Threads of Conversation

This week’s conversation is with Sharmadean Reid, the founder, writer and creative consultant who started off in fashion before becoming a figurehead for women in business around the world. Originally from Wolverhampton, Sharmadean moved to London to study at Central Saint Martins. There, she began working with Nicola Formichetti, aka. Lady Gaga’s stylist, and consulting for clients like Nike. She then founded an innovation-led salon called WAH nails - the coolest place to hang out in the 2010s. After closing the salon in 2015, she created a groundbreaking beauty startup, Beautystack, which evolved into The Stack World, a media company and global community for mission driven women. This year, she distilled her learnings into her first book, ‘New Methods for Women’, and is currently working on a scripted TV show about female founders.

Click here to see pictures of Sharmadean's chosen pieces, and subscribe for more Threads of Conversation.

Today's guest is Sam Ross, the founder of an agency called New School. Sam and his team represent some of the fashion industry’s most exciting talent - photographers like Campbell Addy and Julian Song, set designers like Ibby Njoya, Patience Harding and Samuel Overs, casting directors Good Catch and movement director Yagamoto. Based in London’s creative hub, 180 Strand, I caught up with Sam after he’d just returned from New York, where New School recently opened its second office. In this conversation, we cover what it takes to be a good agent, how the agency landscape has changed, and why it’s important to market an agency, as well as the talent it represents. We also chat about New School’s unique ethos, and the experiences that led Sam to set up his own agency.

Click here to see pictures of some of the people we discuss, and subscribe for more Threads of Conversation.

This week, I’m in conversation with Emma Davidson, Fashion Features Director at Dazed. We recap the recent Spring/ Summer '25 season, where she attended some of the most important shows across the four fashion capitals (New York, London, Milan and Paris). We cover what fashion month looks like for her and how she manages all the content for Dazed’s fashion platforms, before diving into some of the standout moments from the season. Click here for more images and references to things we touched on in our chat.

In this episode, I meet the mononymous Dara - fashion director of Interview Magazine, stylist to Hunter Schafer, model and all-round fashion darling. We discuss the eight items of clothing that chart her journey from a cartoon-obsessed kid in California, to becoming one of fashion's leading tastemakers. Click here to see pictures of Dara's chosen pieces in the accompanying newsletter, and subscribe for more podcasts, essays and interviews from Threads of Conversation.

In this episode, I speak to Kyle Smith who leads the NFL’s fashion vertical. In this conversation, we discuss how he got his job at the NFL, working with players to craft their fashion presence, why it’s important for them to engage with fashion, the helmet problem, tunnel fits, and much more. 

You can find pictures of some of the moments we discuss in the accompanying newsletter.

My guest today is TikTok sensation Lyas. He’s a French creator based in Paris, beloved for his vivid runway reviews, witty personality and deep knowledge of fashion. Over the past couple of years, he’s become one of the most exciting new guard of fashion critics. His point of view is honest, funny and refreshing, and he’s also unafraid to say exactly what he thinks - even about the industry’s most powerful names. He's also a roaming fashion week reporter, and has interviewed everyone from Rihanna, to John Galliano, to the enigmatic underground designer Betsy Johnson, disarming them with his spontaneous questions and irreverent attitude.

Click here to see pictures of Lyas’ chosen pieces in the accompanying newsletter, and subscribe for more interviews, essays and podcast episodes

Welcome to another episode of the Threads of Conversation podcast. This week I’m trialling a new format called ‘A Thread about my career’. These conversations will cover the career journey and learnings of various fashion industry experts.

My guest this week is Henrietta Gallina, a creative director who’s currently the Global Director of Image and Content at Mulberry. Prior to her role at Mulberry, Henrietta worked for brands like Topshop, Fred Perry and Karla Otto, and was Creative Director at Universal Standard in New York. She’s also the co-founder of Citizen, an independent magazine documenting culture through the lens of Blackness. Recent cover stars include Andre3000 and Kendrick Lamar. Click here to see pictures of some of the projects we discuss in the accompanying newsletter, and subscribe for more Threads of Conversation.

Today's guest is photographer Larissa Hofmann. Larissa started her career as a model, regularly walking shows for designers like Chanel and Dior and appearing in campaigns around the world.

Around 2017 Larissa started building a career in photography, leaving her modelling agencies in 2018 to pursue it full time. In the years since, she has established herself as one of the most exciting fashion photographers working today. Her distinct style and unique point of view has seen her shooting everything from the cover of Vogue France, to Olivia Rodrigo’s album artwork and several Marc Jacobs campaigns.

Click here to see pictures of Larissa's chosen items in the accompanying newsletter.

Please note that this episode contains discussion of eating disorders.

In this episode, I speak to Bianca Saunders, a menswear designer from South London, who began her brand back in 2017. Since then, she’s won a slew of awards including New Establishment Menswear Designer At The 2023 British Fashion Awards and the prestigious Grand Prize at the 2021 ANDAM Awards (previous winners include Martin Margiela and Simon Jacquemus). She also dressed Usher for 2023’s Met Gala and accompanied him to the event.

Here, she takes us through the story of her work via eight items of clothing. See pictures of Bianca's chosen items in the accompanying newsletter, and subscribe for more podcasts, interviews and essays.

My guest for this episode is Alec Leach. Formerly Style Editor at Highsnobiety, in 2018 Alec left his role to pursue a career in sustainability. In 2022, he published a book called ‘The World is on Fire, But We’re Still Buying Shoes’, a short, sharp manifesto about how we can fix our shopping habits. The book has now sold over 10,000 copies.

In this episode, Alec talks us through 8 items from his wardrobe which tell the story of his journey from a fashion editor inundated with freebies to a sustainability activist with a ruthlessly edited wardrobe of staples. See pictures of Alec's items here, and subscribe to the Threads of Conversation newsletter for more.