In this episode I go on a sartorial journey with the celebrated British Milliner Stephen Jones OBE. Jones is considered one of the most radical and important milliners of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He is also one of the most prolific, having created hats for the catwalk shows of many leading couturiers and fashion designers, from John Galliano, Kim Jones and Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, the house of Schiaparelli to Rei Kawakubo at Commes des Garcons. His work is known for its inventiveness and high level of technical expertise. Stephen’s hats have adorned Rock Stars and Royalty and way beyond… His major retrospective exhibition opens in October at the Palais Galliera in Paris.

Stephen is chatty and has a wonderful way with words, painting pictures as he goes…We discuss jointly dressing the then Meghan Markle for her first Royal engagement when she attended the Commonwealth Service in 2018 with Prince Harry. He shares his insights on the process, the importance of the Royal Family to the world of millinery, and how people the world over use hats and headwear as style signifiers.

I ask him to explain his quote “You wear clothes – and hats – to convince yourself and others that you’re a certain way. Fashion is still a fabulous, fabulous lie.” …needless to say his answer was both insightful and amusing.

Fashion and appearance clearly run deep in Stephen’s veins and he talks with such knowledge, intuition and wisdom…and more than a little cheeky humour. I felt privileged, and entertained having this conversation with him.

Thank you Stephen for sharing your wit and wisdom.

I am launching Season 6 with someone who is known well to her 1.3 million followers as she lives her life so openly via her Instagram channel … she is warm and engaging, the sort of girl you feel is your friend even though you have never met her personally… I am talking about the lovely Lorna Luxe.

Lorna started her career as cabin crew for Virgin, back in the day when you had to do “X Factor-like day long auditions” for the 800 places that 800,000 applied for that year. She loved her job flying around the world, proudly sporting her “empowering” Virgin uniform…that is, until her anorexia got the better of her. Unbelievably, Virgin HR used to measure each of their crew members in their annual reviews … clearly another era (not so long ago) and another story…

Lorna had always loved her fashion and became an early adopter of Instagram back in 2014…she takes me on her Instagram journey and the secrets of her success but it is all underlined with a real passion for beautiful clothes, accessories and beauty. She is very considered …knows her fashion well, and talks with a wonderful Northern pragmatism. It wasn’t until she had 500,000 followers that she started to monetize her feed…she is rumoured to consistently take home in excess of 7 figures a year…yes, you heard that right.

Lorna is driven and always wanted to create her own brand, she talks about her journey starting up @LA Space with total transparency and honesty. We chat about her love of mood boarding, her style icons and being passionate about size inclusivity. It doesn’t surprise me that she has built the community she has, and the success alongside - she is one authentic, clever and intuitive woman… I loved our conversation. Thank you Lorna x

In this final episode of Season 5 of my Style DNA podcast I go on a style journey withPrince’s Trust Women for Women Ambassador and transgender fashion designer Serenity Mason. Serenity started her fashion business in 2018 - Vault of Serenity, a stall in Tunstall Market, Stoke, after completing The Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme. The programme had offered her practical advice about tax, business planning and pricing her items, as well as the support of a business mentor.

I met Serenity at a Prince’s Trust fund raising dinner and I was so struck by her and her story that I felt the best way for me to help shine a light on the incredible, life changing (and, at times) even life-saving work that the Prince’s Trust is doing was to use my Style DNA platform. It’s a fascinating and optimistic conversation and I have to thank Serenity for sharing her story so openly…to be so frank about her gender identity and her struggles. I really hope that this is heard by many and reaches the ears of some who may find it helpful…

In this episode of Style DNA I go on a Style journey with the award winning BBC broadcaster, TV personality and DJ, bowel cancer survivor and Marathon record holder, the remarkable Adele Roberts.
Adele is a wonderfully open and vulnerable guest talking about how she never felt feminine growing up ...gravitating towards the menswear section because she didn’t feel like she fit in and feeling like she would be judged...heartbreaking actually. She is trying to be more vocal about this now to help other kids who perhaps don’t feel like they fit in. Her life partner of 20 years, Kate Holderness, is clearly helping her to understand that clothing is a form of expression and self-love, gently navigating Adele's style journey with her...
She says that it wasn’t until she had cancer, and then a stoma, that she learned to love her body ...we talk about dressing around the stoma (which she has affectionately called Audrey...there is a story behind that) and the joy she is now finding in fashion...even wearing a bikini on a recent holiday with her stoma showing with pride.
She has written a book about her life and her cancer journey... Personal Best - From Rock Bottom to Top of the World which is a beacon of hope...she has clearly done a lot of soul searching especially when she was preparing for her record breaking Marathon run... in her opinion she was holding onto too much toxicity which was possibly the cause of her cancer...it is an inspiring read.
I hope you enjoy this sincere and soulful episode...thank you @adeleroberts for being so beautifully honest and open... I loved our conversation x

In this episode of Style DNA I go on a Style journey with Actress, TV presenter, Philanthropist and Entrepreneur … the gorgeous Geordie girl Donna Air.

Donna rose to early fame aged 10 as an actress in the children’s television series Byker Grove, a popular show set in the Newcastle area. She went on to form the pop duo Crush which found some success in the late 1990’s. Her career has spanned presenting MTV, to the Big Breakfast as well as appearing in numerous films and TV dramas.

Donna is currently performing in the award winning ghost story 2:22 at the Gielgud Theatre alongside James Buckley, Stacey Dooley and Joe McFadden…The play, written by Danny Robins is a supernatural thriller that has received critical acclaim for its intense and gripping narrative with the story revolving around a couple who hear strange noises in the new house and begin to suspect it might be haunted… I for one, can’t wait to see Donna’s performance.

Success came early in life for Donna and we chat about her teenage years in Newcastle “geared around her Saturday night outfits”…in time this passion transferred to her pop video or performing clothes. She reminisces about her youthful inability to control her clothing spending, particularly whilst touring in America.

We discuss her love of strong female characters and how inspiring they are…not to mention the fact that slowly there are more female roles for women post their 30’s…finally!

Donna clearly loves beautiful clothes, whilst not being remotely materialistic, but she laughs about how in the past these beautiful things have slipped through her fingers …how she would give away her clothes and accessories to friends and how her daughter Freya, now 19, keeps asking her where pieces are that she is wearing in old photographs that she would love to wear now…all since long gone!

Thank you @donnaair for sharing your stories and your insights so generously.

In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with the English singer, songwriter and TV personality Wes Nelson… His most recent claim to fame being his incredibly catchy and hugely successful collaboration with Craig David and the hit Abracadabra but during our conversation I saw Wes in a whole new light and I found his self-deprecating sense of humour, his honesty (and his chuckle) both infectious and charming…

He trained as a nuclear systems design engineer thinking he would follow his father into the motor industry but it seems that this self-proclaimed “Bloke from Stoke” has a different destiny. Passionate about music and performing from a young age, he was discovered partly through social media, and then a spell on Love Island led to his viral collaboration with Craig David (his childhood idol)… the rest is rapidly becoming history as he evolves his songwriting and music, as well as his personal style.

We laugh about how he spent WAY too much in his early days …dressing in the “expected” Rapper style for his rap performances replete with the diamond encrusted gold watch and strongly logo’ d designer pieces like his Nigo X Vuitton double denim. He clearly loves his fashion and is on a journey with it, evolving his style as his music evolves… I for one cannot wait to see what this next chapter holds stylistically and musically.

We discuss the symbolism behind his different tattoos including a can of Sunny D to remind him of his grandfather… and his love of Rimowa luggage…why? Because apparently he rides it through the airport…probably not how or why it was designed, but I couldn’t help laughing at the image of him riding his Rimowa down a ramp in Gatwick airport.

I hope you enjoy this episode… I found Wes a breath of fresh air and came away from our conversation with a light-hearted feeling and a knowing smile on my face… clothes, after all, should bring us joy… they certainly do Wes.

Thank you @wesnelson for bringing such a great conversation to the table…will you come back next year and update me on the style evolution that you are planning?

This week's Style DNA podcast episode is with the Irish chef, TV presenter, cookbook author and resident chef on This Morning - the wonderful Clodagh McKenna.
It was such a treat to open the door to a joyful Clodagh who arrived carrying a freshly baked carrot cake which she proceeded to ice herself before we started our recording ... I can honestly say her carrot cake is the best I have ever eaten and it took serious will power on my part not to dig in during our conversation!
Clodagh grew up in Cork and she paints a beautiful picture of her childhood family rituals including baking bread and prepping food at the weekend for the week ahead.
Eating home cooked food around a lovingly laid table with fresh linen clearly influenced her appreciation of the importance of mealtime. Her mother would always tidy herself and apply lipstick before her husband came home from work which is a charming custom that Clodagh has adopted herself.
Her passion for baking was ignited when a young Clodagh went on a French exchange, and she returned to Ireland able to make a cracking Tarte Tartin but also with a flavour for Gallic style which still influences her dress sense to this day.
Clodagh is one of those individuals whose passion for everything she turns her hand to is infectious - she trained at the legendary Ballymalloe Cookery School. When she felt she had learned everything she could in Ireland she moved herself to Turin, Italy to immerse herself in Italian food and culture... before finally moving to London in her early 40s when she started opening up her kitchen to do dinners for guests ... a charming custom that she still does to this day.
We talk about discovering her style DNA, which she feels didn't really happen until coming to London. Her formula, which clearly gives her confidence, involves a lot of denim, white shirts and tailoring. We laugh about last minute wardrobe changes on the set of This Morning when the all-male crew realised her top was just a little bit too revealing (let's just say totally see-through) for the viewers...and how being led by an overly enthusiastic stylist for a book launch shoot left her feeling totally lost...all good lessons learned and all stories told in a way that inimitable Irish way...