There are more than 4.5 million podcasts worldwide. Audiences are increasingly using audio formats to consume news and culture. Podcasts are therefore an integral part of contemporary culture – even in the coming fashion year. FashionUnited has put together a selection of leading shows that will continue to accompany us.
Fashion Neurosis
Designer Bella Freud leaves the rigid setting of the classic podcast studio to explore the emotional meaning of clothing. Well-known actors, designers and other creative people sit on their sofas to have intimate conversations about their personal relationship with style. This is not understood as the sum of trends, but rather as an expression of individual wishes and insecurities. Fashion becomes a form of self-analysis in which Freud takes on the role of therapist. This fits with her prominent guests such as Marina Abramović, who is herself considered a revolutionary in performative practice.
Chanel Connects
Fashion can be highly intellectual when visionary artists, authors, performers and curators talk about their work. The French fashion house Chanel proves this with Chanel Connects. The fifth season takes place in La Pausa – the “ideal Mediterranean villa” on the French Riviera designed by Gabrielle Chanel herself. It will be moderated by Yana Peel, President of Arts, Culture & Heritage of the luxury brand. A special bonus episode was recorded live at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. In it, artists Sarah Sze and Julie Mehretu talk to Peel about creativity, abstraction and the role of art as a driving force for change.
Articles of interest
Avery Trufelman comes from a family of broadcasters. She has been working as a radio producer for years and became known with Articles of Interest – a podcast about the ins and outs of the clothing industry and especially about the products themselves. An hour-long conversation about zippers is not boring when it is told as a story of shared history, culture, technology and identity. In 2025, Trufelman reopened a relevant discussion about the influence of military design on everyday clothing choices – from field jackets to “gorpcore” – with the miniseries Gear.
Fashion people
Fashion People is an extension of Line Sheet, Lauren Sherman’s exclusive newsletter where she analyzes what’s happening in the fashion and beauty world. In the podcast version, she talks to insiders from the billion-dollar industry to dig even deeper. Topics range from creative directors’ hopeful strategies to former First Lady Michelle Obama’s fashion vision.
Dressed: The History of Fashion
Historian Cassidy Zachary guides her listeners through fashion history by placing historical facts in a contemporary social context. What does the corset say about “me” and “us” now that it is returning to Generation Z’s wardrobe? In keeping with the New Year, there is an episode with Tim Gunn from the American fashion television show Project Runway about his famous saying “Make it work”. What will make fashion successful in 2026?
Manufactured
In another year full of scandals surrounding unethical labor practices in long-standing, opaque fashion chains, Kim van der Weerd’s podcast Manufactured offers guidance. She worked in clothing production for years, including as a factory manager in Cambodia. Today she investigates fair trade practices for those at the end of the supply chain – including through the Transformers Foundation and as co-founder of the Fashion Producer Collective. The podcast features otherwise unheard experts with extensive knowledge, such as Bergson Wang (episode 100), a Chinese compliance expert who explains why audits are often not reliable.
Wardrobe crisis
In Wardrobe Crisis, fashion journalist and sustainability expert Clare Press examines the tension between style, ethics and the environment. She examines how cotton production threatens water resources in India, involving designers and researchers. She also sheds light on how vintage dealers and data analysts quantify the phenomenon of “pre-loved fashion”. With a wink, Press shows that fashion can be a business without passing the costs on to vulnerable actors in the global supply chain.
The Cutting Room Floor
The designer Recho Omondi proves to be an excellent interviewer: honest, critical and unfiltered. In The Cutting Room Floor she talks to designers, creative directors, CEOs and emerging talent about topics such as phygital, marketing and branding. The conversations often intersect with other disciplines, such as food with Sue Chan or wellness with Gwyneth Paltrow – areas that fashion repeatedly refers to.
Brendawareness
Brenda Weischer, known as Brendahashtag on Instagram, records her podcast the way you would expect an influencer to: at home in the living room, on her cell phone. Your reports from fashion shows and red carpet events sound like a voice message to a good friend. It is precisely this intimate narrative style that attracts numerous listeners. Brenda also inspires young professionals with insights into personal branding and image building – including the downsides, as being constantly online affects personal well-being.
Fashion Radio
SHOWstudios Fashion Radio, hosted by DJ Fat Tony, explores the fusion of fashion and music. In each episode, industry leaders – from designers to stylists to models – talk about their creative process, career highlights and how music influences their work. The importance of one’s own rhythm becomes particularly clear in the episode with the model Debra Shaw, who only fully embodies her goddess-like character on the catwalk through music.
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