From a young age, I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I “grew up.” Something with clothes. I always loved picking outfits, shopping, and flipping through fashion magazines. As I got older, the question arose of what I wanted to do in fashion. After several years of books, movies, internships, and just getting older I figured out where fashion fits into my personal life and future career. A large part of finding my passion and interest in the fashion industry was through podcasts. I could find information on fashion news, leaders, and history, among many other topics. If you’ve always had a love for clothing, want to work in the industry, or just want to learn a little more about fashion, these are podcasts that I recommend.
1. The Business of Fashion Podcast
If you are interested in working in the fashion industry, The Business of Fashion may already be a familiar name. The Business of Fashion website offers news, interviews, and analyses of the fashion industry. Their podcast releases 20 to 40-minute episodes that are packed with information. Episodes focus on industry news and interviews with experts in various subjects. The episode I highly recommend from this podcast is “Ending Climate Colonialism in Fashion.” It covers the important topic of the climate implications of the fashion industry and how it disproportionately impacts certain countries. It is a great episode to learn more about the fashion industry’s impact on the environment and how they benefit from overseas manufacturing without facing the consequences in the countries they sell their clothing. Overall, The Business of Fashion podcast is a great and extremely reliable resource for almost everything in the fashion industry.
2. Silhouettes: A Fashion History Podcast
Fashion history is a passion I found at the beginning of college. It combines my love for fashion and history, and even those who find history dull can find enjoyment in looking at clothes from the past. Silhouettes: A Fashion History Podcast is a personal favorite of mine and a good way to get into fashion history. The host Belle, who is also a fashion historian, covers a variety of topics from the Middle Ages to the modern day. She also has a very calming voice and British accent, which is a very important aspect of podcasts for me. I love scrolling through and picking the periods and subjects that jump out at me when choosing which episode to listen to. My favorite episode is “The Iconic Fashion of Barbie.” The episode covers the creation of Barbie and her style evolution throughout each decade. It is so interesting to hear how Barbie’s style, face, and body changed each decade to match the fashion, beauty, and cultural trends at the time. Even if you prefer to focus on current trends, many of the silhouettes, colors, and patterns are recurring themes in fashion. Silhouettes: A Fashion History is a fun and educational podcast for anyone interested in learning how we got to where we are today in fashion.
3. The Cutting Room Floor
The Cutting Room Floor is one of the most realistic looks of what working in the fashion industry looks like. A lot of podcasts out there give great information and business insights from a big-picture perspective, but The Cutting Room Floor gets personal with guests and their experiences. The host Recho Omondi has conversations with professionals in the industry across many different expertise to give an authentic look into the fashion world. My favorite episode is “The Wholesale Merchant feat. Shawn Pean.” Before listening to this episode, I was unfamiliar with Shawn Pean, but I looked at the title of “Wholesale Merchant” and started listening. This episode goes through his career history starting as a buyer at JCPenney, to Saks Fifth Avenue, then the Vice President of Valentino, and finally the President of Balmain. He has an impressive and interesting career trajectory, especially for me as I will be entering a merchandising program this summer. I highly recommend anyone interested in merchandising, buying, and retail listen to this episode. The Cutting Room Floor is one of the best podcasts to listen to if you want to learn more about what working in the fashion industry looks like behind the scenes.
4. Founders
For those interested in entrepreneurship or how some of the greatest founders of fashion brands came to be, this podcast is perfect. Each episode is hosted by David Sendra and focuses on a different founder and the creation of their company. This is the only podcast on this list that isn’t fashion-specific, but it has a lot of episodes on the fashion founders. Some icons that you can find episodes on include Anna Wintour, Cristóbal Balenciaga, and Ralph Lauren. The founder who is an ongoing hyperfixation of mine is Christian Dior, so naturally his episode is my favorite. The episode focuses on his life and his journey in creating Dior. I loved this episode so much as Christian Dior is one of my favorite figures in fashion. I became fascinated with him after going to the “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” exhibit in Brooklyn. For any business or fashion student, this podcast is a great way to dive into leaders in the fashion industry and learn a little more about the iconic brands we wear.
As someone who dreamed of working in the fashion industry but didn’t know where to start, learning as much as I could about everything related to fashion was how I found my way. Podcasts are a great way to do so, and if you love fashion, they are enjoyable listens outside of their educational benefits. Even though I listen for my enjoyment and development, they have also helped me in my business classes. Several of these podcasts focus on the business aspects of fashion, such as entrepreneurship, marketing, merchandising, and selling, helping me in my classes focused on these topics. Whether you are interested in design, business, or history aspects of fashion, these podcasts will help you learn more and cultivate your passion.