Feeling Fashion

Today we’re delving into the effects of modelling with professional model Ethan Ashton and designer Alice Edgeley. Ethan was scouted by an agent in a Frankston car yard four years ago. He had no modelling experience and was working at KFC at the time. But since then, he’s modelled for high fashion labels in London and Milan Fashion weeks.Alice Edgeley has worked in the fashion industry for 30 years. Since 2010 her label ‘Edgeley’ has dressed people all over the world, including DJs, performance artists, drag queens, musicians and pop stars. Alice began her career working with Christopher Kane in London and frequently models for her own brand.  For this episode, we discussed how modelling shapes self-perception, and how to navigate an at-times dehumanising industry.

Today’s guest is Wendy Ward, a designer, PhD candidate, and author of five best-selling books about sewing. For her PhD, Wendy is researching how stronger emotional bonds to our clothing could help combat textile waste .In this episode we’ll discuss the benefits of writing love letters to your clothes, and How to love what you already have for a more sustainable future. Show notes:Recycling Near You - Textile Recycling Guide

Today’s guests are footwear  experts Dr Ellen Sampson and Dr Alexandra Sherlock.Ellen Sampson is an artist, curator, and material culture researcher. She is also the author ofWorn: Footwear, Attachment and the Affects of Wear.  Alexandra Sherlock is a writer and lecturer at RMIT’s school of fashion and textiles. Using footwear as a lens, she investigates the relationship between bodies, cultures, societies, and the environment.   In this episode we’ll discuss what your shoes say about you, and why footwear can have such profound emotional resonance.  Show notes:alexandrasherlock.comellensampson.com

Today’s guest is menswear expert and archivist Andrew Groves. Andrew is a Professor of Fashion Design at the University of Westminster. In 2016 he established the Westminster menswear archive — a world-leading collection of over 2,600 garments. The archive purposefully rejects a hierarchy of design, interspersing workwear, uniforms, and designer garments to challenge the orthodoxy of fashion collections.    Andrew is also a valued consultant to the fashion industry. He frequently provides commentary to leading publications, including WWD, i-D, The Guardian, Vogue Business, and The Wall Street Journal.    In this episode, we’ll discuss why menswear and workwear are often overlooked by fashion collections — and what a closer examination of them can teach us about how we conceive fashion.  

Today’s guest is trend forecaster and sustainability advocate Clarice Garcia. Clarice has collaborated on projects for clients such as Nike, Google, L’Oréal, YouTube and Netflix. As part of her PhD, she created a tool called ‘Fashion Futuring’ which won the Victorian Premiere’s Design Award and the Australian Good Design Awards. It’s a deck of cards that prompts people to devise radical alternatives for a more sustainable and equitable fashion industry. In this episode we’ll discuss how quickly trends are changing, why the average Australian is buying more than 50 pieces of clothing per year, and how dressing as your authentic self could help save the planet. Show notes: The Fashion Futuring Toolkit

Today’s guests are Erin Spencer and Bec Cerio from Sydney-based Sock Drawer Heroes, Australia’s leading gender expression store. Bec and Erin started Sock Drawer Heroes in 2018, shortly after Erin began to affirm their gender as a trans masc non-binary person. At the time, they struggled to find the gender expression products they needed in Australia.   In this episode we’ll discuss why gender affirming products aren't just clothing — they’re life-changing essentials. Show notes: The Sock Drawer Heroes Website Sock Drawer Heroes on Instagram

Today’s guests are designers Kate Reynolds and Amanda Cumming from independent Melbourne fashion label PAGEANT.   After working for iconic labels such as Christopher Shannon, Christopher Kane and Perks and Mini, Amanda and Kate established PAGEANT in 2010. Since then, PAGEANT has established a worldwide cult following and was a winner of the prestigious Tiffany & Co National Designer Award and a finalist for the BT Emerging Designer Award. In this episode we’ll discuss what’s it’s like to start a fashion brand, how to maintain a solid collaborative relationship, and what it means for fashion to be socially responsible. Show notes: PAGEANT's online store

We’ve all had times when we’ve felt uncomfortable or out of place in what we’re wearing. For some, these moments are in primary school when mum forced you to wear that really embarrassing sweater, for others it might be that time you went to a costume party and got the brief wrong. In today’s episode, you’ll hear from our listeners about times in their lives when they’ve felt uncomfortable in what they were wearing, and what their discomfort revealed to them about themselves. 

If I asked you to swap your entire wardrobe with me for one year, would you do it? Im talking socks, jocks, shoes – everything.    In this episode you’ll meet the person who said yes. After searching for almost two years I met the artist James Nguyen at a bar in New York. He agreed to swap his wardrobe of black and grey Uniqlo basics with my wardrobe of colourful onesies.    We discussed how clothing intersects with identity, and the swap’s profound impact on his day-to life 

Today’s guest is Dr Julie Gork, a lecturer at RMIT University and former trend forecaster whose research explores fashion and blindness. We discuss what a blind perspective can teach us about the multi-sensory experience of dress — and the senses we neglect when we fixate on sight above all else. Show notes: www.juliegork.com

Sometimes we only need to imagine wearing an outfit to feel its transformative power. In this episode, we’ll discuss what this anticipation reveals about the intangible nature of fashion—and the role language plays in shaping these dreams and desires. Today’s guests are three fashion writers: Dr Laura Gardner an editor, lecturer and co-publisher of Mode and Mode; Dr Winnie Ha Mitford, a writer who uses language, sound and live performance; and Dr Sean Ryan, a researcher and senior lecturer at RMIT University whose research focuses on the tensions between philosophy and fashion. 

Today’s guest is creative producer Jeremy Smith, who proudly enjoys being a fly buzzing in the face of those who need annoyance on equity and justice.  Jeremy has a form of dwarfism called Achondroplasia, but it wasn't until his late thirties that he chose to fully embrace this difference and identify as a disabled person. Today we’ll be discussing his journey from avoidance to acceptance—and the role social media and fashion played in his self-discovery.      Jeremy lives in Boorloo (Perth) and is a senior producer for Performing Lines in Western Australia, a production company that creates boundary-pushing performances with some of Australia’s best independent artists.     Throughout his career, Jeremy has promoted artistic bravery, self-determination, and authentic representation. He has also brokered opportunities by supporting initiatives in remote regions and developing key arts and disability programs.  Shownotes: Jeremy Smith - A Mile in My Shoes The Relationship is the Project: A guide to working with communities

Today’s guest is Pia Interlandi — a fashion designer, funeral celebrant and senior lecturer at RMIT. Through her practice, Garments for the Grave, Pia designs rituals for dressing, and addressing the dead body. She co-designs funeral garments with the terminally ill and dresses them with family for their funerals. She has exhibited worldwide and is a founding member of the Order of the Good Death, Natural Death Advocacy Network and Australian Death Studies Society, Pia has spent over a decade advocating for creativity at end of life.  In this episode we’ll discuss the science of burials, how one might start to plan for theirplanning for one’s own death, and what to wear as your final fashion.  Show notes: www.piainterlandi.com Pia's Instagram

Today’s guest is Yuniya Kawamura — a Professor of Sociology at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She is the author of Fashion-ology, The Japanese Revolution in Paris Fashion, Doing Research in Fashion and Dress, Cultural Appropriation in Fashion and Entertainment and many more Adele and Yuniya will discuss the idea of fashion as a social phenomenon and who decides what is and what is not fashion.  Show Notes: Books by Yuniya Kawamura

Today’s guest is Anouchka Grose, a writer and psychoanalyst. She is the author of Fashion: A Manifesto and a member of The College of Psychoanalysts and The Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research.  We’ll discuss the idea of fashion as a game we all play whether we like it or not. A game with ever-changing rules that can spark pleasure and anxiety at the same time.  This podcast was made possible with support from the Alastair Swayn Foundation. Find out more at alastairswaynfoundation.org.  Show notes: anouchkagrose.com Fashion: A Manifesto

Today's episode is slightly different. Adele's former master's supervisor Prof Pia Ednie-Brown is interviewing her about Adele's research and creative projects.  In particular, they discuss Adele's experience wearing a onesie every day for the last thirteen years — a project exploring how the clothes we wear impact our lives.  Prof Pia Ednie-Brown is an Australian architectural researcher and creative practitioner, with a practice called Onomatopoeia. She worked in the School of Architecture at RMIT for two decades, where she specialised in creative practice as a vehicle for research. Currently, she is an honorary Professor of Architecture at the University of Newcastle. She lives and works in Naarm Melbourne.  This podcast was made possible with support from the Alastair Swayn Foundation, find out more at ⁠alastairswaynfoundation.org⁠. 

Today’s guest is neuroscientist Dr Carolyn Mair.  We’ll discuss how clothes shape our identities and alter the inner workings of our minds — evoking comfort, confidence, or even fear.    Carolyn created the psychology of fashion department at the London College of Fashion. She is currently a consultant for fashion brands and author of The Psychology of Fashion.  Carolyn has published broadly in academic and popular media and is frequently featured by outlets like the BBC, Sky News, The New York Times and more!  My conversation with Carolyn was recorded in front of a live audience at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Melbourne. It was part of the Feeling Fashion launch event. This podcast was made possible with support from the Alastair Swayn Foundation, find out more at alastairswaynfoundation.org. 

Welcome to Feeling Fashion, the podcast that delves into the social and emotional affects of Fashion, unravelling the complex and often invisible elements at play when we wear clothes. Join host, Dr Adele Varcoe as she interviews guests about the intricate tapestry of feelings woven into the fabric of our everyday lives.  Thank you to the School of Fashion and Textiles at RMIT University, my amazing guests, the incredible research team Remie Cibis and Julie Gork, and audio engineer Thomas Phillips. Show notes: Feeling Fashion on Instagram