For my ultimate episode of the season I go on a style journey with British luxury accessories designer Sophia Webster who is known for her fun, playful and feminine touches, not to mention her iconic butterflies. She has built a global brand in just over a decade brilliantly harnessing the power of social media to assist her on the journey.. her joyful creations have graced everyone from Beyonce and Madonna to Grayson Perry...  There really is a transformative magic in shoes and bags that Sophia understands so well.

The weekend before we met I did my research by immersing myself in her wonderful new book  “Oh My Gosh I Love Your Shoes!” … BTW how often have you said exactly that? The book is a beautiful, self-illustrated visual diary of her journey.

We discuss the sexiest heel height… her love of butterflies (actually hard-wired into her DNA)…buying her first pair of Buffalo boots (beloved by the Spice Girls at the time) and thinking that she “had made it now”… and hysterical stories of lost wedding dresses and then lost wedding shoes… not to mention unfortunate “Anthea Turner haircuts” …as she said, great on a grown woman but not quite as good on a child.

Like most women I know, I am a veritable shoe (and boot) lover so I hope you enjoy this conversation with one of the most talented young designers I have met…

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In this episode I go on a Style Journey with the iconic hairstylist Sam McKnight MBE. Sam’s unparalleled portfolio of work reads like a who’s-who of high-fashion and A-list celebrity: he is credited with the creation of Princess Diana's iconic slicked-back hairstyle for her 1990 Vogue magazine shoot, and was her personal hair stylist for seven years. He has worked extensively with the supermodels Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Kate Moss & Naomi Campbell  from the 80’s to today. Sam’s work has included over 200 Vogue covers; campaigns for Chanel, Tom Ford, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Armani …the list goes on and season-after-season he influences the evolution of hair at runways shows from Chanel to Vivienne Westwood… 

We talk about his time being Diana’s personal hair stylist …how “slavishly following fashion trends is terribly unfashionable” (I could not agree more)… reminiscing about wearing platforms in the 70’s (but having to take a pair of slippers to his driving lessons) and most importantly how good clothes can make you feel good (why I designed so passionately for 30+ years). Of course we talk about his friendship with Kate Moss who he has collaborated with for many years and has always said “Sam has the magic touch”.

I hope you enjoy the episode…thank you Sam for being such a wonderful guest.

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In this episode I go on a Style journey with Singer, Songwriter and Musician Corinne Bailey Rae… and what a joy it was.

Corinne shot to stardom with her self-titled, Corinne Bailey Rae debut album in 2006, featuring the global hits 'Put Your Records On' and 'Like A Star'.

Corinne is one of those people who paints beautiful pictures with their words… I felt like every word that she spoke was purposefully chosen….she is wonderfully eloquent.  I was fascinated to hear about the inspirational journey she went on having discovered the Stoney Island Arts Bank in Chicago and how this fuelled so much material for her newly released and globally acclaimed album Black Rainbows. We discuss how she chooses the designers she wears for her stage looks and the album imagery she created in collaboration with the photographer Koto Bolofo. She speaks nostalgically about her mother’s proud sense of style as she was bringing up her and her two sisters and how she evolved her own style through the 90’s.  We talked about her becoming a widow at 29… and how she cocooned herself in her late husband’s clothes as part of her grieving process. During her metamorphosis she found love again and she describes her second wedding dress, flowers and hair with such detail that it is impossible not to be swept into the love and sheer joy of their Winter Feast of a wedding.  

Corinne shares her style journey so far, so beautifully… I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did having it. Thank you Corinne for being such an insightful and articulate guest...  

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This week’s episode is with the eponymous founder of Karen Millen, Karen herself. Her story is an interesting one…she founded her brand with her husband Kevin Stanford in 1981. Using a £100 loan they purchased 100 metres of white cotton which she whipped up into stylish shirts and they sold party-style to friends. From this they gradually grew a retail empire founded on their commitment to affordable luxury and making investment pieces accessible. In 2004 they sold Karen Millen to Mosaic Fashions under an SPA for £100m. The terms of the SPA prevented Karen Millen from using her name in connection with any similar businesses or competition in the future…challenging for any eponymous founder and she later challenged this in court but lost. Unfortunately she also lost millions in the collapse of Kaupthing Bank…but in true Power Woman style she swivelled and followed her love of interiors culminating in creating an online interiors business called Homemonger.com.  

However her passion for fashion was reigniting …In 2019 the Boohoo Group bought the Karen Millen brand and in 2022, in a full circle moment, and in an attempt to inject some of the original DNA back into the brand, Karen was invited to create The Founder Collection, a capsule collection of 30 signature pieces. The huge popularity of the first collection saw her invited to create a second collection which launches this week…

I loved chatting to a fellow fashion brand founder about what had driven her designs, how she has dressed through the decades including as she says a moment when she had become “rich” and how that impacted her style…not necessarily what you would expect…but amusing and insightful!

I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I did creating it… thank you Karen.

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In this episode I go on a style journey with Melissa Odabash MBE. After entering the swimwear industry as a model Melissa launched her eponymous label in 1999. She is credited with ‘introducing high fashion into resortwear’ with her swimwear being quickly described by Vogue as ‘The Ferraris of the bikini world.' 

Her first collection was curated with chic solid coloured bikinis, however this soon expanded into beachwear,  often inspired by her Mother’s 1970’s crochet pieces,  before developing and growing the collections to what we know today. Her collections are sold in 65 countries, available in over 500 stores.

Throughout her success as a designer, Melissa continues to support her philanthropic ventures including: Fashion Targets Breast Cancer, Prince’s Trust, Kidsco, CHIVA  and  has partnered with Elton John’s Aids Foundation. In 2015 Melissa launched her debut mastectomy line with the Future Dreams Breast Cancer Charity and she continues to support, partner and champion their cause whenever she can.

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This week’s Style DNA style journey is with actor, writer, photographer and artist Lisa Hogan AKA The Tall Irish.

Lisa is Co-Founder of the now infamous Diddly Squat Farm Shop on Clarkson’s Farm…she is not only Jeremy Clarkson’s girlfriend, she is his hilarious accomplice and harshest critic with her fast wit and dry sense of humour. Her ability to laugh at herself recounting her sartorial stories of different chapters in her life is infectious. These chapters have included modelling, working in the city, acting, being a mother, a lot of travel and, this latest chapter obviously includes her approach to “Farm Fashion” … from wellies and overalls to the inevitable pig sh*t…

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed chatting to my old friend… thank you Lisa.

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This week I go on a style journey with TV and Radio Presenter, Model, Author, Menopause campaigner, Podcast host AND Celebrity Master Chef Winner, the gorgeous Lisa Snowdon. Lisa and I worked out that the first time we met was when we were both London Fashion Week virgins…the first show she walked in was the first show I put on…Fashion has reconnected us over the years and it was lovely to sit down and chat about her journey both professionally and personally, from having a body that didn’t conform to industry expectations at the time, to walking the red carpet with George Clooney, to the major looks that were created for her to present Britain’s Next Top Model (and laughing about sometimes going a little too far)… as well as dressing as our bodies change…and the catharsis of a complete wardrobe turnout

Earlier this year Lisa published a book Just Getting Started – Lessons In Life, Love and Menopause… we discuss the inspiration behind it … Lisa’s mission to prove that getting older just means getting better … Lisa is fantastically frank and open and I hope you enjoy this warm and collaborative chat.

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This week I go on a sartorial journey with Canadian film maker David Furnish. David is CEO of Rocket Entertainment Group and Chairman of the Elton John AIDS Foundation which has raised a staggering $600 million to dateto support programs in 55 countries around the globe through prevention and education, elimination of prejudice and discrimination, and providing services to people living with the disease.

Of course we talk about shopping …and how he and Elton sometimes use the process as a reward for hard work, not to mention the benefit of how beautiful things are mood altering and make you feel good about yourself. We chat about how cathartic it is to have a good clear-out in the spirit of both circularity and fund raising for a great cause…in the process giving someone else the opportunity to enjoy those pieces – bravo to that – I have been doing the same myself and it is so rewarding to see something gorgeous head off to a new home to make new memories and be valued all over again.

David is wonderfully generous about sharing insights into the glamorous life he shares with his husband Elton… His “Pretty Woman” moment in Paris…dressing up for legendary parties from Elton’s 50th to White Tie and Tiaras and so much more… He clearly loves fashion and appreciates the passion and creativity that his designer friends put into their work … he is undoubtedly a super stylish man.

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In this episode I go on a sartorial journey with the Fashion Designer, Business Woman and mother of five the brilliant Anya Hindmarch CBE.

Anya founded her eponymous company as a teenager in 1987 and has since grown it into an award-winning global brand known for its craftsmanship, creativity and sense of humour.  She launched the hugely successful 'I'm Not a Plastic Bag' campaign in 2007 which saw thousands of people queuing to purchase the tote from Sainsburys …a staggering 80,000 were sold on launch day. The bag garnered huge press coverage globally, igniting the debate around the use of plastic bags and contributed to the eventual decision to charge for plastic bags in the UK. Her achievements, creativity and marketing savvy know no bounds… 

We talk about how we convey who we are and roles that we play through what we wear… IT bags, and why they are priced how they are.  Anya talks in an informed and passionate way about what sustainable leather and sourcing actually means (no greenwashing here)  …We chat about the power of dressing in comfortable clothes and her approach to planning her wardrobe (fascinating and helpful) as well as the history of heels!  Anya shares a fountain of insightful information on all things style related… 

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