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Creative Conversations with Suzy Menkes
ORSOLA DE CASTRO- Sustainability expert
Welcome to the fourth series of Creative Conversations with Suzy Menkes where we are celebrating a year since I launched the first episode of my podcast: an interview with Maria Grazia Chiuri of Dior.
In the first episode of this new season, I am joined by Orsola de Castro who spearheaded the global movement for change within the fashion industry and now heads Fashion Revolution.
For Orsola de Castro, all you need is love. Love for fashion, and love for all beautiful things - that last. Talking now, in 2021, to the passionate founder of Fashion Revolution, is a lesson about lasting. Or, as she puts it: “Re-wearing your clothes can be a revolutionary act.”
Loved Clothes Last is the title of her new book, published by Penguin Random House - and a passionate ode to the rebirth of old friends, lurking in closets and stuffed into drawers.
Up-cycling is so much more than a fashionable trend. For Orsola, it was born of the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh, where an eight story building, rammed with clothing workers, collapsed eight years ago in 2013, leaving a death toll of 1,134.
Instead of wringing her hands, like so many in the fashion business, Orsola asked herself WHY people demanded ever cheaper clothes - and what could be done to make a lasting difference.
It was then that Orsola founded fashion‘s largest global activism movement: 'Fashion Revolution’ . It was designed to change the way the industry works, and to bring cultural change in our attitude to clothes.
April 19th until 25th marks Fashion Revolution Week where over 100 countries will come together to take responsibility, remember the lives lost, and demand that no one should die for fashion.
In our conversation, Orsola’s urgent enthusiasm reminds us that we can all be fashion revolutionists. That our clothes deserve new lives, instead of being cast off and thrown away.
Her book is a mix of practical repair with thoughtful and passionate commitment to fabric and treatment that would prolong life.
The 8th Fashion Revolution week is happening across the world from the 19-25th April.
There are many ways in which you can participate, spread the word and educate yourself. Let’s believe that today’s fashion and textile industry CAN change, and evolve, and become more transparent.
Visit fashionrevolution.org to get involved.
Produced by Natasha Cowan @tashonfash
Edited by Tim Thornton @timwthornton
Music by @joergzuber
Graphics by Paul Wallis
To find Suzy's articles visit https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/suzy-menkes
...find Suzy on Instagram @suzymenkes and Twitter @thesuzymenkes
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5. NAOMI CAMPBELL
26:48||Season 10, Ep. 5One of the most important cultural figures of the past forty years, Naomi Campbell needs almost no introduction. Suzy sat down with her friend to discuss her life and work, and not least, an incredible new exhibition at the V&A South Kensington celebrating none other than the supermodel herself.The show runs from Saturday June 22, 2024 until April 2025.https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/naomi @boss @Naomi @vamuseumProduced by Natasha Cowan @tashonfashEdited by Tim Thornton @timwthorntonMusic by @joergzuberGraphics by Paul Wallis To find Suzy's articles visit https://suzymenkes.com ...find Suzy on Instagram @suzymenkes and Twitter @thesuzymenkes
5. JASPER CONRAN
33:40||Season 10, Ep. 5Suzy has a relaxed chat with her friend, the wildly talented polymath Jasper Conran, about his life, career and his latest project, designing the set and costumes for Frederick Ashton's Les Rendezvous at London's Royal Opera House. Les Rendezvous runs with The Dream and Rhapsody from June 6 until June 19, 2024. See link below for details. https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/les-rendezvous-the-dream-rhapsody-by-frederick-ashton-details Produced by Natasha Cowan @tashonfash Edited by Tim Thornton @timwthornton Music by @joergzuber Graphics by Paul Wallis To find Suzy's articles visit https://suzymenkes.com ...find Suzy on Instagram @suzymenkes and Twitter @thesuzymenkes
4. GIORGIO ARMANI
27:40||Season 10, Ep. 4Suzy's guest for this episode needs no introduction: the visionary, decade-spanning and wildly successful Giorgio Armani. Suzy and Mr Armani speak in both Paris and Venice about his life and current activities.Produced by Natasha Cowan @tashonfashEdited by Tim Thornton @timwthorntonMusic by @joergzuberGraphics by Paul Wallis Mr Armani's English translation spoken by Anoushka Borghesi, with special thanks to Fabio Giglio and Katherine MengardonTo find Suzy's articles visit https://suzymenkes.com ...find Suzy on Instagram @suzymenkes and Twitter @thesuzymenkes
3. BELLA FREUD
33:26||Season 10, Ep. 3Suzy sits down with London-based fashion designer Bella Freud, to talk about her life, career and larger-than-life family background. Produced by Natasha Cowan @tashonfash Edited by Tim Thornton @timwthornton Music by @joergzuber Graphics by Paul Wallis To find Suzy's articles visit https://suzymenkes.com ...find Suzy on Instagram @suzymenkes and Twitter @thesuzymenkes
2. JEAN PAUL GAULTIER AND SIMONE ROCHA
35:28||Season 10, Ep. 2Suzy travels to Paris to speak to Simone Rocha and Jean Paul Gaultier about Simone's highly anticipated Jean Paul Gaultier couture collection. Produced by Natasha Cowan @tashonfash Edited by Tim Thornton @timwthornton Music by @joergzuber Graphics by Paul Wallis To find Suzy's articles visit https://suzymenkes.com ...find Suzy on Instagram @suzymenkes and Twitter @thesuzymenkes
1. JEFF AND ÉMILIE GOLDBLUM
47:40||Season 10, Ep. 1Suzy meets Jeff and Émilie Goldblum, perhaps the most charming couple in all of Hollywood, and speaks to them about fashion, life, work, family... and la dolce vita nella bella italia! https://www.emiliegoldblum.com/ Produced by Natasha Cowan @tashonfash Edited by Tim Thornton @timwthornton Music by @joergzuber Graphics by Paul Wallis Thanks to Damian Samuels To find Suzy's articles visit https://suzymenkes.com ...find Suzy on Instagram @suzymenkes and Twitter @thesuzymenkes
5. ANTONIO MONFREDA
31:28||Season 9, Ep. 5Suzy finds out how art direction makes the fashion and luxury universe tick, by speaking to a world specialist: art director and curator Antonio Monfreda. Produced by Natasha Cowan @tashonfash Edited by Tim Thornton @timwthornton Music by @joergzuber Graphics by Paul Wallis To find Suzy's articles visit https://suzymenkes.com ...find Suzy on Instagram @suzymenkes and Twitter @thesuzymenkes
4. SARAH MOWER - NEWGEN EXHIBITION, REBEL
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3. JJ MARTIN'S LA DOUBLE J
37:58||Season 9, Ep. 3Suzy has a lively conversation with JJ Martin, the American entrepreneur and designer who has taken Italy by storm. Produced by Natasha Cowan @tashonfash Edited by Tim Thornton @timwthornton Music by @joergzuber Graphics by Paul Wallis To find Suzy's articles visit https://suzymenkes.com ...find Suzy on Instagram @suzymenkes and Twitter @thesuzymenkes