder of Annabels, Harry’s Bar and Mark’s Club) and how he took her to the then newly opened Manolo Blahnik on Old Church Street and treated her to 3 pairs of shoes to elevate her appearance…and we agree that by wearing just one really special piece (whatever that may be, jewellery, shoes or a jacket) can be transformative, and can totally up your game sartorially. 

I ask her about the competition from the mega jewellery brands … she says that when she created Annoushka jewellery she purposefully positioned it between Links of London (silver) and the high jewellery brands like Cartier …  she knew she wanted to appeal to women to buy for themselves and she wanted her jewellery to have a very personal appeal with her clients… and there is nothing more personal than her My Life in Seven Charms collection…inspired by her love of Desert Island Discs…she refers to it as an 18ct gold autobiography of someone’s life…just gorgeous.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's Style DNA guest is the English singer, songwriter, actress and radio personality…the undoubted Queen of British Soul…the extraordinarily talented Beverley Knight MBE.
Beverley is fabulously open about her style journey ...it's ups and downs ..and how her body confidence (and at times lack of) affected her choices, and how her gay best friend had been instrumental in helping her find her fashion mojo.
We talk about how she has got braver as she has got older (a recurring theme currently) and more comfortable in her own skin. She threw a gig to celebrate her 50th birthday and wanted to make a statement by wearing a body skimming unitard.
I was fascinated to understand how her first trip to Jamaica (her parent's birthplace) hugely impacted her sense of style especially during her visit ...
Of course we talk about her stage costumes and some of the extraordinary events she has performed at...from Princes's post Oscars party to the closing ceremony of the London Paralympics, and the planning behind the looks...not to mention the floor length latex look she wore to collect her Olivier Award...

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week I go on a style journey with the American Television Journalist Deborah Roberts. I first met Deborah when she came to the UK to cover the Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan and she kindly chose me to guest on her ABC coverage in the lead up to, as well as on the actual day, at Windsor.

Apart from being an award-winning ABC News senior national affairs correspondent for Nightline, Good Morning America and World News Tonight with David Muir, in September 2023, she was named co-anchor of 20/20. A media veteran, Roberts has travelled the world for her reporting and has been awarded multiple Emmy® Awards for her national and international coverage of world events, including the AIDS crisis in Africa and maternal mortality in Bangladesh.

Despite some of the gritty subjects she covers, Roberts has a passion for fashion (and is very knowledgeable about brands and designers), yet she is also aware of the messages that clothes can convey. We discuss how we make a statement through our choice of clothes and the importance of dressing for the occasion … even how the Civil Rights campaigners would dress up to go on a protest.

She talks about growing up in the Deep South and going to a segregated school (yes, just a few decades ago) and how when she was in the 4th grade, at 9 years old,  the school became integrated mid-term… it’s hard to imagine the importance (to her) of what she chose to wear on that first day of integration …how she would potentially be judged by her peers that she had never met before…it’s hard to put oneself in her shoes at that time, not to mention horrifying that this actually happened as recently as it did…however, she speaks about it with her brilliant, eloquent journalistic grace and not an ounce of victimisation.

She is a beacon of positivity and generously shares her personal insights.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this Style DNA episode I go on a style journey with the serial entrepreneur Marcia Kilgore, who founded a string of game-changing companies in the worlds of beauty and wellness…she is recognized globally as an industry leader, a business visionary, a beauty expert and an inspiration for female entrepreneurs everywhere.
In 1997, Time Magazine chose a 29-year-old Kilgore as their cover star, pegging her as one of the new generation of entrepreneurs – whose hard work, ingenuity and fearlessness trumped the networking, business school bigshots. In May 2011, when Oprah Winfrey’s final show aired, Oprah referred to her former facialist - Kilgore - as one of the most inspiring people she’d ever met. In 2022, The Sunday Times said her new digitally native business had  ‘forever changed the way we shop for cosmetics’.  In between, Kilgore had sold one business (to LVMH), another (to Alliance Boots Walgreens) and started three others. Recognised by Vogue (UK) as one of most powerful women of 2023 in their power list.
I have to admit I have followed Marcia's career in awe as she built and sold Bliss Spas …followed by building and selling the upbeat, tongue in cheek Soap and Glory …and not content with those two juggernaut successes she founded the biomechanics-meets-fashion-footwear brand FitFlop (only sold over 65 million pairs of sandals, sneakers and boots worldwide to date)…and if that wasn’t enough in 2016 she created my slight obsession …the fabulous buyer’s club skincare and makeup brand – Beauty Pie bringing luxury beauty to a wider audience...if you don’t know about it please check it out (and NO this is not an AD)  I just really believe in shining a light on things I love, especially when they are created by brilliant women.
In full disclosure, Marcia is a great friend and we share a crazy passion for ski touring (walking up hill with specialist skis on) however, we use this form of exercise as a great excuse to chat about everything from beauty to fashion to LIFE! As you will hopefully see and/or hear, Marcia is one of the most brilliant raconteurs ...she shares her astute observations with wit and warmth whether it is her love/hate relationship with fashion, dressing through her body building years (yes, you heard that right), the power of a great haircut, to her best shopping tip...
I hope you enjoy this episode.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I am very excited to introduce you to Season 4 of my Style DNA podcast … launching today with none other than the Supermodel who is known (for good reason) as The Body…the exquisite, effortlessly chic and serene Elle Macpherson. Elle is not only a Supermodel, she is a Mother, Businesswoman, Television Host and an Actress.

I loved our conversation …we discuss her personal style journey,  growing up in Australia and not really being into fashion as she spent most of her time outside in nature. By her own admission she took a leap of faith into modelling as a way of making some pocket money while at University.  The universe clearly had a different plan for her and before she knew it she was modelling New York, working with all the top fashion photographers and gracing the covers of all the major magazines. In 1989 Time magazine coined her nickname “The Body” after she had appeared on 3 successive Sports Illustrated covers…(with 2 more to come). At the tender age of 21 she married the famous French photographer Giles Bensimon (20 years her senior) in a glorious and avant guard Azzedine Alaia couture gown. She is open about how it felt to effectively grow up in front of the lens whilst being styled to be endless different women… and working out her own personal style when she was not in front of the lens… 

She tells me about the 180 degree shift in perception…when she first started in the modelling world,  the more distanced you were from your audience, the more iconic you were and the more successful you were… and how today,  the closer you are to your community, the more accessible you are, the more successful you are…and navigating those changes. Not to mention being on the covers of magazines still at 60…

We chat about the challenge of staying stylish as the years creep by and how staying true to your essence is one of the most powerful style statements we can make… her thoughts are considered, eloquent and thought provoking.

Elle’s beauty is undeniable but it is far more than skin deep … she has been on a wellness journey, inspired by turning 50 and “hitting a wall” and not being able to rely on genetics any longer…she says she didn’t recognise herself anymore.  Her personal journey led her to the creation of her highly acclaimed WelleCo brand of “clean, plant-based elixirs & boosters backed by science, driven by nature”. She is the embodiment of beauty coming from within… and it was a great privilege that she shared so much with me in this episode.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices