

WARDROBE CRISIS with Clare Press
Clare Press
WARDROBE CRISIS is a fashion podcast about sustainability, ethical fashion and making a difference in the world. Your host is author and journalist Clare Press, who was the first ever Vogue sustainability editor. Each week, we bring you insightful interviews from the global fashion change makers, industry insiders, activists, artists, designers and scientists who are shaping fashion's future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 6, 2018 • 47min
Patrick Duffy, The Clothes Swap King - Sustainable in Sequins
This Episode is about the magical powers of the clothes swap. It's also about us having way too many clothes. And some of it is just about the charmed life of Patrick Duffy, New York's clothes swap king, and co-founder of Global Fashion Exchange.Buy less choose well is great, but it's clearly it's not what everyone's doing. There are quite simply too many clothes in our wardrobes. Fashion resale is projected to be bigger than fast fashion within 10 years. Millennials are both the most sustainably minded and the biggest impulse buyers - they typically discard items after 1 to 5 wears. What we are seeing here is a picture of excess.So now it's time to consider some of the more creative ways we can tackle our clothing mountains and also our appetites for fashion.What's the haulternative?The simplest way to extend the life of your clothes is by giving them a new owner. And the greenest way to get a mad fashion fix is to go to, or hold a fashion swap.Head over to https://thewardrobecrisis.com/podcast/2020/5/29/podcast-35-patrick-duffy-amp-the-rise-of-the-clothes-swap to read yours and #bethechangeMusic is by Montaigne. Follow Clare on Instagram and Twitter @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 27, 2018 • 43min
Walk Sew Good - Discovering Positive Fashion Stories
"By walking, we connect with the Earth" - Satish Kumar. Towards the end of 2016 two friends from Melbourne, Megan O'Malley and Gab Murphy went out for a walk. A year later, they made it home. Calling themselves Walk Sew Good they went on a epic adventure - walking 3,500 kilometres through Souh East Asia to collect and share stories from some of the people who make our clothes. They met with and interviewed more than 50 different people and organisations, made videos and wrote a blogs - and made friends. When they set out, Meg was a fashion fan, Gab not so much. How did they change, and what did they learn? And what's it really like to walk for 8-hours every day?This show was recorded live at the Planet Talks at the WOMADelaide festival.Head over to https://thewardrobecrisis.com/podcast/2020/6/28/podcast-34-walk-sew-good-discovering-positive-fashion-stories to read yours and #bethechangeOur music is by Montaigne. She's singing an acoustic version of Because I love You.Follow Clare on Instagram and Twitter @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 20, 2018 • 50min
Kim Jenkins, Fashion & Race
We need to talk. And we need to listen. Fashion is supposed to be modern, cutting edge, leading the way. But is it? Or is it stuck in old-fashioned tropes that place white culture at its centre? Now is the time to shake things up and insist on representation and inclusivity, and we all have our parts to play. But what does diversity really mean? Are we headed in the right direction, and are we going there fast enough?In this week's Episode, we meet Kim Jenkins, a New York-based writer, educator and authority on the intersections between fashion, race and culture. Kim teaches at both Parsons, The New School and the Pratt Institute. She also sits on the advisory board of the Model Alliance.She specialises in the sociocultural and historical influences behind why we wear what we wear, specifically addressing how politics, psychology, race and gender shape the way we ‘fashion' our identity. Plus she's a massive vintage fan, and a serious fashion history buff.At Parsons, Kim developed a class called Fashion & Race, which inspired this podcast. These are issues we need to be discussing more - from cultural appropriation vs. appreciation, to diversity on the runway and in imagery, through diversity and representation in all areas; not just race, but body type, age, sweeping away those old-fashioned beauty norms, all that.This is an intriguing interview, and it's warm and beautiful and personal. You get to hear how Kim got to where she is today, what she loves and is inspired by. We talk about everything from what it was like for Kim to grow up black in a very white neighbourhood in Texas, how she found and formed her identity, why she fell in love with fashion TV, crazy Dallas style (oh the shoulder pads), and of course, where fashion has been and where it's headed. Enjoy!How fab is our music? THANK YOU Montaigne. She is singing an acoustic version of Because I love You.Follow Clare on Instagram and Twitter @mrspressFollow Kim Jenkins on Instagram @kimberlymjenkinsOur podcasts and shownotes also live here. Clare is on deadline for her next book, so please forgive a short delay in updating clarepress.com All the new Eps will be updated by mid-April.Love the podcast? We have a Patreon page if you'd like to support us. We're also, as always, super grateful if for ratings and reviews on Apple. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 13, 2018 • 46min
Advanced Style's Ari Seth Cohen, No More Invisible Woman
Photographer and author Ari Seth Cohen is the creator of Advanced Style, a project devoted “to capturing the sartorial savvy of the senior set.” He says, “I feature people who live full creative lives. They live life to the fullest, age gracefully and continue to grow and challenge themselves.”In this interview, you're going to hear all about how he began, who he met along the way, what he's learned and how he his work has helped to change the way the world looks at older women and advanced beauty. We discuss love and loss, and refusing to give up and go gently into elastic waisted pants, and of course we talk about the enduring, uplifiting power of style.It's packed full of wisdom, but even better - it's packed full of Advanced Style ladies. From Ilona Royce Smithkin, who at 97 published a book on staying creative, to Jacquie Murdock, the former Apollo dancer who at 82 shot a Lanvin campaign, and so many more.How fab is our music? THANK YOU Montaigne. She is singing an acoustic version of Because I love You.Follow Clare on Instagram and Twitter @mrspressYou can find all our podcasts and shownotes here.Love the podcast? We have a Patreon page if you'd like to support us. We're also, as always, super grateful if for ratings and reviews on Apple. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 6, 2018 • 51min
Fanny Moizant, Secondhand is Not Second Best
There used to be a stigma about old clothes. Whereas vintage was always cool for those in the know, until fairly recently plain second hand wasn't always so welcome. But this is changing: 30% of millennials have shopped second-hand in the last three months. Instagram is full of stylish people wearing second-hand gear. Fashion rental and resale sites are booming.In this Episode, recorded in Paris, we meet Fanny Moizant, one of founders of Vestiaire Collective, the French ‘re-commerce' site that's seeing 30,000 designer items offered for sale each week by members of its 6 million-strong fashion community. Imagine a cross between Net-A-Porter and eBay with a bit of Instagram thrown in, so you can follow and like your favourite sellers. This interview is a must for anyone who buys or sells secondhand anywhere. It's a ‘How to make it in fashion' episode, a tech disruptor episode, an inspirational woman episode. Fanny is a working mamma and she has heaps of great advice on female entrepreneurship. Not surprisingly, she also has fantastic style. Fanny is super chic.How fab is our music? THANK YOU Montaigne. She is singing an acoustic version of Because I love You.Follow Clare on Instagram and Twitter @mrspressYou can find all our podcasts and shownotes here.Love the podcast? We have a Patreon page if you'd like to support us. We're also, as always, super grateful if for ratings and reviews on Apple. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 28, 2018 • 45min
Kit Willow, Sustainability Gets Glamorous
Meet the Australian designer on a mission to save the planet one dress at a time. She's just been in London for Fashion Week showing her work at Buckingham Palace, no less. Livia Firth and Emma Watson lover her, and she's always in Vogue. No wonder everybody's talking about Kit Willow.Her KITX label is a sustainable fashion standout, established to do good as well as look good. Recorded at Kit's home in Sydney, this Episode offers a fascinating insight into what makes this revered creative tick. We cover everything from artisan craft, production hiccups, and authenticity and longevity in fashion to how trees talk to each other, and how to do your kids' slime stall sustainably. It's a joy, this one. Happy listening!How fab is our music? THANK YOU Montaigne. She is singing an acoustic version of Because I love You.Follow Clare on Instagram and Twitter @mrspressYou can find all our podcasts and shownotes here.Love the podcast? We have a Patreon page if you'd like to support us. We're also, as always, super grateful if for ratings and reviews on Apple. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 20, 2018 • 42min
Christopher Raeburn, Remade, Reduced, Recycled
Meet British fashion's ruling King of Ucycling, and prepare to fall in love with his ideas.He's a Fashion Revolution favourite who shows both mens and womenswear at London Fashion Week Men's. US Vogue says Christopher Raeburn "totally relevant" and WWD notes that right now he totally captures the Zeiteist. True that, but this is no sudden trend-driven thing. Raeburn has been creating collections sustainably since he started out a decade ago.With his industry-leading Remade, Recycled and Reuse ethos, he is changing the way fashion works by using upcycled and deadstock textiles and repurposing army surplus materials. He's turned his studio into a place of learning, and loves a good repair, and baking bread, and watching Blue Planet, because, who doesn't?"A collaborative, creative fashion studio where daily design meets painstaking production, alongside monthly events, discussions and workshops." That's how Christopher Raeburn describes his work world. And what an intriguing world it is.Follow Clare on Instagram and Twitter @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 13, 2018 • 51min
Kowtow's Gosia Piatek, The Beauty of Minimalism
Welcome back! We're excited to kick off Series 2 with this inspiring interview with Gosia Piatek, the fabulous force behind cult ethical fashion label Kowtow.Decluttering, minimalism and the sustainable wardrobe are big themes in the ethical fashion conversation. But what does minimal design really mean? And what's it like to be an aesthetic minimalist with a partner who's a full-on maximalist?In this Episode, we discuss how to build a sustainable fashion business, and the pressures of running one between London, where Gosia lives, and New Zealand, where Kowtow is based.Gosia shares about her early life as a refugee from Poland, what it was like for her family to arrive in New Zealand knowing no one, and how she grew up a greenie.The story of how she began her label is fascinating and unusual. Find out how she built it up, according to her values and her interests in art, architecture, craftsmanship, landscapes and travel. And how to make clothes while making a contribution to Mother Earth - enjoy!THANK YOU for the music Montaigne. Montaigne is singing an acoustic version of Because I love You.Follow Clare on Instagram and Twitter, @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 5, 2017 • 52min
Eva Galambos, Luxury and the Art of Retail
London has Browns and Dover St Market, Milan has 10 Corso Como, New York has Jeffrey, and Paris had Collette. In Australia, the multi-brand designer fashion stores to know are Melbourne's Marais and in Sydney, Parlour X.This Episode is about independent high fashion retail, how it works and what it does, what's happening with bricks and mortar stores, and why we need them. You're going to meet the brilliant buyer, style setter and retailer Eva Galambos, who is Parlour X's founder.Eva is an expert on the business of fashion, and the changing landscape of retail. It's her job to partner with the brands she believes in to present their collections in store, and to choose the right stuff to stay ahead in a game that's been turned upside down in recent years by the growth of online and the rise of the flagship, where more brands are becoming vertical operations.We talk about who decides what's on trend, the purpose of fashion shows, and what happens on a buying appointment and in the Paris showrooms. We cover the importance of longevity and timeless design, what the term ‘investment piece' really means, the pressures and opportunities of online retailing? What does luxury mean today and how is sale culture impacting it? This Episode is a must for anyone studying fashion, working in the business or just trying to figure out how it all works.Head over to https://thewardrobecrisis.com/podcast/2017/12/4/podcast-ep-26-eva-galambos-true-luxury-the-art-of-retail to read yours and #bethechangeDON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW CLARE ON INSTAGRAM FOR ALL THE WARDROBE CRISIS NEWS! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 28, 2017 • 46min
The Streets Barber, Good Hair Day
On any given night in Australia 1 in 200 people don't have a roof over their heads. Nasir Sobhani A.K.A The Streets Barber skateboards around Melbourne giving free haircuts and shaves to homeless people as a part of his ‘Clean Cut Clean Start' movement. Today, fashion and hairdressing live in the same world, along with makeup artistry, art direction, photography. The hair stylist on a shoot, for example, is just as important as the stylist, model or photographer. But the art of cutting hair is more fundamental, and more universally experienced, than those other disciplines.Grooming is an animal urge and an ancient art. Razors have been found in Bronze Age and ancient Egyptian ruins. In the middle ages, barbers served as surgeons and dentists; they were literally engaged in wellness and healing.These days it's more about counselling, though isn't it? You know the score. The intimacy of sitting in the hairdresser's or barber's chair, the human contact. Who hasn't told their hairdresser secrets?'Okay, but this Episode is about way more than a good haircut. It's a story of addiction and redemption, the journey of an extradordinary man who, with this scissors by his side, found a vocation, changed his life and set himself to task to do some good in the world.Nas calls the Street Barber Project, a “place where people who believe in the fundamental goodness of human beings can come to find stories, ideas, hope, community & inspiraiton in order to go out and serve in their own way.”Check THE SHOWNOTES for links and resources from today's story.https://thewardrobecrisis.com/podcast/2017/12/4/podcast-ep-25-the-streets-barberDON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW CLARE ON INSTAGRAM FOR ALL THE WARDROBE CRISIS NEWS!Our incredible music is by Montaigne - it's an acoustic version of Because I Love You from their album Glorious Heights.Like what you hear? Please review us in Apple, and share on social media.Did you know we have a Patreon page ? We're so grateful to our supporters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.