Stressed But Well Dressed

Dahlia is joined by Victoria Jenkins founder of Unhidden, an adaptive fashion brand focused on making fashion more accessible universally.

Victoria joins Dahlia to share her work as a designer and to discuss the behind the scenes on the range of adaptive clothing she designed for Primark which is now sold across multiple markets.

Dahlia and Victoria discuss the need for inclusive fashion and what it means to create products that are universal and can be worn by everyone. Victoria shares the impact she is making through her seat on the British Fashion Council and how she is working to help to normalise inclusive design.

Victoria shares her own style journey and her perspective on clothes and confidence on the show.

Victoria Jenkins, founder of award-winning adaptive fashion brand Unhidden, has changed the retail landscape, launching a men’s and women’s adaptive collection with Primark making fashionaccessible to every body.

Victoria is a disability advocate, Tedx speaker,author, on multiple Charity boards as well as Co Chair of the ‘Lilac Review.

Victoria has been voted UK's 2nd most influential disabled person by The Shaw Trust 2 years running on their Disability Power 100 list.

Dahlia is joined by Tony Miller, a marketing expert who has held multiple CMO and lead marketing roles working at brands including Disney, Weightwatchers.

Tony and Dahlia discuss what it means to get into the character of a role and how Tony has built his personal brand over time. Tony now works in interim roles supporting organisations with marketing transformations and he talks to Dahlia about how it feels to consistently step into new cultures and balance retaining his own personal brand and becoming a part of the organisation he is working with.

As always Tony and Dahlia talk about the link between clothes and confidence, Tony's perspective on well dressed and a special discussion on their favourite Disney character and their love/hate relationship with fancy dress!

Tony Miller is CMO, marketing and digital transformation consultant, Non-Exec Board Chairfor the DMA (Data Marketing Association), and most recently appointed as Interim CMO for Direct Line Group. He is a proven and highly regarded businessleader specialising in brand building, performance marketing, and digitaltransformation with significant experience managing scaled, fast growth,complex, global businesses - across all channels and industry sectors.He's spent life on the agency side as Managing Partner at Havas Heliabefore moving to client side as VP Digital Marketing, EMEA for The Walt DisneyCompany, CMO for Weight Watchers, and Interim CMO for HargreavesLansdown. 

He's been awarded Top 20 in The Performance Marketing World 100 Powerlist, MarketingWeek’s Top 100 Most Effective Marketers in the UK, and Data IQ's MostInfluential People in Data.

Dahlia is joined by Dr Heather McKee (Behaviour Change Specialist) to discuss the link between our clothes, our habits and our outlook on life.

The discussion includes Heather's view on how creating a habit of getting dressed in the things we love can have a positive impact on our mindset. Dahlia and Heather also discuss how challenging it is to form and break habits and how to get into the habit of living a positive, healthier. Heather shares tips on how to get habitual about creating positive moments and the conversation includes a reality check around why so often we have a negativity bias and how to break it.

Dr Heather McKee is known as Europe’s leading lifestyle behaviour change specialist, keynote speaker and founder of https://www.drheatherspeaks.com/ Having studied healthbehaviour change psychology for 10 years, her mission is to offer a sustainable, evidence-based alternative to an industry saturated with quick fixes and health fads.

Globally she has worked with over 100+ companies in 15+industries to create evidence-based wellness programs, deliver keynote talks on how to create a sustainable lifestyle change and help people find joy in theirhealthy habits. Past clients include lululemon, booking.com, Starbucks, Rituals, Unilever, HSBC, andSainsbury's.

Dr McKee’s research has been published internationally in leading academic journals, as well as featuring in Time magazine, Vogue, Huffington Post, The Times, and LA Times.

Website: www.drheathermckee.co.uk

Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/drheathermckee/

Dahlia is joined by Simone Oloman, Co-Founder and CEO ofNIFT (Need It For Tonight).

Simone shares the NIFT story, the reason why they built thebrand, their purpose and the reality of behind the scenes as a founder in the space where tech and fashion meet. NIFT is about switching up customer behaviour from shopping ‘fast fashion’ to making ‘fashion fast’ whilst protecting quality, sustainability and a shop local mindset.

Dahlia and Simone discuss the future of retail, the workthat NIFT is doing to keep the high street alive and the value of creating a customer experience that extends past the transaction. Simone gets really honest about her learning as one half of the NIFT founding team, what it takesto build a new proposition and the vision for the future.

As CEO and co-founder of Need It For Tonight (NIFT), Simoneis passionate about reshaping the fashion landscape through tech innovation,making quality fashion more accessible and immediate. NIFT has pioneered a 90 minute delivery service with optional, complimentary personal styling, creatingwhat many call ‘Deliveroo for quality fashion’ in London. Their proprietary technology seamlessly integrates with retailers, allowing them to join our platform in minutes and reach new audiences with ease. Simone has been recognised among Retail Week’s Top 50 Leaders 2024.

In a special collaboration episode between Stressed But Well Dressed and Off The Hanger Podcast, Dahlia is joined by Emma Lightbown to go behind the scenes of 'Off The Hanger' and discuss the clothing stories she has uncovered.

Emma shares stories with Dahlia from over 80 wardrobes she has learnt about through her podcast 'Off The Hanger' including people's most loved items, the most shocking things she has uncovered and a very expensive impulse purchase! Dahlia and Emma discuss the meaning behind what we wear and how clothes influence our mood, our confidence and our mindset.

As a part of the collaboration Dahlia joins Emma on 'Off The Hanger' sharing some of her favourite items from her own wardrobe, how Stressed But Well Dressed started and the clothes that give her confidence.

Emma Lightbown is a Fashion Stylist, Presenter and Podcaster. Starting her career as a model, Emma transitioned into fashion styling and has been working in the industry for over 20 years. Combining her styling knowledge and ease in front of the camera led Emma into presenting in 2010, working for Sky Showbiz, London Fashion Week and The Clothes Show. Emma is now a fashion expert on QVC and hosts her own style podcast Off the Hanger where she welcomes guests to share their style stories and favourite fashion pieces.

Catch Dahlia on Emma's podcast here:

https://youtu.be/_zyZAZYl8F0

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/emma-lightbown/episodes/Stressed-but-well-dressed--Dahlia-Strouds-Style-Stories-e30urla

Dahlia is joined by Jacynth Bassett founder and CEO of 'Ageism Is Never In Style'.

Jacynth explains that there is a link between our approach to ageing and our stress levels and shares the work she is doing to advocate for the abolition of ageism in the fashion industry and more widely across the workplace.

Dahlia and Jacynth discuss the impact of ageism on society today (both being judged for being too young and too old) and Jacynth shares her purpose behind her work and examples of ageism she has experienced over time.

The conversation includes the influence Hollywood has on our approach to ageing, why we should look at our life in stages rather than ages and Jacynth's view on style!

Jacynth Bassett is an award-winning expert,consultant and leader on age-inclusivity.

As the Founder & CEO of global award-winning, intergenerational consultancy, community & campaign Ageism Is Never In Style, Jacynth is widely recognised as a leading pioneer and voice on age inclusivity and longevity. And at 32 she has been named a finalist of One Young World’s ‘Campaigner Of The Year’ award, one of Evening Standard’s 22 Londoners Changing the World.
Jacynth has been driving the age-inclusivity movement since 2016 - from creating viral campaigns including #ILookMyAge (45M+ views), to advising and consulting global brands, to building a 265k+ strong community. Her strategic expertise, commercial acumen, and creative vision, paired with a deep ability to connect across generations, make her one of the most exciting visionaries and disruptors in this space.

Dahlia is joined by Pinky Lilani CBE DL to discuss kindness, clothes and her view on what it means to be 'well dressed'.

Pinky explains how she created both the Asian Women of Achievement Awards in 1999 and later the Women of the Future Awards to break down barriers to opportunity and celebrate the amazing work of Women across multiple industries and sectors. Her tenacity enabled her to reach Downing Street and she shares how she encouraged Cherie Blair the then wife of the Prime Minister to be a patron of the wards - and what she encouraged her to wear.

Pinky gives her view on the value of kindness and likability and how important it is to foster positive relationships and build trust as the foundations of your success. She gives listeners advice on how to build their personal brand and shares her own story of how she has intertwined her passion for leadership and love for cooking to tell her story.

Pinky Lilani CBE DL, Founder & Chair, Women of theFuture Programme

Pinky Lilani CBE DL is a trailblazing advocate for genderequality, diversity and inclusion. She is renowned worldwide for her pioneering Women of the Future Programme, a portfolio of events, initiatives, and networks designed to support the next generation of leaders – a programme that has impacted thousands of women across the globe over the last 25 years. Pinky's dedication to social and charitable causes has earned her numerous accolades and honours, including being named one of the 100 most powerful women in the UK by BBC Radio 4. She is a Fellow of the GSA; Patron of the Worshipful Company of Entrepreneurs, DIL and Frank Water; Associate Fellow of Saïd Business School; and serves on the boards of Global Diversity Practice and the Character Project at the University of Oxford. For her exceptional service to charity, Pinky was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2007. In 2015, she was honoured as Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to women in business. She is currently Deputy Lieutenant for Greater London.

Dahlia is joined by Sarah Olaifa, host of podcast Divine Enigma, and founder of NeuroEnigma.

Sarah's specialises in helping organisations create inclusive workplaces for neurodiverse professionals, as well as supporting the needs of neurodivergent businesses

To mark Neurodiversity Celebration week, Sarah shares her perspective on what it means to be well dressed and her view on the space where neurodivergent thinking, creativity and clothing meet.

Sarah explains the freedom for self expression that can come through clothes and the opportunity for people to use what they wear as a form of art. She stresses the importance of visual expression through clothing if presenting through words isn't something people are comfortable doing and how powerful clothes can be to demonstrate who you are.

Sarah also talks through the challenges in the workplace when people are forced to conform in a way that doesn't sit comfortably with them either through dress codes or societal expectations that don't create inclusive organisational cultures.

She expresses the value of finding spaces where individuals feel like they belong, are accepted and the beauty that can come from being dressed by your community.

Dahlia is joined by Dr Natalie Getreu, co founder of Healthcare brand Hertility and expert in Women's Health.

Dahlia and Natalie discuss why it is vital women know they have a right to feel good in their body and the role that Hertility is playing in helping women feel more informed and in control.

The discussion includes an overview from Natalie of her founder journey, how Hertility partnered with Sweaty Betty to empower women to exercise with confidence at any time of the month and the link between inner and external confidence.

Dr. Natalie Getreu is an expert in ovarian biology, Co-founder of Hertility Health and Honorary Research Fellow at University College London (UCL). With a Masters Degree in Reproductive Science and Women’s Health, and a PhD in Fertility Preservation from UCL.

Dr. Natalie is driven by a fundamental passion for creating more equitable, accessible healthcare. After successfully establishing multiple public health programmes, including the first NHS funded ovarian tissue cryopreservation service—Dr. Natalie co-founded Hertility out of frustration over the fundamental lack of research into women’s reproductive health. With an all-female scientific team, Hertility is paving the way for a vision of globally accessible women’s health that Dr. Natalies work continues to champion.

Dahlia is joined by Jane Shepherdson CBE to get her perspective on the link between clothes, confidence and mindset.

Jane shares her journey to Brand Director at Topshop and into her role at Whistles as CEO. She gives her view on the world of fashion right now and advice on how to combine a love of clothes with a recognition that we have responsibilities to protect our planet.

Dahlia and Jane discuss how Jane gained the confidence to steer the Topshop brand to success and how she built a team who understood what it meant to create an immersive retail experience and a brand that was so widely loved by its customer.

Jane also talks about managing in a toxic culture, knowing when to leave and how to reassess your identity as you move into a new role and a new space.

She also shares her top tip on what to wear for confidence!

Jane Shepherdson CBE is a highly influential figure in the fashion industry, renowned for her transformative leadership and commitment to sustainability. After joining Topshop in 1985 and becoming Brand Director in 1997, she spearheaded its remarkable growth, increasing profits from £10m to £100m by 2006, establishing it as a global fashion powerhouse. Since leaving Topshop in 2006, her impactful career has continued, encompassing roles such as Creative Advisor to Oxfam (where she remains on the Retail Advisory Board), CEO of Whistles (following a successful management buyout), and Chair of MyWardrobe HQ, a luxury fashion rental platform. Her dedication to ethical and sustainable practices is evident in her directorship of the London Fashion Fund (funded by the Mayor's office), and her ongoing patronage and trusteeship of Smart Works.

She holds honorary PhDs and professorships, reflecting her significant contributions to the industry and wider community. Jane's career demonstrates a rare combination of commercial acumen, creative vision, and social responsibility, making her a true leader in the world of fashion.