MEG PIRIE in conversation with #19 VICTORIA JENKINS
Release Date: 11/10/2023
TAMARA CINCIK in conversation with #22 GREAT BRITISH WOOL REVIVAL
Front Row to Front Bench
For this episode of the Front Row to Front Bench podcast, speaks with , and , the team behind our collaboration with and for the , the . This October marks , which celebrates British Wool. This discussion includes the background into how the team got together and why there is a need for a Great British Wool Revival.
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TAMARA CINCIK in conversation with #21 WAYNE HEMINGWAY
Front Row to Front Bench
For this episode of the Front Row to Front Bench podcast, speaks with designer about his bi-annual event the , which returns to Kings Cross, London on 27th & 28th April 2024. The weekend will give the public a last chance to see Paul McCartney's iconic before it is auctioned to find a new home as well as celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Ford Mustang. The popular festival also includes quality sustainable shopping, entertainment, street food and DJ’s. Wayne founded the hugely successful British fashion brand Red or Dead in the 80’s, which went on to win the British Fashion...
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TAMARA CINCIK in conversation with #20 CHARLIE PORTER
Front Row to Front Bench
For this episode of the Front Row to Front Bench podcast, speaks with writer, fashion critic and curator about his new book, ‘Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and the Philosophy of Fashion' published by . Charlie is one of the most influential fashion journalists of his time, and has written for the likes of the Guardian and iD magazine, as well as co-running the London queer rave . The book, rather wonderfully, uses clothing as a way to look at six iconic Bloomsbury figures, while seamlessly addressing the evolution of how we dress today. This leads on to the fact that clothing...
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MEG PIRIE in conversation with #19 VICTORIA JENKINS
Front Row to Front Bench
co-chairs our and is a garment technologist with 14 years of experience in the fashion industry who became Disabled in her 20s. She is behind the sustainable adaptive fashion brand . The idea was born after a chance encounter with a woman with cancer that changed the course of her life. As she watched the woman during her own hospital stay, she realised that there were no adaptive clothes on the market and this is how Unhidden was born. Now Victoria is listed as one of , redefining Britain and co-presents and designs on . A must-watch where inclusive...
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TAMARA CINCIK in conversation with #18 SIMON COSTIN
Front Row to Front Bench
journey into fashion might be described as a happy accident – when a student at Central Saint Martins wanted to borrow some of his conceptual jewellery – little did Simon realise the designer would turn out to be the eponymous #AlexanderMcQueen and the start of a firm creative working friendship. Simon talks of other industry heavyweights he has collaborated with, from legendary artist and filmmaker #DerekJarman, to his work more recently with and and existing within this highly creative oxygen. As well as his work as a leading British fashion-set-designer, Simon runs two museums: the...
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TAMARA CINCIK in conversion with #17 ALDEN WICKER
Front Row to Front Bench
In 2019, Alden Wicker was asked to comment on a lawsuit that was being filed by a Delta flight attendant against Lands’ End, because the newly introduced uniform had caused a myriad of health issues, such as skin rashes, shortness of breath, hair loss, anaphylaxis and in one instance death. In her book, ‘’, award-winning journalist and sustainability expert, , decided to break the story of unregulated toxic chemicals in fashion and their impacts on health and wellbeing. Historically, in The Victorian era, women garment workers dyed fabrics using arsenic green...
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TAMARA CINCIK in conversation with #16 PETER FOSTER
Front Row to Front Bench
An honest and thought-provoking conversation – Public Policy Editor of the Financial Times, speaks with Tamara Cincik about his book, ‘What Went Wrong With Brexit: And What We Can Do About It’. Foster is one of the few editors who is tracking Brexit and the ever adjusting life after the single market. A fashion-centred conversation of what leaving has meant for business; the realities of the barriers to trade; the confrontational relationship which ‘Brexit at all costs’ has created between ministers, civil servants and industry; and the need for policymakers to make decisions...
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TAMARA CINCIK in conversation with #15 BAY GARNETT
Front Row to Front Bench
Not to be missed! As #SecondhandSeptember ramps up, speaks with vintage queen . Drawing on their shared backgrounds as international stylists, they discuss how second-hand shopping allows for a more creative and dynamic experience to storytell through clothes – sustainably; the iconic Anita Pallenburg; Bay’s iconic ‘banana top’; getting to the source of iconic designer inspiration via vintage and charity shops; and of course Bay’s collaboration with Oxfam for #SecondhandSeptember and her concept to extrapolate the idea into a visual fashion campaign. Website: ...
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Meg Pirie in conversation with Ruth Rands, founder of Herd
Front Row to Front Bench
is in conversation with , founder of British knitwear brand . They discuss Ruth’s mission to bring heritage and quality back to British wool, with provenance at its heart. Ruth talks honestly about what is possible here in the UK, sourcing everything within 150 miles; how Kate Moss just bought one of her knits; and her long-term vision for her aspirational label.
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In Conversation With Daniel Carpenter, Executive Director Of Heritage Craft
Front Row to Front Bench
is in conversation with UK charity ’s Executive Director, They discuss the Heritage Crafts ‘’, the importance of a STEAM curriculum and practical subjects being taught in schools and what it would take for the UK government to ratify the UNESCO . As well as Heritage Craft’s latest campaign in partnership with Folksy, ‘BUY LESS, BUY BETTER, BUY HANDMADE’ and their hope of what this may achieve in supporting makers across the UK. Particularly in time for Christmas. An interesting conversation about heritage, crafts and the need for government support.
info_outlineVictoria Jenkins co-chairs our Representation and Inclusion Committee and is a garment technologist with 14 years of experience in the fashion industry who became Disabled in her 20s. She is behind the sustainable adaptive fashion brand Unhidden. The idea was born after a chance encounter with a woman with cancer that changed the course of her life. As she watched the woman during her own hospital stay, she realised that there were no adaptive clothes on the market and this is how Unhidden was born.
Now Victoria is listed as one of Vogue’s Top 25 Powerhouse Women, redefining Britain and co-presents and designs on Channel 4’s Unique Boutique. A must-watch where inclusive fashion lovers and designers create bespoke outfits for every-body in a custom-built shop.
Meg Pirie and Victoria speak about future plans for a not-for-profit arm of Unhidden, training people with disabilities and chronic health conditions how to sew adaptive alterations so they can then work as and when they choose making adaptive alterations for any one who doesn't sew. There are also plans for workshops that will cover how to adapt clothing you already own yourself so there is no barrier to accessing adaptive clothing and re-loving your existing wardrobes.
Finally, Victoria shares her key policy asks to ultimately make fashion more inclusive.
A full transcript can be found on our Substack here.
To learn more about Victoria’s amazing work: