Amanda Wakeley: StyleDNA

• 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 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... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Gaby Roslin - Style DNA - Season 8⁠⁠

  In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with the simply joyous Gaby Roslin....one of the most positive and kind human beings on the planet.Gaby is one of the country's most popular TV and Radio presenters with incredible amounts of energy & enthusiasm for all things moving pictures and spoken words. Alongside hosting BBC1's Morning Live, on Saturdays on Magic Radio and Shop Smart Save Money on Channel 5, Gaby has released her first book Spread the Joy, as well as having her own incredibly successful podcast Reasons to be Joyful, and the list goes on... Work is her passion and she has no intention of slowing up, in fact, she admitted that she "would like to work until she is 99, host a live show and just go to sleep" ...  Gaby grew up around the broadcasting world and was obsessed by TV from a young age, following her father into the TV studios and dreaming of being part of that world with a mission to make people smile...she does that in spades. She is passionate about #shoppinginyourwardrobe ... LOVES colour and believes that age is irrelevant ... that we should wear what we want to wear...YES to that. We laugh about being eternally 33, in our heads at least, Gaby has a wonderful, youthful positive energy and it makes her shine...she is magnetic. Her aptly named That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful is unsurprisingly a happy listen. We talk wedding dresses, the power of a white trouser suit, dressing for 28 hours of back to back broadcasting on Millenium Night (not quite sure how she managed that) ...and in full disclosure, some of her old Wakeley favourites...  Thank you @gabyroslin for our joyous conversation xx 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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• Lydia Millen - Style DNA - Season 8⁠⁠

  In this episode I go on a style journey with one of the UK’s original and leading digital creators, Lydia Millen. I was drawn to interview Lydia as she focuses on the luxury space for her content creation, which, perhaps needless to say, is a space I have always loved. Her 15 year journey has seen her work with brand giants from Jo Malone to Hugo Boss and Tiffany…Lydia’s commercial influence is hugely impressive and often unrivalled. She is influenced by the beauty of nature and seasonal living, and has amassed a global audience of over 3 million who respect and trust her authentic opinions and eye for industry-leading products and passion for timeless style that defies trends.   Her journey has not always been straightforward and she has experienced her fair share of trolling but she is pragmatic about the fact that not everyone will love her content and perhaps in the early days she didn’t fully know who she was, very few people do quite frankly, but she is clear now.   We chat about how she didn’t really understand the full impact of a good outfit on her wellbeing until Covid hit, when there was no reason to get dressed up as you weren’t going anywhere but she realised the importance  of taking real care with what she wears on a day to day basis is an investment in herself, it was less about other people…in her words she was  “telling myself that I am worth dressing up for”…I SO love this sentiment…   By her own admission there have been some dodgy style choices including choosing to have a full blonde mullet haircut as a teenager to impress her then boyfriend.   Lydia is incredibly considered about her clothing choices and just one look at her feed shows a glorious and curated grid featuring a mainly neutral colour palette…saving strong colours for big moments…ie Ascot and special occasions…   Its no secret that she has always loved bags and by her own admission was a big collector of well made (and expensive) bags. Her first designer bag was a Mulberry which she worked 3 jobs while at university to be able to afford. Many of us have those memories of saving for that first designer purchase…mine was a Dior bag, and it was probably the cheapest one in the range but my, it felt good to go into the immaculate dove grey store on Conduit Street and soak up every moment of making my selection, watch it being beautifully wrapped and walking out of the door swinging that carrier bag proudly for the rest of the afternoon in London…   We bond over a mutual love and awe of Harris Tweed…  the tradition, the craftsmanship and the local passion that still goes into creating it.   She slightly surprised me with her Style Icon…but on reflection I fully understand why…   I hope you enjoy this episode. Thank you Lydia for your considered conversation xx Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Ferne McCann - Style DNA - Season 8⁠⁠

  In this episode I go on a Style Journey with the English TV personality and Co-Founder of the wellness app Shoorah, the inimitable Ferne McCann. Ferne first became a public figure when she appeared in the hit reality series The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE) for no less than 9 series... She quickly became one of the standout stars on the show and led to her appearing on ITV's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, plus having her own ITVBe series, Ferne McCann: First Time Mum (2018) which later became Ferne McCann: My Family & Me. The show marked Ferne as one of the most trusted and relatable celebrity mums. In addition to her TV career, Ferne has become a successful entrepreneur, collaborating with premium global brands in the fashion, lifestyle, and wellness industries. Her influence on social media reflects her dedication to health, self-care, and family, inspiring her followers with a positive, relatable approach to modern motherhood. Ferne co-founded Shoorah, the wellness app that promotes personal growth & mental health. It is now one of the most successful apps in that genre. Ferne's healthy ambition for a new challenge saw her compete on Dancing on Ice in 2025, adding a new chapter to her career.Ferne is a true Essex girl born and bred and I ask her if she is stereotypical ... that is for you to discover... As such a well known star on Social Media I ask her how she deals with the inevitable trolling that comes with the profile and she offers a valuable and practical insight as to how she protects herself...in fact how we can all protect ourselves if we so choose. One of the things that is very endearing about Ferne is that she doesn't take herself too seriously, although she does admit to being "very competitive"... she laughs about her early elimination from Dancing on Ice and how her grandfather blamed it all on her choosing to be a Troll for the dance...however she was clearly blown away by the creativity of the costume team. Ferne clearly has a tight knit team around her including her mother, her "style icon". She bemoans the fact that social media has perhaps made us all less creative and more inclined to question our own tastes and follow the pack...to the extent of making us believe that we want something because we see it so frequently on different feeds...social media drives you to follow rather than stick with your own personal style...there is some truth in that...it certainly is the quickest way for brands to reach the widest audience possible now. She has been very open about her post-partum journey and how she has been an advocate for breast feeding, and continuing to breast feed. She understands that this can be a divisive subject but she is also very aware of the support it gives to many women at a similar point in their lives.We discuss the aging process, tweakments and her well documented rhinoplasty (nose job)... and the dilemma of staying totally true to herself and her audience yet being tempted to  "fix" her boobs post breast feeding... she is refreshingly transparent on the whole subject.  She is about to start her own podcast called Every Cloud, to talk about trauma and people's stories inspired by her own life and how "when you are in the thick of trauma it often bumps you into the right direction"...very true.Finally we had a properly hilarious disconnect moment in the Quick Fires when I ask her whether she preferred Boyfriends or Wide Legs...of course I was referring to her choice of jeans ...Ferne, on the other hand thought I was referring to Ahem something completely different...! I hope you enjoy this episode. Thank you Ferne for being such a great guest x Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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