Amanda Wakeley: StyleDNA

• Season 7 - Style DNA: Kelly Hoppen

  In this final episode of Season 7 of Style DNA I go on a Style journey with a true icon of British design, my friend, the  world-renowned Interior Designer, Author of 10 books, affectionately dubbed the 'Queen of Taupe', ...the titian haired, inspirational pocket-rocket power house that is Kelly Hoppen CBE. I first met Kelly when she was looking for a wedding dress...there are some designs that you never forget as a designer and to this day, 35 years on, I could sketch that dress, coat and shoes precisely ... all very pre-Raphaelite...I was thrilled to learn that Kelly still owns it and what's more still wears the floor length velvet coat over jeans.She talks openly about how long it took her to find her style and how much more relaxed she is in making her purchasing decisions now that she has her style formula...her Style DNA.We laugh about her going to give a talk at Bloomberg and how she dressed up to fit in with what she thought was expected of her, as though she was going into a boardroom, only to be told by someone very close to her to go and change, asking "where has Kelly Hoppen gone?!" and reminding her that Bloomberg had invited her because of who she was. This was clearly a pivotal moment for her, and the lesson was to never lose your own identity because of what you perceive to be someone else's expectations of you. Such good advice.Of course, I had to ask her about her time as a WAG when she dated the footballer Sol Campbell (16 years her junior) and she talks honestly about some of her fashion choices being "quite questionable" for a time.Now she lives between London and the Cotswolds and we discuss what country dressing means in that uber glam part of the country...it's certainly not jeans and tweeds!But more importantly, we chat about her being chosen by L'Oreal to be one of the faces of their brilliant Age Perfect Campaign...a real pinch me moment for Kelly but one that she truly deserved. The Kelly I know has always worked diligently at her fitness and wellbeing and at 65 she has never looked better, clearly comfortable in her skin, and more relaxed than ever. Bravo Kelly and thank you for sharing your Style journey, Prozac boots and all!I hope you enjoy this episode ...it was a treat for me to take a journey through time and style with someone I have known for so long...thank you @kellyhoppen for friendship and this style chat xx Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Season 7 - Style DNA: Venetia Archer

  If you’ve ever wished that beauty treatments could come to you at home instead of the other way around, then you have Venetia Archer to thank. In this episode of Style DNA, I sit down with the brilliant entrepreneur behind Ruuby, the concierge beauty app that has revolutionized the way we book and receive our treatments. A true multi-hyphenate, Venetia started out in the corporate world, where she quickly realized that busy women (herself included) needed a more flexible way to fit beauty into their schedules. And so, Ruuby was born—a service designed for the busy modern woman who barely has time to grab a coffee, let alone schedule a salon visit for a beauty treatment. Prior to founding Ruuby, Venetia worked as a geopolitical risk analyst, specialising in Somali piracy - and spent a stint in Kenya researching pirate gangs and negotiating with Somali pirates (yes, really) – and during that time she learned that fashion isn’t just about looking good—it’s a tool for power and confidence. We dive deep into her mother’s influence on her personal style...lucky Venetia appears to have the perfect source of vintage designer pieces care of her mother’s generous cast offs!  We chat about how fashion has always been her armour—from boardroom battles to fundraising rounds. In the early days she admits to a bit of a rebellious ripped jean, cool jacket tech spirit and how now the armour of a great jacket and a heel are her go-tos when she wants to feel empowered.  We discuss the joy of buying a “treat to self” to mark time or a deal …has anyone else discovered the sheer independent delight of that? Venetia is as sharp as she is stylish, and our chat is filled with gems…whether you’re into beauty, business, or just love a great fashion story…Thank you Venetia for sharing your insights. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Season 7 - Style DNA: Alexandra Shulman

  In this episode I go on a style journey with the longest standing former editor of British Vogue …  Alexandra Shulman CBE.    As a young designer at the time I will never forget being invited by Alex to a one on one lunch at San Lorenzo not long after she became Editor in Chief.  I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I came away thinking how kind and approachable she was…in fact the polar opposite to the intimidating image of most editors at the time…There was never anything Devil Wears Prada about Alex.   In this episode she talks openly about her relationship with fashion …proclaiming she knew nothing about fashion when she took the job and maybe “ignorance was bliss”. But when she took the helm of Vogue it was a unique moment in fashion…there was an incredible pool of British design talent and at the same time the High Street was breaking through and democratising fashion. Of course I ask her what she wore on her first day in the ever-imposing Vogue House…    We talk about the pressure of dressing to attend all the shows around the world and she is wonderfully pragmatic about how she knew she was never going to be a “Carine or an Anna”… How the editors grand hotel rooms would always be laden with flowers on arrival from all the big houses, often with handwritten notes from the designers…and a time that Karl (as in Lagerfeld) wrote several pages to her as to how he was feeling about a particular situation…   During her editorship she was asked by the then Kate Middleton to recommend British designers for her wedding dress…Alex submitted her ideas, bearing in mind the possible dynamic between the designer and Kate, the obvious need for incredible security not to mention, could the designer/house create a dress worthy of making history for all the right reasons. She had no idea until the wedding day who had actually got the job.   She talks lovingly of spending time in her mother’s dressing room as a child (the only time she and her siblings got to see her during the week), watching her get dressed for work as the editor of Conde Nast Brides magazine. How glamourous and stylish she was and indeed still is in her 90’s…     Alex’s book Clothes and Other Things that Matter… is not only about clothes but about the way we live our lives. “From childhood onwards, the way we dress is a result of our personal history”.  Not dissimilar to this podcast, our clothes have stories …   I hope you enjoy this episode…it was a rich conversation peppered with stories of the crazy world of fashion.   Thank you @alexandrashulman for being so wonderfully open and brilliantly eloquent x Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Season 7 - Style DNA: Jim Chapman

  In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with one of the original YouTubers Jim Chapman. It’s hard to believe that that was only 15 years ago and yet it feels, to me at least, like half a life time ago. I am showing my age now, but when I was Gen Z age the internet didn’t even exist and we were consuming our news the old fashioned way…via a printed newspaper or on television, now online is the primary source of news information. So it is not surprising that characters like Jim Chapman achieved such a massive following so quickly…it was a moment in time and by his own admission it happened by accident. But as one of the original ‘content creators’ he has also carved out a role as a high-profile brand ambassador, presenter and writer. He has amassed an audience of over 7.5 million people across social media, has written for various publications, including British GQ, and is a published author. Jim graduated in psychology but wanted a creative outlet, so he turned to creating content and posting it on YouTube, inspired by his sisters the makeup artists PixiWoo who had started to post makeup tutorials. In terms of building a following it was a unique moment in history, it was new and exciting with very few people doing it and followers were  truly organic. By the time Instagram was launched he was ready to pounce on it. Over the years his audience has not only grown, but grown up with him. With a psychology degree under his belt of course we talk about how we message through clothes. He grew up in Norfolk and his stylish mum ran a second hand clothes shop … he always had an opinion on what she wore but he also talks about how he has blanked out his abusive father’s style (unsurprisingly). We talk about the next chapter in the world of Social Media …there are so many issues with it. He has concerns about the fact that the platforms are drawing us all in to get that tiny hit of dopamine as we scroll but as he says, that hit is net negative as you are not doing anything that is constructive, which actually makes people less happy. He is hopeful that there will ultimately be legislation around usage and the need to register your identity so that no-one can post anonymously…idealistic perhaps, but well-meaning for sure. I am always fascinated by how men approach clothes versus women… I hope you enjoy this episode. Thank you@jimchapman for being such a great guest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Season 7 - Style DNA: Rachel Stevens

  This episode's Style DNA guest is the Best-Selling and multi award winning English Singer, Businesswoman, Model and Actress - the truly fabulous Rachel Stevens. Rachel is best known as one seventh of one of the largest pop bands of the noughties,  S Club 7. Rachel tells me about her sliding doors moment when she was in the right place at the right time to audition for the band and the rest, they say, is history. She was just 19 years old when the band was formed by the brilliant Simon Fuller and by her own admission it was not the easiest time in her home life, S Club provided a "huge and exciting escape". Did she know who she was? Perhaps not...the 90's were high octane but behind the glossiness she had her vulnerabilities and in her words she was "playing a part". The process of writing her recently published book Finding my Voice - A story of Strength, Self-Belief and S Club 7  was clearly a cathartic process. I ask her about finding her own stylistic identity within the group and it is clear that she has always had a passion for fashion and a really clear vision as to what she likes and what works on her... and being a diminutive 5 foot tall has also made her critically aware of proportion. This has stood her in good stead for her collaborations with various fashion brands ...work that she clearly loves.Of course we discuss all of her various costumes from S Club to Dancing on Ice to Strictly and how her clothes have always been part of her performance ..."style is a silent communicator"...so true.It hasn't all been perfect ...she recalls wearing a yellow Julien McDonald dress for the Brits which was not her finest style moment...I couldn't help but ask her about being voted FHMs Sexiest Woman of all time in 2014...quite an accolade whilst being a lot of live up to! She chats about loving the collaborative process of working on the shoots for FHM, how they were done with integrity and how she was fully in control of her sexy image. Refreshing to hear. I hope you enjoy this episode. Thank you Rachel for being such a great guest x Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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