Amanda Wakeley: StyleDNA

• Roxie Nafousi - Style DNA - Season 8

  In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with none other than the world-renowned self-development coach, inspirational speaker, manifesting expert, and three-times Sunday Times Bestselling author, the inspirational Roxie Nafousi. I first met Roxie when she came to one of my London Fashion Week parties at my Mayfair Store and the shy woman I met back then was worlds apart from the confident communicator that I had this Style DNA conversation with… I have to say it is heart-warming to see someone evolve so positively…and in this conversation she eloquently explains how that evolution came about. Roxie has talked opening about being lost, until she found manifesting and I ask her how her style has evolved from being the person she was previously? She admits she hated her style before, how she felt only as worthy as the man she was with and that impacted her dressing. She states that her style growth is aligning with who she is now. We talk about when she discovered her passion for fashion? Fashion had always been a bit of a mask for her…that she liked fashion for all the wrong reasons, it’s probably only in the last year that she has started to take more care of what she wears. She writes about it in her latest book Confidence, that a big part of manifesting your higher self or stepping into your most empowered self is about the way you dress. In Step 8 of the book she talks about dressing the part as one of the ways that you can show up as your future self. Alongside this, she says that a big part of the manifestation journey is letting go, letting go of all things that don’t serve you, whether it’s bad habits, behaviours or people but also the kind of clothes that don’t serve who you are anymore, or that are not who you want to become. It’s definitely food for thought… She has clearly found her confidence…and feels that she is of value to the world but is humble enough to admit that she has days when self doubts creep in but she is better equipped to deal with them and most importantly wants to share her learnings… Bravo @roxienafousi…thank you for your frank and open conversation…hugely thought provoking and helpful to many I am sure x --- A message from our season sponsor: Join the millions of people hitting their weight loss goals with Simple. To start your personalized plan complete the quiz at simple.life/amanda and use code AMANDA for 70% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Harris Reed - Style DNA - Season 8⁠⁠

  In this episode I had the privilege of interviewing the fashion designer and creative director Harris Reed... and I have to say I was blown away by his vision, his confidence, his charm and his down to earth warmth. Fighting for the beauty of fluidity, half-American, half-British Harris Reed designs to create conversation. Growing up with a strong sense of self, Harris was able to quickly understand the transformative power of clothing and its correlation with identity and liberation. While still studying at Central Saint Martins, he caught the attention of the likes of Harry Styles who he dressed in some iconic looks for his tour including his signature pussy bow blouses and flares. Alessandro Michele, the then creative director of Gucci, spotted him and recruited him to his design studio.  His brand has gone from strength to strength showing Demi-Couture collections biannually in London and garnering VIP fans and clients including Beyoncé, Adele, and Sam Smith. The overall DNA of the Harris Reed brand and personal identity, is best described as Romanticism Gone Nonbinary. It puts the wearer and their fluidity - in whatever way it manifests, front and centre yet all while staying true to the brand’s ethos that strives for a vision of gender fluidity and inclusivity.  Personally, Harris dresses to invite the looks and stares, to blur the preconceived fault-lines people have about gender and sexuality. He is an incredibly striking and magnetic human being.  In 2021 he was invited to dress Iman for the prestigious Met Gala... both he and Iman looked spectacular despite a little personal mishap on his way there...too funny and too personal to write about but listen in and you will hopefully laugh with us. In September 2022, aged just 26, he was appointed the youngest ever Creative Director of French fashion house Nina Ricci. He is absolutely flying...In October 2023 Harris married his husband Eitan Senerman in an intimate ceremony in London at Chelsea Old Town Hall and Claridge's... The second wedding celebration in Palermo, Sicily in June 2024, saw Harris in 4 different outfits ... looking ever more spectacular in each one...of course we delve into why he designed each look...and how he wanted to feel...His recently published, beautifully illustrated book Fluid, is well worth a read... --- A message from our season sponsor: Join the millions of people hitting their weight loss goals with Simple. To start your personalized plan complete the quiz at simple.life/amanda and use code AMANDA for 70% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Penelope Chilvers - Style DNA - Season 8⁠⁠

  In this week episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with the British luxury footwear designer, the wonderful Penelope Chilvers. Penelope grew up in Britain but as a child she spent every school holiday in the province of Girona and her love affair with Spain and local craftsmanship began. For a few years, Penelope lived in the city of Barcelona, working as a painter and designer where she collaborated with artists and artisans. While living in Barcelona, she enjoyed riding in her lunch break in the national park of Collserola in the hills above the city wearing traditional Spanish riding boots. She pursued the idea of bringing the Spanish riding boot to England and commissioned a small number of traditional artisans in the hills of Spain to make the perfect equestrian boot to her own specifications.  The Long Tassel boot remains a firm favourite in the collection, most famously worn back in 2004 by Prince William’s then girlfriend, Kate Middleton and the photo of her wearing these boots went viral the day they announced their engagement. HRH Catherine, Princess of Wales continues to wear her boots to this day. We chat about her memories of being allowed to tidy her mother’s silk scarf drawer as a young girl and how that ignited her passion for colour, pattern and luxury. She has a dedication to timeless style, designing boots and shoes that will stand the test of time…she really believes in the power of longevity.  She tells me that she loves the process of taking care of her shoes and boots… how footwear can get better with age and wear…  and her desire to teach her customers how to care for their shoes…lovely.   I ask her about how she feels about being the face of her brand and her response is charming and endearingly humble …she says she feels lucky that she is still relevant. She has clearly enjoyed creating and building her brand…saying it’s like a work of art to her. Both of her daughters are now involved, one working with her on design and the other in marketing and as the company stylist. It is a true family business and Penelope clearly enjoys the cross generational aspect.   I question whether she feels that her style changes when she spends time working in Spain, and she admits that it does actually… she admires the fact that Spanish women have a confidence and a femininity and that it’s probably a little more formal.     The Penelope Chilvers brand has gone from strength to strength and has recently added a store in Stow on the Wold in the Cotswolds to its collection. In full disclosure I own several pairs of Penelope Chilvers shoes and boots…sublime embroidered velvet slippers, Spanish leather boots and beautiful suede cowboy boots … all timeless classics … I hope you enjoy this episode. Thank you @penelopecheilvers for being such a lovely guest. xx --- A message from our season sponsor: Join the millions of people hitting their weight loss goals with Simple. To start your personalized plan complete the quiz at simple.life/amanda and use code AMANDA for 70% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Jo Good - Style DNA - Season 8

  In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with the award winning BBC radio host, TV fashion presenter and Influencer, who goes by the name of MiddleAgedMinx,  the fabulous and joyous Jo Good.   I first met Jo when she interviewed me for her Gold show for SheerLuxe and we clicked immediately…laughing about how age was just a number, that it is wrong to be pigeon-holed, and agreeing that we like to think of ourselves as ageless.   She talks with great humour about customising her very conservative “English public school inspired” school uniform while growing up in Australia…which included steaming her stiff boater into a Stetson shape…I would love to see a picture!   At 5 foot Jo is an inspiration to other petite women…she refuses to conform to the normal “rules” of petite dressing and has great style hacks to offer on the subject.   Jo loves to document her life in her popular YouTube vlog and her Instagram channel. We discuss the term Influencer and she makes the excellent point that as an actress she was paid to be in a lot of commercials promoting all kinds of stuff, stuff that she had no knowledge of and no affinity with the brand.  She feels that as an Influencer it is wrong to be chastised to be paid to promote things that you have actually trialled and like. As she says, the insights from Instagram will tell you how well you have performed, and this is why she has great respect for Influencers who work consistently for the same brand, because they are clearly proving their worth otherwise the brand wouldn’t keep working with them.   We close by discussing her approach to Sustainable Fashion …why she doesn’t do fast fashion but also why she doesn’t buy vintage…in her brilliantly quick turn of phrase she says “I have a thing about vintage on vintage  - I think it can make you look really old!”    Of course the Quick Fires were far from quick and this whole recording ran on for longer than normal but it was so full of joy, wisdom and nostalgia that it was hard to cut. Thank you @middleagedminx for being such a wonderful and witty guest x --- A message from our season sponsor: Join the millions of people hitting their weight loss goals with Simple. To start your personalized plan complete the quiz at simple.life/amanda and use code AMANDA for 70% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Rosie Nixon - Style DNA - Season 8

  In this episode of Style DNA I go on a stylistic journey with the Author, Broadcaster, Editor and Coach Rosie Nixon. Rosie is the author of three novels, The Stylist, Amber Green Takes Manhattan and Just Between Friends, plus the Be Kind book. Her new novel called Bad Influence is out this August. After a long career in women's magazines, including Grazia, Glamour and Red she became the award-winning Editor and Editor in Chief of HELLO! Magazine for an incredible 16 years. The 24/7 pressure of being at the helm ultimately led to her near burnout (which she is very open about) and like many of life's challenges, there is often a silver lining. She says that she didn't think she was serving herself as a woman saying it was all going well, so being honest about her own struggles really helped her and inspired her into the next chapter. She became a qualified life coach and in 2024 she launched Rosie's Reinvention Retreats - a series of day retreats for midlife women, to support navigating changes in career, business and wellbeing. A complete career change, starting from scratch in a way, albeit with all the knowledge built up over the years ...and I know well what guts that takes.We discuss how the magazine world has changed over the last couple of decades and the 24/7 pressure that goes with being the editor or a magazine that in its heyday sold 1 million copies a week.   We talk about Kindness and she says that she started thinking about kindness when she first started at Hello! which was slightly vilified about always being nice about people.  Rosie believes that Kindness is a super power and should be worn as a badge of honour... yes to that!  She feels that kindness is probably responsible for the longevity of the magazine and is one of it's strengths because everyone is treated with respect.  She felt proud and protective of this stance and was passionate that it should be the thread that was woven through the magazine. Of course we discuss Rosie's personal style journey, her haircuts and fashion phases...her borrowed Alberta Ferretti wedding dress (way ahead of her time back then) and the all-important discussion of dressing our age ...she admits to dressing older than herself earlier in her career to be taken more seriously ...I hope you enjoy this episode ...thank you Rosie for being such a warm, open and inspiring guest x --- A message from our season sponsor: Join the millions of people hitting their weight loss goals with Simple. To start your personalized plan complete the quiz at simple.life/amanda and use code AMANDA for 70% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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