WARDROBE CRISIS with Clare Press

This is the third of four episodes about embroidery. They're all very different perspectives, but each asks in their own way, what is the significance of these stitches? What are they saying, what's their message? It's never just, 'I'm gorgeous.' Textiles, as we know, can have deep meanings.In the case of Palestinian tatreez embroidery, it speaks of culture, belonging and exile, documenting stories of family, land and identity. Here, a Wardrobe Crisis listener details her own experience of learning the practice as a way of connecting with her Palestinian roots, and finding comfort and community in these trying times.If you find the interview valuable, please help us share it.Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.comSupport the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wait, what? That's not real moss?! Occasionally, you come across something that blows your tiny mind. That's what happened when, flicking through a World of Interiors magazine in my local library, I discovered the blisteringly brilliant work of my guest this week. It lodged itself in my psyche and I determined to track her down. I did! And here is the resulting conversation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! In this Episode, I go and visit extraordinary textile artist Amanda Cobbett in her Guildford, UK studio to see exactly how she machine embroiders her magic realist sculptures inspired by the moss and lichen fragments she collects from the forest floor. If you find the Episode valuable, please help us share it.Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.comSupport the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 Imagine learning embroidery in the home of Henry VIII's famed Abraham Tapestries, which have hung on these hallowed walls since 1547. Turns out, it's a thing. The Royal School of Needlework is based at Hampton Court, and offers Europe's only degree program specialising in hand-embroidery. We meet three students from the class of 2025. Featuring: hard work and failing eyes, the marvellous crusty vibes of sea creatures, melted plastic, rock animism, Indigenous wisdoms and a possible haunting... who said embroidery was quiet pursuit? If you find the Episode valuable, please help us share it.Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.comSupport the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's new about the current secondhand obsession?Trick question! Nothing.For most of human history, there really was no such thing as waste. As my guest this week, Robin Annear writers in her fascinating book, Nothing New, A History of Secondhand, "Common sense dictates that used must have always followed new." Used stuff had value and there was always a market for it. But how much do you actually know about the history of all this?Were you aware, for example, that Shakespeare bequeathed his wife his second-best bed in his will? Or that it was once considered normal to pawn your winter coat in summer to free up cash?Or that many servants were part-paid in the master’s cast-offs?From linen rags in high demand by the paper industry, to the British exporting their military uniforms to Holland (they were cut down to make flannel undergarments); from the posh ladies who patronised the revendeuses (the original preloved fashion dealers of Paris) hoping to nab royalties cast-off couture, to the origin story of the great Aussie opshop - this Ep is chock full of re-fashion stories that will blow your mind. Enjoy!If you find the Episode valuable, please help us share it.Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.comSupport the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The global handcraft market is worth more than a trillion dollars. Yet, particularly in rural areas, many highly skilled craftspeople live with inconsistent incomes, no social safety nets and ongoing threats to their cultural heritage.There is rising interest their wares, for some of the same reasons that secondhand is booming - uniqueness, story, the human touch in an increasingly disconnected, AI-obsessed world. But do we really see the artisans behind the products we buy? What is the true value of skilled artisanship? Where do different worldviews, timelines, rhythms and Indigenous wisdoms come into it? And how can western designers work with diverse communities in authentically sustainable and ethical ways? Co-creation is a buzz word, but what does it really mean? "To co-create, we might need to unlearn top-down western ways of thinking," says my guest this week, Karishma Singh Kelsey, who's leading our new course on Wardrobe Crisis Academy."Working with artisans and micro-enterprises often requires a paradigm shift away from entrenched (and usually unexamined!) 'I am better than you' ways of thinking. It recognises that when different worldviews come together on an equal footing, we can create even more interesting outcomes."If you find the Episode valuable, please help us share it.Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.comSupport the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re all secondhand shoppers these days. But where? How? And more importantly, why?Online marketplace platforms have grown exponentially (making billionaires of some of the founders in the process) but there’s also a surge happening IRL, where the indie dealers hold the power. And the more niche the better.In this episode we’re exploring how preloved fashion is booming in physical spaces, and in particular the new-style, curated vintage and archive fashion markets. Is it about sustainability or status, or both? Subcultures, nostalgia, a yearning for authenticity in our increasingly disconnected world, sheer fun - it all comes into play.Also covered: What’s with the curated obsession? Don’t we love a rummage anymore? What’s driving new gen uptake? Could we be seeing a backlash against fake AI vibes? What are the dealers looking for? Is it okay to haggle? Also, has decluttering fallen out of favour? Is it more about restyling what’s already in your wardrobe? SO MANY QUESTIONS! We’ve got answers.If you find the Episode valuable, please help us share it.Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.comSupport the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first of a mini-series on the rise of second-hand fashion, my guest is the very charismatic and knowledgeable Aussie vintage fashion guru, Philip Boon. I'll leave it to him to tell you his story, and that of the late Mary Lipshut, the extraordinary Melburnian vintage doyenne, whose collection Philip (with his business partner Sonia) now manages as part of The Internationals. Get ready for a super-fun gallop through key vintage eras of the last century! Up for discussion: the importance of designers knowing this stuff; how past decades were defined by particular silhouettes; why vintage is hotter than ever; fashion subcultures; the rules of vintage dressing (are there any?); how to look after your vintage duds, wash those old silks and store those beads and jumpers; why the real vintage insiders are looking for uniqueness over brands these days plus lots of funny stories and outfit descriptions. Let's go!If you find the Episode valuable, please help us share it.Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.comSupport the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We know the struggle to resist the January sales is real! So this week's pod is for anyone who needs a reminder that some of the best things in life are free. Or, maybe you could use bit of encouragement to take a moment to ground yourself. Consider it permission to forget capitalism, scary news headlines, the spectre of going back to work for while.In this limbo time after Christmas but before the new year really kicks in, we wanted to invite you to have a moment of noticing the birds, how delightful, clever and fascinating they are, how they live among us, yet often go unnoticed.My guest is Australian theatre actor and playwright, Nathan Harrison, who's latest play is Birdsong of Tomorrow. Our conversation was recording on a birdwatching jaunt in my local park.Hang on! Isn't Wardrobe Crisis a fashion podcast? Don't worry - birds are often brilliantly dressed with their wonderful plumage.Enjoy!If you find the Episode valuable, please help us share it.Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.comSupport the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lizzie Dibble wants libraries to lend clothes as well as books. Not just any clothes though. A carefully curated selection of donated second-hand fashion, imbued with the stories of former wearers, and volunteer-run.With Love From… has built a collection of occasion-wear, mostly for women (though there’s also a children’s dressup box) for library members to loan in her hometown of Oswestry, UK. That focus is intentional, because party dresses are some of the least-worn garments in our wardrobes. Lizzie is on a mission to encourage less wardrobe waste and more collective joy - all while encouraging new users into the existing local library network.We have questions!Who’s donating? Who’s borrowing? How does it work in practice? Did the library take some convincing? How can others get involved? Could it annoy existing library users who just want a quiet spot to read? Lizzie’s answer to the latter is both lovely and surprising. She says that the shared wardrobe is a quiet space, and that’s part of why it works. With Love From… is not just like shopping without money, but without the frenzy that underpins so much unsustainable consumption. Could this be a blueprint for shared wardrobes around the world?If you find the Episode valuable, please help us share it.Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.comSupport the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite Shein’s new sustainability rhetoric, workers are still paying the price for the ultra-fast fashion giant’s success. To 75-hour working weeks, piece rates and no contracts, we can add secrecy, opaque financial operations and a general air of mystery around its billionaire founder and how the brand does business.This is the story they don't want told.But thanks to Swiss NGO Public Eye's meticulous research and undercover reporting, it's now out in the open. So can Shein change for the better? Or is unethical simply part of the business model?If you find the Episode valuable, please help us share it.Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.comSupport the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen up! Yayra Agbofah is the founder of Ghanaian non-profit, The Revival. He's seriously stylish a poet, a creative upcycler, and one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders, as well a 2025 winner of the H&M Foundation's Global Change Award. And he's got some advice for the global fashion industry...Also covered in this charismatic convo: why wear a hat, the art of knowing yourself, community upcycling at scale, fashion education, how circularity is creating jobs as well as value from waste, and a new vision for the fashion system of tomorrow.If you enjoy the Episode, please help us share it.Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.comRead Clare's columns & support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspressGot recommendations? Hit us up!And please leave us a rating / review in Spotify/ Apple & help us share these podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back! And excited to be kick off Series 12 with this fabulous interview with Copenhagen-based Moroccan Danish stylist, and excellent dresser, Samia Benchaou. Clare and Samia met at fashion week when they got talking about the power of a great outfit. Can you relate? Bet you have a story of someone you met because of what they were wearing! (If so, tell us on Instagram). Clothes speak before we do and fashion is a fun way to connect. But what we wear can also express our politics, culture and identity and belonging.Themes up for discussion? First, confidence! How to get it, how to dress with it, and how it can set you free. We also talk about why you should give more complements to strangers, being a renegade, the influencer economy, and how much some people really get paid, while others miss out. Earnings, value, power imbalance, and how free clothes don't pay the bills. And we talk racism, why representation matters but it can't stop there, and why there aren't more Muslim prominent fashion influencers and stylists. Buckle up!If you enjoy the Episode, please help us share it.Find links and further reading at thewardrobecrisis.comRead Clare's columns & support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspressGot recommendations? Hit us up!And please leave us a rating / review in Spotify/ Apple & help us share these podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Construction! Proportion! Craft! What lies behind the enduring power of the suit? Of great tailoring? How is that amplified when it’s bespoke? What makes a good suit? Does it still matter? Why? And how much should it cost? All these questions, and many more are on the (cutting) table this week, as Clare sits down with Savile Row tailor Dominic Sebag-Montefiore, creative director of iconic bespoke house, Edward Sexton.Thank you for listening to Wardrobe Crisis Series 11! We'll be back soon with a new series of inspiring interviews from fashion's front lines.Find links and further reading for this episode at thewardrobecrisis.comRead Clare's columns & support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspressGot recommendations? Hit us up!And please leave us a rating / review in Spotify/ Apple & help us share these podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's guest, Glen Rollason, describes pattern making as the architecture of fashion. It's the bones, the structure, the technical process that gives our clothes shape, moves them from the 2D to the 3D, and helps them fit. Pattern making is drafting, design, and highly skilled technical process - but it's also team work. No pattern, no coat!From the basics (what is it, where do you begin) to the artistry (fit, form, allure) through Raf Simons, bust darts and the crazy complexity of national sizing standards, we've got it all in this dynamic conversation about this essential fashion ingredient. Plus, why do we need to keep capacity on shore? How might small factories / design labs work in future? What's going on with apprenticeships, and what are we going to do about skilled people ageing out of the industry?Scissors at the ready!Thank you for listening to Wardrobe Crisis.Find links and further reading for this episode at thewardrobecrisis.comRead Clare's columns & support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspressGot recommendations? Hit us up!And please leave us a rating / review in Spotify/ Apple & help us share these podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the last of our mini series, Made in Melbourne, we meet Australia’s National Designer of the Year 2025, Amy Lawrance.Amy launched her namesake label just a couple of years ago, but she's highly experienced - working for other labels, teaching at RMIT, and she is an extraordinary, couture-standard maker.Her architectural patterns are blisteringly original, she uses mostly undyed silks and has been experimenting with decorative embroidery stitches that she discovered studying vintage dressmaking manuals.As she tells us, her atelier is "very, very small scale and very, very hands-on"; everything from pattern-making, to sampling to final production is by her own hands. "A lonely team of one!" she jokes, but she loves it. Not that it comes without challenges. Any small fashion business owner will be familiar with these. Like, how are you going to pay for it all? Will you need a second job forever? At what point should you give up? Or shift your aims from running your own show to helping grow someone else's vision? Resist! It's worth it in the end!In our discussion, we talk about passion, solitude, the joy of sewing, and the gap between that and selling, doing media, all that stuff that not every creative automatically loves. Why should they? We cover trend cycles (hello, Pantone Colour of the Year), self doubt, origami, the joy of having a dog and what it's like to stand before the judges at one of these big fashion prizes. But big picture: this is an episode about the sometimes elusive "Why" - why do what you do, the way you do it. Enjoy!Thank you for listening to Wardrobe Crisis.Find links and further reading for this episode at thewardrobecrisis.comRead Clare's columns & support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspressGot recommendations? Hit us up!And please leave us a rating / review in Spotify/ Apple & help us share these podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do your favourite clothes mean to you? How connected are you to most of what's in your wardrobe? If you had to start from scratch, what would you prioritise?This interview is the third in a mini series of four about made in Made in Melbourne. This time, it's actually made in Ballarat, which is about 120 ks from the Victorian capital, but you get this idea. We're talking thriving in your own community, local production and pushing back on the idea that to make it in fashion you have to rush off to Paris or New York.For my guest this week, designer Saskia Baur-Schmid, it's sustainability and zero-waste pattern making. It's the fabric choices that she makes for her label Hyph_n, her beautiful sewing, and the way she communicates all this to her customers - each garment carries its own 'Eco ID'. But more than that, it's about crafting a sartorial identity, what makes us connect with our clothing, and how that ultimately plays such an important role on tackling overconsumption and waste. It's boils down to meaning, where we find it, and why it matters.Thank you for listening to Wardrobe Crisis.Find links and further reading for this episode at thewardrobecrisis.comRead Clare's columns & support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspressGot recommendations? Hit us up!And please leave us a rating / review in Spotify/ Apple & help us share these podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second of our mini series on emerging designers based in Melbourne, my guest this week Singaporean-Aussie designer Jude Ng. Jude started out selling at design markets, and we talk here about how some people might view that as not elevated, somehow not fashion enough. And what rubbish that is! As Jude says, it was having these direct relationships and conversations with potential customers that helped him build his business. To this day, he's set up his workshop on view in his Fitzroy, Melbourne store, so that people who are interested in his work can actually see him do it. In his own words, he offers: "ethically Melbourne made, zero waste slow fashion production and in-house bespoke mending". His pieces are unisex, and he talks about: "a different perspective in the realm of fashion by playing with a signature asymmetry and a relaxed, gender neutral sense of tailoring... using an artisanal approach and respect for the traditional craft techniques." And it works. It's beautiful and people love it. Six years in to his independent business, he's proving you can thrive as a directional designer outside of the obvious fashion capitals.Thank you for listening to Wardrobe Crisis.Find links and further reading for this episode at thewardrobecrisis.comRead Clare's columns & support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspressGot recommendations? Hit us up!And please leave us a rating / review in Spotify/ Apple & help us share these podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new generation of fashion designers is rejecting the current system, but what are they building in its place? In the first of our mini-series, Made in Melbourne, Isabelle Hellyer, the designer behind All Is Gentle Spring, discusses her vision for small-scale, skills-based fashion trade we can be proud of.These stories are Australian, but relevant wherever you are - exploring universal themes of staying small in a Bezos-world, backing the authenticity of true craft, resisting the rise of ultra fast fashion and the unethical systems that underpin it.Thank you for listening to Wardrobe Crisis.Find links and further reading for this episode at thewardrobecrisis.comRead Clare's columns & support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspressGot recommendations? Hit us up!And please leave us a rating / review in Spotify/ Apple & help us share these podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

According to Antoine Arnault, CEO of Loro Piana: "Luxury products are sustainable by nature." Hmmm. What do we think of that, then? Just because it's expensive doesn't make it ethical. In case you are not across these names, Arnault is a member of the LVMH dynasty (his dad, Bernard, is one of the 10th richest people on the planet) and Loro Piana is a posh Italian knitwear brand known for its cashmere and $500 baseball hats. But they’ve been in the news of late for rather less glamorous reasons, including sweatshop conditions in supplier factories in Italy.On this week’s pod, Clare sits down with Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal’s Environment and Labor Editor, to unpack just how that can happen, and whether it’s really true that you get what you pay for in high fashion.Thank you for listening to Wardrobe Crisis.Find links and further reading for this episode at thewardrobecrisis.comRead Clare's columns & support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspressGot recommendations? Hit us up!And please leave us a rating / review in Spotify/ Apple & help us share these podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've all had tough days at work, right? But I'm going to bet your last one didn't involve multiple colleagues fainting from heat stress.My guest this week is researcher and academic Cara Schulte, author of an important new report, for Climate Rights International, that looks into the effects of the effects of extreme heat on garment workers in Bangladesh.These don't stop at the physical. Workers describe feeling mentally unwell, anxious, hopeless even desperate as both temperatures and humidity climb. And as climate change accelerates, we can only expect conditions to get gnarlier.So what can fashion do about all this?Listen to find out about the role of education; how pregnant women are impacted; how heat is linked to violence; why drinking fizzy pop won't help; how working hours, low wages, audits and PPE come into it; and practical action to improve things that would make a difference today.Cara's ultimate message: "When we think about sustainability in fashion, it's not just about materials and recycling - it has to be about people."Essential listening for anyone who produces in the Global South, or buys clothing made there.Thank you for listening to Wardrobe Crisis.Find links and further reading for this episode at thewardrobecrisis.comRead Clare's columns & support the show on Substack - wardrobecrisis.substack.comTell us what you think. Find Clare on Instagram @mrspressGot recommendations? Hit us up!And please leave us a rating / review in Spotify/ Apple & help us share these podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.