The Uninvited Podcast

Let's get past the velvet rope with… Patrick McDowell.

A British designer who has built their own brand from the ground up, championing sustainability in an industry that often struggles to balance ethics and commercial reality. And yet, just months before being presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design by the Princess of Wales, Patrick was seriously considering shutting down their brand.

In this episode, Patrick shares the unlikely path that took them from rejection at Central Saint Martins' foundation course to a direct entry into womenswear design, and, years later, to standing in front of the Princess of Wales receiving one of the most prestigious honours in British fashion. We talk about what it really takes to build a sustainable brand as an independent designer, and what the industry rarely shows.

We also explore what it means to grow up working-class in Liverpool and end up on the other side of doors most people don't get through, and why the velvet rope moment, when it finally arrives, can come right after the lowest point.

And along the way, Patrick also designed a bespoke look for Sarah Jessica Parker on And Just Like That. Just like that!

A candid conversation about persistence, sustainability, and the rooms we never imagined being in, and the years of work it took to get there.

Sound Design // Gustave Robic

Graphic Design // Riley Axon

Intro and Outro // Romane Potier

Cinematography // Mariah Nonnemacher

Editing // Romane Potier and Michele Fornera

After five decades capturing the people and scenes that shape culture from the inside, documentary photographer Derek Ridgers' idea of the ultimate party is simple: travel back in time, straight to the 14 Hour Technicolour Dream at Alexandra Palace in 1967. The legendary all-night psychedelic happening Derek attended firsthand, where Pink Floyd, The Soft Machine, and The Pretty Things played for a counterculture crowd through the night, with John Lennon reportedly somewhere in the room.

From his rules on crashing a party (and the few times he was kicked out), to anecdotes about Cannes nights with very different outcomes, to the day he felt like a VIP on a private jet with Depeche Mode, only to take the bus home, Derek reminds us that it's all about the balance. The best nights aren't always the glamorous ones, and he's seen it all (and documented even more).

Let's get past the velvet rope with… Derek Ridgers.

A photographer whose images have defined some of the most iconic subcultures of the last five decades, from punk and skinheads to new romantics and the legendary clubs of 1980s London. And yet, as he told us from the very start, he has always felt a bit uninvited.

In this episode, Derek shares how he became a photographer entirely by chance, picking up a camera while working as an art director, and walking into a concert where people simply assumed he was a professional because he had one. We discuss the persistence that has defined his career, including the first time he was turned away from the Blitz Club and went back anyway.

We also explore one of the most fascinating ideas to emerge from this conversation: the illusion that photographers create. When a room is full of ordinary people and a photographer captures the four or five most interesting ones, those images become the historical record, and years later, we mistake them for the whole truth.

And along the way, there is also the small matter of Freddie Mercury stealing his first girlfriend at school. No big deal!

An honest conversation about outsiders, persistence, and the stories that cameras tell — and the ones they don't.

Matteo's dream party needs no velvet rope, just the South of Italy, family, friends, and nothing that takes itself too seriously.

Though if time travel were on the table, they'd have gate-crashed Paul Poiret's The Thousand and Two Nights in a heartbeat. Paris, 24th of June 1911. A Persian orchestra, parrots perched in trees wrapped in thousands of sparkling lights, pink ibis, multicoloured pillows — and the world premiere of the harem pants and the lampshade dress. A party so extraordinary it made fashion history before the night was over.

Taylor Swift, on the other hand, is not making the cut. In any playlist, either.

And from someone who has felt like the uninvited guest at a few too many institutional events, Matteo understands the velvet rope from both sides.

Let's get past the velvet rope with… Matteo Augello.

A fashion historian, curator, lecturer, and performer, Matteo has built a career at the intersection of academia and spectacle, where theory meets theatrics and the archive meets the stage.

In this episode, we explore how a deep love of pop culture became the lens through which Matteo approaches fashion history — including using Britney Spears as a guide to write a dissertation. We discuss what it truly means to make fashion legible, and how dressing up for lectures in outfits that directly relate to the topic at hand is never just a matter of style.

But perhaps the most quietly radical thing Matteo has done is appear on the cover of their own academic book — because they are the embodiment of the ideas inside it. Not provocation for its own sake, but simply the most honest representation.

A conversation about pop culture as a serious lens, visibility as a statement, and what it looks like to carve out a path entirely your own.

Alessandro’s dream party is set in the legendary Area nightclub in New York City, a night as bold and theatrical as you’d expect, with Grace Jones, Divine and Amanda Lear topping the guest list.

But not everyone’s getting past the door… a few designers are firmly banned, and if Satisfaction comes on, it’s time to leave immediately.

From their ultimate party philosophy to the exact moment you should not say yes to an invite, Alessandro proves that the best nights out are all about instinct and dressing to impress.

In this episode, photographer and founder of Coriandoli, Alessandro Merlo, shares a candid insight into the reality of building a career as an independent photographer.

From shooting a Valentino campaign to navigating commissioned work, Alessandro discusses how to protect your visual identity while meeting client expectations, and how to find the right balance between artistic vision and collaboration.

We also explore the story behind Coriandoli, a platform celebrating queer voices, as well as some of Alessandro’s key turning points, including working with M¥SS KETA, someone who once felt like a distant reference and is now part of their creative journey.

An honest conversation about creative identity, compromise, and the many paths that shape a career.

Life of the party and exactly the kind of guest everyone hopes will show up, celebrity makeup artist Florrie White shares her dream party: hosted at The Roses of Elagabalus with Alexa Chung and Sharon Stone on the guest list, and an exclusive performance by Vanessa Paradis and Lenny Kravitz.

From feeling like a VIP while partying in Ibiza in the 90s to the Vivienne Westwood dress she has worn for over twenty years (and that once got her picked up by Robbie Williams), Florrie reminds us that she’s the kind of person who always gets the vibe going, and that the best parties always seem to end too soon.

Let’s get past the velvet rope with… Florrie White.

A joyful, insightful, and refreshingly honest conversation about beauty, resilience, and the unexpected paths that shape a creative career.

A celebrity makeup artist whose clients include Alexa Chung, Sharon Stone, Claudia Schiffer, and Rosamund Pike, among others, Florrie is renowned for her ability to enhance each person’s unique beauty. Her approach to makeup is about revealing the most confident, authentic version of you.

In this episode, we discuss the unpredictable nature of freelance life, how not receiving a promotion can sometimes lead us closer to the work we truly want to do, and how the skills she developed through previous jobs have become part of the creative toolkit she brings to her work today.

We also discuss her early fascination with the world of supermodels, how many products we actually need in our makeup bag, and the joie de vivre Florrie seems to bring to every situation.

Along the way, there are also a few unforgettable moments, from spray-tanning J.Lo’s body to a funny encounter with Britney Spears.

While we’re still waiting (impatiently) for our aristocrat(s)... we might as well have an After Party.

In her own words, Charlie is “the least party girl”, and yet somehow she brings the fun wherever she goes.

Find out what really happened at the Glamour Awards, which song instantly brings her to life, and who is definitely not making it onto her guest list.