Back Row with Amy Odell

Sustainable fashion darling Everlane just sold to Shein, the industry's least sustainable company. What does this shocking deal say about both companies, along with the state of "sustainable" fashion?

I spoke with Ken Pucker, former Timberland COO and professor at Tufts University, one of my favorite experts on this topic. He explains why Everlane was never all that "sustainable," why Shein would want this, and why it's hard to be optimistic about the future of fashion.

CHAPTERS:

01:05 – Breaking Down the Shein Everlane Acquisition

04:30 – Shein’s Innovative Instant Fashion Model

07:20 – How Everlane Ended Up in Bed with L Catterton

12:00 – Ken’s Take on the Future of “Sustainable” Fashion

16:00 – The Greenwashing Problem

18:45 – Everlane’s Radical Transparency Promise

22:15 – The Status of the New York Fashion Act

27:35 – Why Does Shein Even Want Everlane?

30:00 – Which Brands Could Be Next?

34:00 – Ken’s Advice for Sustainable Consumers

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I sat down with Mary Gonsalves Kinney, founder of MGK Style and personal stylist to tech billionaires, politicians, and athletes, to go inside the world of how the ultra-wealthy really shop.

Mary reveals what billionaires' closets actually look like, how much her clients spend per session, and what the fashion industry's pivot to the 1% means for everyone else.

This is part of a paywalled episode. Subscribe to Back Row Premium to access the full episode and all paywalled newsletters at https://www.backrow.net/subscribe. For podcast access only, subscribe in Apple or Spotify.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 – Introduction

01:00 – How Mary Styles Billionaires

03:40 – What Billionaires Actually Tell Their Stylist

04:49 – Dressing Women in Tech

08:03 – What's Really Inside a Billionaire's Closet

13:24 – Shopper vs. Stylist: What's the Difference?

14:36 – Sticker Shock: The $4,000 Nylon Sundress

15:31 – Why the Aspirational Customer No Longer Exists

29:15 – How Much Do They Spend Per Year?

32:17 – How Luxury Brands Are Quietly Changing Their Strategy

Follow Mary Gonsalves Kinney:

https://www.instagram.com/mgkstyle/

https://www.mgkstyle.com/

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I took off for the holiday this week, so I'm unlocking half of a previously paywalled episode in which podcaster and reality television/documentary expert Kate Casey and I rewatch The First Monday in May, the documentary about the planning of the 2015 Met Gala. Featuring Anna Wintour hob-knobbing with canceled celebs, bandying her venti Starbucks around the Met, and more!

Sign up for Back Row Premium to hear the full episode at BackRow.net to get newsletter access included with your subscription. Or sign up in Apple Podcasts or Spotify for podcast access only.

CHAPTERS:

02:20 – How ‘The First Monday in May’ Got Made

09:20 – The Story Behind the Alexander McQueen Exhibition

12:40 – Anna Wintour is an Outfit Repeater

17:20 – Anna’s Venti Starbucks Cup

27:00 – Could the Met Pull Off ‘China Through the Looking Glass’ Today?

33:50 – Subscribe for the Full Film Recap!

Follow Kate Casey:

↳ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katecaseyca/?hl=en

↳ YouTube: @realitylifewithkatecasey

↳ Reality Life with Kate Casey: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reality-life-with-kate-casey/id1154758766

↳ Substack:https://katecasey.substack.com?utm_source=navbar&utm_medium=web

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Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were on television before they could talk and millionaires before they could read. Former Us Weekly editor-in-chief Dan Wakeford, author of the new Celebrity Intelligence newsletter, joins Back Row to break down the Full House casting story, the Dual Star empire, the billion-dollar licensing machine, and the NYU years that changed everything.

Part Two — revealing the secrets behind The Row — is available to Premium subscribers. Sign up at Back Row to get newsletter access included with your subscription, or in Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Find Part Two in Apple Podcasts here

Find Part Two in Spotify here

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:40 Dan Wakeford and Celebrity Intelligence

02:47 Why the Olsens are a unique case study

07:50 The Full House casting story

10:07 The reality of child stardom

16:22 How their personalities diverged early

19:49 From pennies to $80,000 an episode

26:27 The home video empire begins

33:28 The billion dollar licensing machine

48:00 Turning 18 and taking control

53:41 NYU and the paparazzi years

57:47 How everything changed

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SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row newsletter and go Premium to access all paywalled podcast episodes and newsletters: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe

Kim Kardashian spent 10 years being the most reviled woman at the Met Gala. Then she became the blueprint.

Cultural critic and psychoanalytic psychotherapist MJ Corey, author of Dekonstructing the Kardashians, joins Back Row to explain how Kim paved the way for the Tech Gala (04:42), why the hatred only makes her bigger (17:39), what the Paris robbery really did for her career (28:15), and why she's acting now (30:35).

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The full episode is for paid Back Row subscribers: backrow.net/subscribe

A note to listeners: On May 15, prices will increase to $8/month and $72/year. Upgrade to annual to lock in the lower rate. Or sign up at backrow.net/subscribe to get newsletter access included with your subscription and don't miss a single juicy story.

This episode contains spoilers.

We've waited 20 years for The Devil Wears Prada 2 — and it's better than expected. Rachel Tashjian of CNN joins me to break down what the sequel gets shockingly right about Anna Wintour, Vogue, and journalism's decline. We also cover Emily Blunt stealing the movie, whether the filmmakers got too close to Anna, and the billionaire character hiding in plain sight.

Chapters:

00:00 Spoiler warning & intro

05:56 How accurately does the film depict journalism?

17:34 Did the filmmakers get too close to Anna Wintour?

29:07 The billionaire characters: who is Benji really?

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This episode is sponsored by Margaux. First time shoppers get 10 percent off with the code BACKROW. A few of my favorite styles:

The 2026 Met Gala was the most controversial in memory — and Back Row is telling you what the fashion press won't. Amy Odell and Heather Cocks of Go Fug Yourself and Drinks With Broads break down the biggest narratives from the night: the Bezos backlash, the protests outside, why Vogue's silence was deafening, and what it actually means that tech billionaires have taken over fashion's biggest night.

Plus: Beyoncé's return after 10 years, Blue Ivy's debut, the Kardashians and their nipples, Lauren Sanchez's Madame X look, why Jeff Bezos snuck in the back door, John Galliano and fashion's cancellation problem, and whether any of this controversy will actually stick.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

00:49 The Bezos Backlash and the protests

04:14 The Ball Without Billionaires

07:15 Vogue's silence on the controversy

10:31 Why tech billionaires are really at the Met

18:26 Lauren Sanchez's Madame X look

43:39 The Kardashians, Beyoncé, and the best and worst looks

49:15 Galliano, Anna Wintour, and fashion's cancellation problem

54:05 Will the controversy actually matter?

Subscribe to the Back Row Newsletter and Back Row on YouTube.

Follow Heather Cox at Drinks With Broads and Go Fug Yourself.

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WARNING: This episode contains SPOILERS for 'The Devil Wears Prada 2.'

This is my full interview with 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' director David Frankel and screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna. After talking to them both when I was writing 'Anna: The Biography,' I couldn't wait to hear about how they put this movie together after TWENTY YEARS. Who and what were they skewering? Did the film get too close to its source material, Anna Wintour? How did Lady Gaga enter the picture? And... will there be a THIRD movie?!

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

LINKS & RESOURCES:

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I went on Sam Sanders's show on KCRW to talk all things Met Gala 2026!

We get into the Bezos Met Gala sponsorship, fashion's new Gilded Age, and The Devil Wears Prada 2. We also talked about why tech money is taking over fashion, what happened to the aspirational consumer, and whether the Cerulean monologue could even exist in 2026. Sam is one of the best interviewers around — this was a really fun conversation. Thanks to the KCRW team for allowing us to share it here. Follow Sam's show here.

CHAPTERS:

01:30 – Has the Met Gala Become the Tech Gala?

05:20 – Has Fashion Entered a New Gilded Age?

10:20 – The Widening Gap Between the Classes of Fashion

14:20 – What it’s Like to be a Fashion VIC

18:00 – What’s Changed in Fashion Since The (1st) Devil Wears Prada?

20:00 – Does the Cerulean Monologue Hold Up in 2026?

25:10 – Fixing the Met Gala

27:40 – Amy’s Sources of Fashion Inspo

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People magazine's "World's Most Beautiful" editor Andrea Lavinthal joins Back Row to go behind the scenes of the most coveted — and complicated — cover in celebrity journalism. Anne Hathaway talked to People about The Devil Wears Prada 2, her husband, and her haters. But handing out this prize isn't as easy as it might seem.

Andrea breaks down how the "World's Most Beautiful" franchise has evolved since Michelle Pfeiffer in 1990 (3:28), why "most beautiful" is more fraught for women than "Sexiest Man Alive" is for men (1:51), and how much creative control a star like Anne Hathaway has over the shoot (9:33). Plus: why Gwyneth Paltrow's "Most Beautiful" cover made an editor think it would get her fired (25:54).

Links & Resources

📰 SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row Newsletter for exclusive scoops and bonus podcast episodes: https://www.backrow.net/

📸 Amy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instamyodell/

Mentioned in this episode:

↳ People's Anne Hathaway cover story, photographed by Jonny Marlow

↳ JFK Jr.'s "Sexiest Man Alive" cover story

This episode was edited by Chrissi Harris.

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