Back Row with Amy Odell

Why are there so many robots on runways these days? From Vogue World Milano to London and New York fashion weeks, this is now, insanely, a Thing! Tech journalist Taylor Lorenz joins Amy to explain what's really going on here, leading Amy to think Vogue got hoodwinked. Plus: the hyperreal AI influencers flooding Instagram — and whether anything can be done to stop them.CHAPTERS00:00 Introduction02:20 Robots take the runway07:20 Unitree, the trolls of robotics11:00 Why is Vogue doing this?24:20 Would you let a robot in your house?27:00 AI influencers & Higgsfield34:40 How human creators can compete45:20 Will AI reshape our taste?Buy Taylor's book, Extremely Online: https://link.amazon/B09d2AvU3Follow Taylor: @taylorlorenzSubscribe to Taylor's newsletter: https://www.usermag.co/Follow Taylor's podcast: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu4srHCWJrrjFyF0hHNi7lVFYssn35zogSubscribe to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribeFollow Back Row: @backrow · Follow Amy: @instamyodell Edited by Chrissi Harris.

Third-quarter earnings are in, and luxury's slump isn't letting up. Kering and LVMH were down, Hermès grew but missed expectations, and Chanel seems like just about the only house that's winning. Amy brings back StyleZeitgeist founder Eugene Rabkin, author of Torn: Fashion and Postmodernism, to ask what's driving the downturn and whether designers can save it. The rest of the conversation, on the Paris protests, Chanelmania, whether the Birkin is over, and Anna Wintour chasing tech money, is for Back Row Premium subscribers. Sign up at backrow.net/subscribe to get newsletter access included with your subscription. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 02:45 The Great Reset, one year in 07:30 Is McQueen headed for the mall? 09:45 Gucci's wholesale crutch 13:45 LVMH misses & Arnault slips 16:15 Is Dior really "gaining traction"? Subscribe to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe Buy Torn: Fashion and Postmodernism: https://link.amazon/B07R1S4K7 Follow Back Row: @backrow · Follow Amy: @instamyodell · Follow Eugene: @eugenerabkin Edited by Chrissi Harris.

Jill Demling started as Anna Wintour's assistant in 1998, around the same time as Lauren Weisberger, who went on to write The Devil Wears Prada. Anna promoted Jill to entertainment editor, and she spent the next 18 and a half years deciding who got the cover of Vogue. She reveals which cover Anna wouldn't let her forget, how Beyoncé got her first Vogue cover, and why Angelina Jolie raided Gwyneth Paltrow's rack. Jill now hosts the Going Rogue podcast. Check it out on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-rogue/id1814440700 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCifqLV2sQB7b9WufQimRyqw And Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7CIDU8Gib1FRvscacNw4SR CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 02:30 Anna's "next September" test 08:00 Egg sandwiches, voicemails & Burger Heaven milkshakes 12:45 Lauren Weisberger & the real Emily 18:30 What The Devil Wears Prada gets wrong 22:30 Why celebrities replaced models on covers 33:30 How Beyoncé landed her first Vogue cover 41:00 Photo approval & Beyoncé's no-interview cover 📷 Follow Back Row on Instagram: @backrow 📷 Follow Amy on Instagram: @instamyodell Follow Jill Demling 📷 Follow Jill on Instagram: @jilldemling

Amy recently joined The Sam Sanders Show to talk about the rise of AI slop in fashion. Thank you to Sam and his team for allowing Back Row to republish the interview here! ------- Even the fashion industry can’t escape AI slop. Fast fashion brands are using AI to pump out new looks and trends, and speed up production at unsustainable rates. It’s a business model that relies much more on algorithmic data than human design. Chances are you’ve even seen plenty of these products in your social media feeds. Sam chats with fashion journalist Amy Odell, host of the ‘Back Row’ podcast, about AI’s influence in the industry and how we can all be better consumers. Plus, is high fashion on life support? Amy also breaks down the perils of luxury shopping today. The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

Jonathan Van Meter spent five years inside Kim Kardashian's world for his new biography, Citizen Kim: The Woman Who Created the Future. He talks about what her rarefied world of fame and wealth is really like, her childhood front-row seat to the O.J. Simpson trial, and how Kanye West got her into the Met Gala. Plus: what Jonathan could and couldn't learn about how the sex tape was released, and whether Kim is laying the groundwork to run for political office. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 02:00 How Jonathan Got Five Years of Access 05:30 Inside Kim Kardashian's House (and Her 24 Staffers) 12:00 Kim Air: Kim's Private Jet 30:30 Kim and the O.J. Simpson Trial 40:30 The Kim Kardashian Sex Tape 45:30 The Paris Robbery 48:00 Kanye, Anna Wintour & the Met Gala 55:00 Will Kim Run for Office? Subscribe to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe Buy Citizen Kim: The Woman Who Created the Future: https://link.amazon/B0cKsNzKY Follow Back Row: @backrow · Follow Amy: @instamyodell · Follow Jonathan: @jonathanvanmeter Edited by Chrissi Harris.

*SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row newsletter for more coverage like this: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe. Go Premium and save three months on an annual subscription.* Referenced in this episode: Facelift confessions, part 1: https://www.backrow.net/p/facelift-confessions-part-1-the-brutal-realities-of-getting-work-done Facelift confessions, part 2: https://www.backrow.net/p/facelift-confessions-part-2-expect-an-emotional-toll In 2004, Fox turned plastic surgery into primetime entertainment. The Swan reality show gave contestants about $200,000 worth of surgery each, put them on crash diets, banned mirrors for three months, and then put them in a beauty pageant. Nine million people watched. Erin Lee Carr, director of 'Mommy Dead and Dearest' and 'Britney vs Spears,' goes back to the women 20 years later in her hit Hulu documentary, The Swan: Behind the Mirror — and tells Amy what the documentary couldn't. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 04:45 Getting the Swans to talk again 10:00 "I almost died for reality television" 19:30 How much choice did they have? "1%" 22:45 Starvation diets and spoonfuls of peanut butter 26:00 The nude photos Dr. Haworth kept 28:50 The $5 million contract 36:50 "Would you do it again?" 40:00 A classic Anna Wintour story

SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row newsletter for the FULL Fashion Month Awards podcast and get more coverage like this: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe. Save three months on an annual subscription. For pod ONLY, sign up in Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/back-row-with-amy-odell/id1843400835) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/0wpDOgcuWKjpH9WxklNqI4). The spring 2027 shows just wrapped in Paris, a year after the "Great Reset" brought new creative directors to Chanel, Dior, and many more. Amy is joined by Dana Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of Deluxe, Gods and Kings and Fashionopolis, to hand out Fashion Month Awards. They get into John Galliano's PR rehab after the canceled Met show, who's having the biggest sophomore slump, and more. The full episode for Premium subscribers includes awards for Best Runway Stunt and Best Overall, plus analysis of John Galliano's weak Zara launch and Virginie Viard's explosive book. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 04:30 Biggest sophomore slump 10:45 Best show nobody talked about

Mrs. Dow Jones (Haley Sacks) on how to stop impulse buying and why fashion month keeps you broke. Part One of two. For part two — about Birkins and fashion's play to woo the wealthiest shoppers — get a Premium subscription to Back Row: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe. Save three months on an annual subscription. Or sign up in Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/back-row-with-amy-odell/id1843400835) or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/0wpDOgcuWKjpH9WxklNqI4) Haley Sacks, aka @MrsDowJones, joins Amy to break down how fashion month keeps us stuck in a cycle of broke. Every season the same trend gets planted on the runway, in your feed, and on influencers, and within two weeks a cheaper version shows up at Zara. Haley talks about how to stop impulse buying, why luxury goods are so expensive, and what it was like to grow up in one of the world's wealthiest neighborhoods. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 01:30 How fashion month keeps us in a cycle of broke 04:00 From the runway to Zara in two weeks 08:00 Buy fewer, better things 10:00 How to stop impulse buying 16:00 The luxury pyramid and the $690 keychain 20:00 Is any luxury actually worth it? 22:00 Hunting a sold-out clutch with an AI agent 25:30 Haley's years as an Upper East Side nanny 📺 SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row Newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe 📷 Follow Back Row on Instagram: @backrow 📷 Follow Amy on Instagram: @instamyodell Follow Haley Sacks 📷 Follow Haley on Instagram: @mrsdowjones 📖 Buy Haley's book, Future Rich Person: https://link.amazon/B07xqeKEx🎙️ 🎙️Follow Haley's Financial Tea podcast on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/financial-tea-with-mrs-dow-jones/id1860939850 🎙️ Follow Haley's Financial Tea podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/58anKIbkGzd5MkI3v0BjY2

Harry and Meghan are back in the UK, six years after leaving the royal family. In the first part of Back Row's deep dive into Meghan Markle, Amy and former Us Weekly and Hello! editor Justin Ravitz — who has interviewed Prince Harry and worked with the couple's team — trace Meghan's story from her Los Angeles childhood to the night she met Harry. Part two is available to Back Row Premium subscribers. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 09:00 Meghan's Los Angeles childhood 12:30 Age 11: taking on Procter & Gamble 16:15 Briefcase No. 24 on Deal or No Deal 22:45 Landing Suits 30:00 The Tig blog and Meghan's Goop dream 35:30 Social climbing and Soho House 43:30 Humanitarian ambitions and meeting Harry Subscribe to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe Buy The Palace Papers by Tina Brown: https://link.amazon/B02EAsx6X Follow Back Row: @backrow · Follow Amy: @instamyodell · Follow Justin: @jaydubargh Edited by Chrissi Harris. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices