The Conversations

Is Ye & Julia Fox’s Relationship the Next Level of Brand Marketing?

It sounds like an odd question... However, in this episode, we flow through streams of thought about the dynamics of the famous/infamous relationship between multi-hyphenate Ye and actress Julia Fox - and how this could be mapped against a new and much larger approach to marketing and PR, ultimately fueling his multi-billion dollar enterprise. 

As always we would love to hear from you about this and any of our other topics - feel free to reach out to us via Instagram @TheConversations.podcast. Please also subscribe and rate us (*****) - we always appreciate your support :)

 

 

What Can We Learn From André Leon Talley’s Legacy?

Andre Leon Talley was a unique and giant figure in fashion. Subsisting on Vogues from a tender age, armed with an Ivy League education, Talley became a chronicler and arbiter of style and culture. And he navigated these two worlds more skilled and informed than most - landing positions at WWD, Ebony, and (most notably) Vogue magazines.

As a writer, creative director, mentor, bon vivant, Talley occupied a singular space as a well-versed, towering Black figure prone to fantastical prognostications steeped in erudite references.  He knew his stuff and centered his world in one of pomp and circumstance as detailed in his recent memoir, The Chiffon Trenches. But Talley was a complicated figure whose legacy is rife with complexities. He championed many Black talents over decades but categorically ignored others, building his inner circle with white socialites, power brokers, and designers.

He indulged in the excesses and riches of luxury but kept rooted in the humility of his faith. And in the end, while willing to expose the ills of the fashion world, one could say Talley was wholly defined by it.

In this episode we discuss the many layers to Talley’s legacy, challenges being the only one, when your excellence outshines everyone else in the room, and again, why this is a cautionary tale.

We would love to hear from you - contact us via @theccoversations.podcast on Instagram and as always, we ask that you support by subscribing and rating (*****) to our podcast x 

Is Black Influence Defining the Current Fashion Zeitgeist?

Welcome back to our second episode this season!

The on-trend dress sense for influencers, celebrities, millionaires, and the average consumer of fashion comprises a head-to-toe arsenal of high fashion labels with a preference for prominently displayed logos on all categories of products: caps, t-shirts, sweatshirts, shoes, even socks. The trend is largely driven by Black youth culture and has permeated fashion to the extent that it’s defining the current style zeitgeist.  

In this episode, we unpack the cultural significance of conspicuous consumption and its steep history in Black identity and belonging. We interrogate Black spending power and how it shapes our sense of worth and social mobility. Questions are asked, including; is consumption a form of defying racism for this flex generation? And have the values in the Black community shifted from the church to money? 

We want to hear from you on this! Feel free to reach out to us or comment via our Instagram @the.conversations.podcast. We hope you enjoy the episode and as always subscribe and rate us (*****) if you can :)

 

We’re Back Back Back Again!

To start our new season and to mark our return to the the airwaves, in this episode, we first look back at what’s transpired in our personal and professional lives while on hiatus for the last a year and a half.  

Henrietta talks about her personal journey with a serious illness, meanwhile Jason breaks down the subjects covered in his new Race Relations column for The Business of Fashion and the response to his The Cut feature, “They invented the Supermodel,” an anthology of Black American models.

We touch on the state of Black organizations in fashion and the work they’ve shown with endowment support, and ask, ‘where is the money?’ We eulogized Virgil’ Abloh's wide-ranging, far reaching contributions to the industry and the chasm of hope he left behind for Black professionals. And finally we provide a general overview of how the industry is unfolding and what’s next.   

We're so glad to be back - a massive thank you to all of you for your support over the last 4 years and we hope you enjoy this episode and season! As always, please rate and subscribe, follow us and keep in touch via @theconversations.podcast :)

 

 

Veteran Talent Series: A Conversation With Natasha Slater

PR and nightlife entrepreneur Natasha Slater is best known for producing Punks Wear Prada (PWP), the iconic weekly club night (that, along with Marcelo Burlon’s Pink is Punk), helped to define the early-mid aughts Milanese fashion party scene. Under the PWP umbrella, Slater drew on her British hipsters and international influencer network to collaborate with top-shelf brands, including Gucci, Prada, and Dolce & Gabbana, to kick-off fashion week events, promote product launches and to generally bring the cult of cool to these Italian fashion houses.  

But as much as this era was marked by celebration and fabulosity, this period was also rife with abuse of power, substance abuse, and toxic work culture. In this episode of our veteran talent series, Slater (who is five years sober as a result of this chaotic and painful period) joins Jason to discuss how it was for an outspoken English single mother to navigate the strong patriarchy in Italian culture, her complicity in promoting toxicity in the workplace, how she weathered the controversy of being called out and what life looks like now that her priorities are different.

We hope you enjoy this conversation! Follow and DM us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast and let us know what you think. Please also subscribe and rate this podcast (*****), we love and appreciate all your support :)

 

 

Veteran Talent Series: A Conversation With Susie Lau

Susie Lau’s Style Bubble blog is one of the pioneering voices in the digital fashion space. Since 2006, the fashion journalist has remained a fixture on the global scene seemingly effortlessly adjusting roles from post collegiate digital marketer to blogging to commissioning editor at Dazed to independently publishing Style Bubble (pre-dating the social media space with a number of brand collaborations and special projects: Gap, Google and Selfridges) to emerging as one of today’s most visible influencers. 

In this episode, in addition to discussing Lau’s evolving profile over nearly two decades in the industry, we also dive into how for some her personal cutting edge style conflicted with a strong command of the written word, when was she afraid to pivot, journalism vs influencing, and the state of Asian influence in fashion. And with a degree in history, why her sights are firmly steered ahead, not looking in the rear view mirror to what this industry once was.

We hope you enjoy this conversation! Follow and DM us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast and let us know what you think. Please also subscribe and rate this podcast (*****), we appreciate all your support :)

Veteran Talent Series: A Conversation With Giannie Couji

Years in advance of the 2020 racial reckoning  in fashion, Giannie Couji was an already established and consistent voice in anti-racism advocacy in fashion on social media. 

Model, long time iD Magazine stylist, and editor of Ubikwist Magazine, Couji cut her teeth in Europe working on editorials and campaigns with the likes of Jean Baptiste Mondino and Jean Paul Goude, but it’s her move stateside over a decade ago that has shaped her current profile as activist - spotlighting racist practices and generally intolerable behavior across the fashion industry. Couji is an outlier whose view on the industry has placed her squarely at the intersection of the tired old school practices and the deafening demand for change. In this episode Couji details her journey from Martinique to Paris, London and New York chronicling the discovery of the world of styling as career, Judy Blame as collaborator and mentor and her amplified voice in the age of Covid.

We hope you enjoy this conversation! Follow and DM us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast and let us know what you think. Please also subscribe and rate this podcast (*****), we appreciate all your support :)

 

Veteran Talent Series: A Conversation With Karen Binns

London-based creative director and stylist Karen Binns is also an uncredited historian, muse, and collaborator.  In this 3rd installment of our veteran talent series, the multi-hyphenated fashion original takes us on a bi-continental journey from New York nightlife and the downtown art scene, to the indie workspaces of Europe’s visionary and up and coming talents.  Names from Jean Michel Basquait and Warhol to Andre walker, Bianca Saunders and Wizkid pepper Binns’ resume but it’s her role as creative director to style queen Tori Amos for over 25 years that's arguably secured her place in the canon of style architects.  But why is so little known about this creative maverick? Listen up on why Karen Binns just might be the Viola Davis of fashion.

 

We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we enjoyed having it! Follow and DM us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast and let us know what you think. Please also subscribe and rate this podcast (*****), we appreciate all your support :)

Veteran Talent Series: A Conversation With Lysa Cooper

Lysa Cooper is a fashion OG.

Her rise from nightlife impresario to fashion stylist detail a long and storied resume bookended by influential cultural figures from Keith Haring, Basquiat and Beyonce, to Rihanna and Ashton Kutcher. Cooper’s influence runs deep but she is not to be mistaken for an “influencer,” a title of cultural critic is more suited to her. Long before Fashion was forced to confront a racial reckoning, Cooper was sounding the alarm on the industry’s transgressions. When stylists only stan-ed for their clients, Cooper spoke honestly of the behind the scenes shenanigans. Now that speaking out is en vogue, for the second installment of our veteran talent series, we went to the original outspoken voice to hear about her journey through the ranks of fashion, Black people, then and now and why is she so optimistic?

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we do! Follow and DM us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast and let us know what you think. Please also subscribe and rate this podcast (*****), we appreciate all your support :)

Veteran Talent Series: A Conversation With Memsor Kamarake

Stylist Memsor Kamarake kicks off our end of year talent series where Jason talks to fashion professionals to discuss their history and gather their take on the current, unprecedented state of affairs in the industry.

Kamarake details his rise from retail at Ralph Lauren to fashion director at Vibe Magazine to stylist to Wendy Williams, journeying through the halcyon days in the late nineties and early naughts across the fashion capitals to the current racial uprising that’s shaking all corridors of the industry. In addition to his contribution, Kamarake speaks to Blacks’ long and often, unattributed contribution to the industry and in response to the racial reckoning, he weighs in on the Black community’s response in addressing the magnitude of the moment that demands us being seen and heard. Kamarake also break down his role in styling and co-producing a series of films for the organization INTHEBLK, a timely response showing Black creatives working in collaborating. 

We hope you enjoy this kick off episode, continue to support by subscribing, rating us ***** and following us on @TheConversations.Podcast.

What's Happening in Fashion Right Now?

In keeping with the big-issues theme of our season opening episodes, to kick off season 4, we pan out to take a broad look at the hot button issues in fashion. Covid 19’s economic impact on the industry has dominated the headlines for months but time has shown that the pandemic has only ruptured the structural cracks that were already there in the system. 

In this episode, we delve into economic hit from shifting consumer shopping habits and its influence on the declination of the department store. And if engineering an unprecedented economic recovery wasn’t enough, fashion is doubly tasked with the serious demand of representing better social and cultural practices as it relates to racial equity and sustainability. Even the functions of marketing and communication in fashion demand a reset. The industry just finished its fashion month showing a mix of virtual presentations and fashion shows and one thing is clear is that the path forward is anything but clear. And while our multi-billion dollar industry in a state of flux, there’s a dearth of media to try to make sense of the chaos.  

The big issues in fashion are big indeed, welcome to Season 4! We'll be discussing multiple elements in and around these shifts and more, along with some great esteemed guests!

We hope you enjoy this kick off episode, continue to support by subscribing, rating us ***** and following us on @TheConversations.Podcast.

A Conversation With Leandra Medine Cohen: On Introspection

The racial unrest swept across the fashion industry like a tsunami, blindsiding and swiftly sidelining many, primarily female, executives in its wake. Leandra Medine Cohen founder of the popular fashion and lifestyle website Man Repeller is one such executive who “step(ed) back” from her CEO role, leaving the reigns in the hands of her team, announcing at the time that “the team deserves a chance to show you what Man Repeller can be with me on the sidelines.” Since her announcement in early June, Cohen has remained silent on just what happened to induce her sudden departure until this month with the launch of her newsletter - the first letter announcing her come back.

We invited Leandra to speak to us this episode to discuss the topic of introspection - what that looks like for her, the process that got her to this point and the elements that helped her along this path.

We hope you enjoy this episode! DM us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast and let us know what you think. Please also subscribe and rate this podcast (*****), we appreciate all your support :)

WAP - WTF or Female Empowerment?

Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's hyper-sexualized single and video WAP (Wet Ass Pussy) has been the main topic of cultural conversation this week. 

Raw and definitely unapologetic, these female superstars rap of their honeytrap sexual prowess and the ensuing wet rewards. Reminiscent of the raunchy tracks from Lil Kim’s 90s heyday, nothing is left to the imagination in lyrics that demands not suggests, “bring(ing) a bucket and a mop for this wet pussy.” The sexualized narrative in WAP’s lyrics and video paints the woman having agency over her body and sexual pleasure. But the discourse in the Culture posits, is this display vulgar, sending the wrong message and thus culturally damaging or is it simply the embodiment of female expression and empowerment? We discuss this and ask the broader question in this episode, does WAP represent a positive or negative reflection on the Culture? 

We would love to hear what you think about this very charged conversation - DM us on Instagram @TheConversations. Podcast. Please also subscribe and rate this podcast (*****), we appreciate all your support :)

A Conversation With Bandana Tewari: Will There Be a Mass Exodus From Fashion?

It didn’t take a global pandemic for Bandana Tewari to rethink her future role in fashion. Four years ago, the former Vogue India Fashion Director, left the glamour and excess of that title behind, and moved from Bombay to Bali to work independently as a fashion journalist and sustainability activist. Tewari calculated to stay in fashion in a more beneficent role, still showing support for creativity while promoting slowed production.

But for so many other fashion professionals, the reality of whether they can remain a part of a profits-over-product, profits by-any-means-necessary industry, is a moral question and for a contingent may no longer be a choice, but an inevitable outcome — in no small parts deepened by the pandemic, economic downturn, racial fallout, harmful environmental impact, constant exposure of unethical labor, wage and manufacturing processes, toxic work cultures and technological takeover. 

On this episode, Bandana Tewari  joins us to discuss how the industry values have changed in the last 20 years, her journey advocating for sustainability and why we should expect a mass exodus from fashion.

We hope you enjoy this conversation! Please let us know what you think and also subscribe, rate this podcast (*****) and follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast for more.

Has Fashion Lost Its Center?

The current call to address the systemic and structural ills across fashion has exposed an already broken industry that was undergoing significant disruption to its purpose and values. But the sheer breath and scope of the demands for deep industry-wide clean up due to issues ranging from rampant sexual assault to toxic work culture, nepotism to racism, begs the question, how does the industry plan to go about instituting these much needed changes?

 

Discussing issues of leadership and secession, journalism, critical thought and system vs segment or democracy, in this episode we ask, has fashion lost its center? 

 

We hope you enjoy this conversation! Please let us know what you think and also subscribe, rate this podcast (*****) and follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast for more.

What Did You Think of 'The Remix: Hip Hop x Fashion' Documentary?

In this episode, we talk about the new Netflix documentary 'The Remix: Hip Hop x Fashion'. We discuss our immediate reactions and the main themes we thought about within it, as the film works to capture the influence of Black culture and specifically Hip Hop culture on global fashion, the making of the multi-billion dollar streetwear category and celebrate the stories of unsung icons including Misa Hylton and April Walker.

 

We hope you enjoy this conversation! Please let us know what you think and also subscribe, rate this podcast (*****) and follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast for more.

To Cancel or Not to Cancel: Cancel Culture?

In general terms, the emergent cancel culture movement targets to empower the voice of the marginalized to hold oppressors and abusers accountable to their myriad offenses. But as quickly as the movement is taking hold, so has the pushback. “Has to cancel culture gone too far?”, “It’s getting out of hand if it hasn’t already,” are some effective headlines aiming to discredit the calling out and actions demanded for all things from genuine human rights injustices (including toxic work environment, racism, sexual harassment) to subjective behavior across fashion and culture.

Upholders of the status quo are having a field day leaning on the annihilative implications in the word “cancel” to delegitimize this movement. With the threat of reducing this culture war to arguing semantics and distracting from the important work to be done, we revisit our 2018 “Call-Out Culture,” episode, with "To Cancel or Not to Cancel", that is the question.

We hope you enjoy this conversation! Please let us know what you think and also subscribe, rate this podcast (*****) and follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast for more.

A Conversation With Qianna Smith Bruneteau & Chrissy Rutherford: The American Influencer Council

For millions of influencers, the rapid rise of the largely unregulated $8 billion influencer marketing economy has resulted in little to zero labor rights protection, disproportionate endorsement rates, multiple practices of racial bias (including visibility and pay inequities), as well as the easy trap of falling foul of community guidelines. This is all compounded by the current demand for authentic, purpose driven, messaging — while maintaining a stellar, inoffensive online footprint, among other minefields to navigate in the content creating space — influencers are often left to simply figure it out for themselves. And with no shortage of critics of their perceived undeserved success, it’s not surprising influencers would organize to bring some regulation to their livelihood.

The American Influencer Council, a newly formed trade organization has stepped in to replace the current trial and error approach to influencer marketing with policy and protection written “by creators for creators.” The AIC's founder Qianna Smith Bruneteau and influencer and council member Chrissy Rutherford join us on this episode to breakdown the little understood influencer landscape that’s full of gray areas... the relationship between brand, influencer and policy, creator rights and responsibilities and how AIC will help to navigate the culture of fear and uncertainty with no central nervous system or clear rules in an economy that’s proving to be working. And about that massive Times Square billboard when AIC launched and other elements Diet Prada have taken issue with in their recent post - we address that too.

We hope you enjoy this substantive conversation, it certainly gave us a lot to think about. Please let us know what you think and also subscribe, rate this podcast (*****) and follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast for more.

With the Race Issue in Fashion, Is There an Element Where We as Black People Are Doing It to Ourselves?

A damning Medium essay, titled 'The Truth About Essence', was published last week detailing a toxic culture of abuse, intimidation and underpayment at Black-owned, Black run Essence Magazine. Authored by a group of employees named Black Female Anonymous - this stunning unfolding in the midst of the rise of several Black-led professional groups demanding equity across the fashion industry - inspired us revisit our Black leadership episode from last year. 

Additionally, during this time, a recent New York Times article, 'It's Time to End Racism in the Fashion Industry. But How?' detailed several Black groups and their varying, not yet unified initiatives, aimed at changing the current oppressive structure of racial inequality in fashion. The article insinuates that the disparate Black voices lack a collective game plan or more salaciously, are in competition.

Journalistic devise notwithstanding, the journey to dismantling white supremacy in fashion is froth with some issues within the Black community also, including the desire to uphold toxic and elitist systems, Black oppressors, and in parts the ruthless advancement of personal and territorial agendas. In this episode, we ask as it pertains to the race issue in fashion; is there an element where we as Black people are doing it to ourselves?

This is a very delicate topic, but as always, we hope you get involved and let us know your thoughts - a conversation is key! Please also subscribe, rate this podcast (*****) and follow us on Instagram @TheConversations.Podcast for more.

A Conversation With A Current Affair: Discussing Current Affairs in Fashion

To kick off their virtual, vintage shopping weekend (#avirtualaffair), vintage platform A Current Affair, invited us to an Instagram Live conversation tailored to this influential and growing fashion community. We touch on the genesis and near three year history of this podcast, our roles in fashion and discuss the current events, bringing context and summary to the racial climate that’s led to the disruption and fallout across our industry. And finally we talk about the vintage community; the joy and sustainability they bring to the fashion business. 

 

Join Jason at 2.30 EST today (June 27th) for his Instagram Live show @jasoncampbellstudios where he’ll be selling a selection of vintage clothing and accessories.

 

**PLEASE EXCUSE THE AUDIO QUALITY FROM THIS LIVE SESSION, WE HAD A COUPLE OF TECHNICAL ISSUES - WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THE SUBSTANCE OF THE CONVERSATION NONETHELESS**