More from our visit to India! If you listened to the last episode with stylist Daniel Franklin, you'll have heard Clare promise more to come from India's burgeoning sustainable fashion scene. This week's chat is with one of Delhi's most promising young designers, who's just shown his collection at Lakmé Fashion Week in Mumbai, and who won last year's Circular Design Challenge (run by R/Elan and UN India). He is Ritwik Khanna, founder of the edgy menswear offering and atelier RKive City. He's created a new system of working with post-consumer textile waste (lots of denim and camouflage gear) that he de-constructs, then recuts into brilliant new garments, often embellished with embroideries. The result blends cool modernity with high craft.

What's up for discussion? His process, obviously, but this is also a conversation about dignified work, what people don't realise about the second-hand and waste textile supply chain in India, and ultimately - what makes a good life.

Fancy your chances winning the Circular Design Challenge? Applications for 2025 close May 8th. Info here.

More info at thewardrobecrisis.com

Tell us what you think? Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

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Mumbai and New Delhi take turns to host Lakmé Fashion Week, and this season it's the former that will be exploding with creative runways and high-craft fever, starting next week.

To get you in the mood, we're bringing you an Indian mini-series of the Wardrobe Crisis podcast, starting with this delightful conversation with stylist Daniel Franklin.

Daniel styled five shows last season, and has seven on the go this time, and we can't think of anyone better to contextualise India's new gen talent explosion. So yes, expect to learn the new names-to-know and what makes them tick. But Daniel studied fashion history before breaking into magazines, and this is a far-ranging discussion that gallops through the myth of the Silk Route to the truth of the colonial hangover, via a tour of India's unparalleled craft heritage. Enjoy!

More info at thewardrobecrisis.com

Tell us what you think? Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

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A disturbing shift away from diversity, equity and inclusion is spreading through the corporate world. Following US President Donald Trump's lead, some of the world's most powerful companies have rushed to dismantle years of positive work that's been done in this area.

Race and gender are central to this discussion, but diversity and inclusion programs concern the whole gamut of non-majority groups in any given setting, including sexual orientation, disability and class. So what does mean to be abandoning policies and initiatives designed to make our societies, organisations and businesses fairer and more equitable for everyone? To remove unjust barriers to entry that have, for too long, locked less-privileged groups out? It’s not like, our work is done here.

Take, for example, the continued lack of representation of women in the C-suite. The numbers simply don’t represent broader society - or brands’ stakeholders and customer-bases. Or educational establishments that blatantly favour upper class students from rich families. That’s where affirmative action comes in. Talking about merit-based hires and some lofty ideal of a colour/class/gender/disability-blind world is pure nonsense when some of us clearly get a head start over others.

Big questions: what's driving brands to drop DEI programs? Did they ever really care in the first place? How do the culture wars play into all of this? Will what's happening in America spread to other countries? And will more big brands follow suit? Is diversity and inclusion officially dead - or just on life support?

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In this episode, Clare gives you a masterclass on the history, context and current state of play, then revisits key messages from previous episodes on this topic, including insights from Aja Barber, Lou Croff Blake, Rahemur Rahman and Junior Bishop.

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It's time for some more trashtalk, my friends.

Remember plastic pollution? Of course you do - because it's still with us.

According to the UNEP, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic enter the world's oceans, rivers and lakes EVERY SINGLE DAY. And while there was a great deal of excitement around the prospect of a Global Plastics Treaty last year, talks were suspended at the end of 2024 when UN member states failed to reach an agreement on what would have been the first-ever global legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution.

But it's not just plastic that's littering the environment. You name it; it ends up there - from paper and cardboard to aluminium cans, glass, clothing and fly-tipped furniture. We're all complicit, so we've all got a part to play.

The good news is that awareness and community action is growing, and that is the focus of today's interview with the inspiring Ripu Daman Bevli - a Delhi-based environmentalist and runner, on a mission to make picking up litter cool. Meet the Plogman of India...

Plog-what?!

The term plogging originated in Sweden - it's a portmanteau of the Swedish verb, "plocka upp" (to pick up) and the English word "jogging". In 2019, Ripu ran 1000 km across 50 cities in India, picking up trash - and followers - along the way. As he says, if you want to spark behaviour change, forget shame and berating people - the secret is to invite them to join a fun activity.

So don't stress, this is far from a dismal discussion about the waste crisis.

Rather, it's a joyful, encouraging story about how to change the world with positivity, recorded on location in Delhi, with a soundtrack of beautiful birdsong.

Tell us what you think? Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

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London fashion week spotlight: In a markedly hatless era, forward-marching British New Gen accessories designer Leo Carlton is turning their talents to digitally-printed crowns, elf ears, breast plates and mysterious sculptural masks. Some of these genre-defying fashion artefacts feel a bit witchy, with pagan undertones. Others, firmly futuristic.

But how do they make them? Wouldn’t you like to know!

Leo trained at Cordwainers, enjoyed a two-year residency at Alexander McQueen's Sarabande Foundation, and studied classical millinery techniques - their first job out of college was with the iconic London hatmaker Stephen Jones, and they used to make showpieces for Dilara Findikoglu, Richard Quinn and Charles Jeffrey Loverboy. But these new VR adventures step beyond the confines of the physical word with mind-bending results. From teaching themselves digital printing via Youtube to sculpting in virtual reality, the only limits are: there are no limits.

Tell us what you think? Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

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Experience matters. Everyone always tells new design graduates that it's best to work for someone else while you find your feet. But at what point do you know that you are ready to strike out on your own?

While on the surface this conversation with emerging German fashion designer Essie Kramer seems to be about the joys of sourcing old ecclesiastical textiles and turning them into provocative new ensembles, or how digital printing is democratising object-making, I think it's really about confidence and finding your flow. When you know, you know! Essie is one to watch.

I'm always excited to meet next gen fashion talent. Featuring young designers has been a pillar of Wardrobe Crisis from the start.

I've been lucky enough to be a judge on many new gen competitions over the years, including Redress in Hong Kong, the Circular Design Challenge in India and Australia's National Designer Award. I got to write a bit for Sara Maino's Vogue Italia Talents project, and covered the BFC's New Gen for years.

Every series, we've run at least one (sometimes more) Episodes focused on new designers around the world.

Got recommendations? Hit us up!

And please share these podcasts.

Then re-listen to these treasures from our archives:

Ep 61 Vogue Talents, featuring HUEMN and Sindiso Khumalo

Ep 65 with Ruchika from Bodice Studio

Ep 70 featuring Bethany Williams, Matthew Needham and Patrick McDowell

Ep 110 with upcyclers Helen Kirkum and Duran Lantink

Ep 139 with Icelandic knitter Ýr Jóhannsdóttir

Ep 146 with Joao Maraschin

Ep 204 Michaela Stark

Happy listening!

Clare x

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A note from Clare:

This week, I'm experimenting with bringing you something a bit different. I'm calling it CLARE'S TAKE and it's a sort of op-ed slash invitation to start a conversation about a issue in the news. It's just me, no interview this time. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning the interview format! Normal programming will resume next week, but do let us know if you like the idea of adding these editorial takes on topical fashion criticism into the mix, as a bonus.

Thank you, as ever, for listening!

Clare xx

From that hat as a strategic kiss-dodger to mob wife at a funeral, dark MAGA to the spectre of an American state jewellery collection, let's just say there was a lot going on with Melania's fashion optics at the inauguration. But what's the bigger picture of luxury's right wing power play?

In a few short years, we've gone from leading fashion designers openly stating that, for ethical reasons, they'd never dress the Trumps - to the LVMH bosses attending the inauguration. When there's money to be made, does anyone remember that Trump is a convicted felon? And with key American corporations lining up to abandon their DEI and climate goals, how will the rest of fashion respond? And what they heck should the rest of us do about all this?

Tell us what you think? Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

*Boycotting X since August.

_________________

To discover our Sustainable Fashion 101 online course, click here.

We're giving listeners who enrol in January 50% off.

Apply the discount code - newyear - at checkout to redeem your gift.

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Ears here! Do yourself a favour and take a break from doomscrolling Trump...

Berlin fashion week is about to roll around again, and we're inspired. Not least because last year Fashion Council Germany became the first to officially adopted Copenhagen Fashion Week's sustainability framework, complete with 20 minimum standards for participating designers.

If you don’t live there, what’s your impression of the city's vibe? Dark, grey and dystopian?! In winter, there’s a bit of that for sure, but it also crackles with electric creativity. Largely devoid of corporate nonsense, Berlin's fashion culture fosters indie talent, DIY and sustainability innovation, all mixed up with the underground arts scene.

Think fashion as dialogue, self-expression and provocation. Community over ego. And embedding political movements - including sustainability and DIEB - into the shows.

Plus, of course, the legendary club scene is never far away.

“It is alternative,” says this week’s guest, much-loved fashion photographer, cult magazine maker and adopted Berliner Axl Jansen. “They don’t nip on their champagne and talk about art; they live it. Life is dangerous, you know? As an artist you have to define always new ideas, you have to find new paths of thinking, so it’s always in a kind danger, art itself.”

While this conversation isn't really about politics - it's about creativity, fashion, music - Clare's question to you is: Can we disassociate these things? We don't think so.

Art reflects the times we live in - and these, once again, are turbulent ones.

To discover our Sustainable Fashion 101 online course, click here.

We're giving listeners who enrol in January 50% off.

Apply the discount code - newyear - at checkout to redeem your gift.

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Happy New Year!

When was the last time you admired someone's style from afar, say from across the street? Or when you found yourself sitting next to them in a public place, a cafe perhaps, at a fashion show or on the bus? Did you strike up a conversation? Because we mostly don't. Mostly we just think how fab they look and that's that.

I like to think of our first Episode for series 11 as an encouragement to talk to stylish strangers, in the very best of ways, because you never know what might come out of it.

At London Fashion Week last season, I spotted Beau McCall in the crowd, and thought: Oh my, what a FABULOUS OUTFIT. He was covered, you see, in buttons galore, like a Harlem version of a Pearly King. He'd topped off this look with a Vivienne Westwood Buffalo hat. Next thing I knew, he was making his way over, and sat down next to me. The rest is, if not exactly history, encapsulated in this warm and sparkling conversation. Actually, there is quite a bit of history in it - from the evolution of the button as a fastener/decoration strictly for the well-to-do, to everyman's (and woman's) closure of choice, to the fashion history of NYC in the late '80s.

Also up for discussion: why every family should have a button box, the joy of hand-sewing, how fashion can help if you're shy at parties, and what happens when you try and sew hundreds of a buttons onto a bathtub...

For pics and links, hop over, as usual, to: thewardrobecrisis.com

Beau's website is beaumccall.com

For info on The Or Foundation's Kantamanto fund, see here.

To discover our Sustainable Fashion 101 online course, click here.

We're giving listeners who enrol in January 50% off.

Apply the discount code - newyear - at checkout to redeem your gift.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Breathe in deeply through your nose... What can you smell right now? Can you identify it? How does it make you feel? Is it fresh, bright, pleasant? Nostalgic? Disgusting? How often do think about smell? If you only tend to notice when it's something particularly lovely - your favourite dish being cooked, a preferred flower - or horrid (let's not go there); you're not alone.

As this week's guest Susan Irvine explains, a couple of thousand years' of western philosophy has conditioned us to prioritise sight and sound, relegating smell to the senses' lower division. Why? Well, short of holding your nose (spoiler alert, there's some of that in this podcast!) smell isn't something we can generally choose to take in or shut out; it doesn't invite us to apply our discernment. But while the art and design worlds have long overlooked scent, that's changing. Agenda-setting creatives are using it in their storytelling - and we're not talking about perfume campaigns.

Welcome to the mind-blowing world of smell as material. We'll leave it to Susan to explain.

Susan Irvine is a writer of excellent books including novels, short stories and non fiction. A former Vogue beauty editor, she's a current Visiting Lecturer at London's Royal College of Art, where she teaches a course on using 'smell as material' based in the Fashion Programme. 

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