Back Row with Amy Odell

Amy Odell is joined by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan of ⁠Go Fug Yourself⁠ and the ⁠Drinks With Broads⁠ newsletter to break down the biggest fashion stories from Oscars night—and what they reveal about Hollywood right now. They discuss Anna Wintour’s surprise appearance (and why she’s leaning into The Devil Wears Prada 2), the backlash against Timothée Chalamet and what it says about celebrity c...

Paris Fashion Week wrapped up the Fall 2026 shows, so Amy Odell and New York Times bestselling author Dana Thomas are handing out the Fashion Month Awards. Together they break down the biggest moments from New York, Milan, and Paris Fashion Week, including: • Prada’s viral runway stunt • Marc Jacobs’ comeback in New York • The rise of fashion watch parties bringing fans into the shows • Why tech b...

Amy Odell sits down with Liz McNeil and RoseMarie Terenzio, authors of JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography, to discuss the real romance between Carolyn Bessette and JFK Jr. that inspired the FX show Love Story, executive-produced by Ryan Murphy. Terenzio assisted JFK Jr. in the 90s at George magazine, and McNeil covered him as an editor for People. For their book, they interviewed more than 150 pe...

Paris Fashion Week is off and running. Jonathan Anderson's fall 2026 Dior show kicked off the week — and Amy liked it a lot more than she expected! She reads her review of the show from the Back Row newsletter, which discusses how fashion has become mass culture and why designers like Anderson need to reach aspirational shoppers. She ends with the "Loose Threads" news roundup, featuring Condé Nast...

Amy sits down with Noëmie Leclercq of luxury news outlet Glitz Paris to debate the "Hermès game" (aka everything customers allegedly have to do in order for boutiques to offer them the chance to purchase a Birkin or Kelly bag). They discuss pre-spends, background checks, and Hermès’ apparent alliance with Lauren Sánchez Bezos. Noëmie also talks about why superfakes have become a big problem; how t...

Amy Odell talks with fashion director-turned-entrepreneur Marina Larroudé about why she left Teen Vogue for Barneys -- and then started her own brand. Marina recalls Style.com's earliest days; how top brands really weren't on board with the internet; what it was really like to work for Anna Wintour; and what she saw from inside the industry that convinced her there was a big business opportunity i...

This is the audio version of the Back Row newsletter published February 17, 2026. Why don't fashion designers view Olympic figure skating the way they do red carpets — as a forum to exploit for brand impressions? The sport is fabulous, glamorous, and awe-inspiring, after all. Amy digs into how figure skating costumes are made and why the world's top ready-to-wear designers generally don't want any...

Part 2 is available to paid subscribers at backrow.net (which includes full newsletter access) or through Apple Podcasts or Spotify. In Part 2, Amy and Lila debate the Saks Fifth Avenue bankruptcy — detailing the brand's fraught relationship with Amazon, the possibility of government intervention, and what it all means for the future of the department store. On this episode of the Back Row Podcast...

Are awards shows still about movies — or are they now luxury fashion marketing disguised as cultural prestige? And who’s actually funding all these celeb red-carpet appearances — the studios, the stars, or the brands? Amy Odell is joined by Debra Birnbaum, Editor-in-Chief of awards season news outlet Gold Derby, to break down how modern awards campaigns actually work and why the fashion is so impo...

Part 2 of this episode is available to paid subscribers at backrow.net (which includes full newsletter access) or through Apple Podcasts or Spotify. After years of quiet luxury, opulence is back in fashion. In this episode of the Back Row podcast, Amy traces the origins of fashion’s current obsession with excess — all the way back to… Bravo? Joined by Ben Mandelker and Ronnie Karam of the wildly p...

In Part 2, Ana Andjelic and Amy Odell break down Meghan Markle’s new brand As Ever, how The Row quietly built one of the most powerful luxury brands in fashion, and what's next for Chiara Ferragni after her acquittal. Part 2 is available to paid subscribers at backrow.net (which includes full newsletter access) or through Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Celebrity brands are everywhere—but what separate...

On this holiday episode of The Back Row Podcast, Amy Odell shares a special installment of Retail Confessions, featuring an anonymous interview with a former Harrods sales associate. The interviewee discussed what it was really like working on the shop floor at one of the world’s most famous luxury department stores — from intense sales pressure and demanding clients to the unspoken rules of the ü...

Amy Odell talks with model and writer Lauren Chan about what she calls a "recession of size inclusion" in fashion. After years of progress, brands are reverting back to casting “straight size” models by default —and the consequences go far beyond aesthetics. Lauren shares a fashion week story that captures the problem perfectly: a major entertainment cover shoot featuring a size-12/14 talent had n...

FOR PART TWO OF THIS PODCAST, sign up for Back Row Premium in Apple or Spotify. In part two, Amy gets Dana Thomas's thoughts on Emily in Paris after watching it for the first time; how French attitudes toward plastic surgery compare to those in America; and how the French feel about the Bezos billionaire lifestyle. In this episode of the Back Row podcast, veteran fashion journalist Dana Thomas joi...

Gwyneth Paltrow has long been known for promoting various wellness fads that drive experts crazy. Long before she was publicly singing the praises of raw dairy products, she would publish "detox" diets each January. These were the foundation of Goop's wellness business. In this excerpt from Amy's latest book Gwyneth: The Biography, hear about how Goop began, how its viral diet advice generated gre...

What can we glean about Condé Nast's politics from recent current events? Teen Vogue has been shuttered, but Vanity Fair's Trump 2.0 package was a journalistic achievement of the sort rarely seen these days. Anna Wintour is a known Democratic supporter and fundraiser, yet she's been cozying up to the Trump-supporting Bezoses for Met Gala money. Amy Odell is joined by comedians and cultural critics...

Can a 2.5-hour artsy, originally scripted film open at the box office? The Marty Supreme cast is so determined to get us to the theater for this movie that they're wearing full monochromatic orange for promotional appearances. Gwyneth Paltrow is being strategic with her fashion choices in other ways, and helping daughter Apple's prospects in the process. This is the audio version of the Back Row n...

World-renowned Real Housewives expert Dame Brian Moylan joins Amy Odell on the Back Row podcast to talk about Rachel Zoe's debut on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills! They analyze what Rachel and Bravo gain from her joining the cast and why fashion people are so eager to get on this show. Then they recap all of Rachel's scenes in the first two episodes of season 15, and do some investigative jo...

This is the audio version of the Back Row newsletter published December 9, 2025. 0:16 - Fashion enters its "great unsettling" 1:47 - Prada Group acquires Versace 2:24 - Broader instability across the fashion industry 4:00 - Loose Threads news roundup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tech journalist and creator​ ⁨@TaylorLorenz⁩ joins Amy Odell on the Back Row podcast to explain how social media has completely reshaped fashion. From the backlash against fashion creators to why facts barely matter online, they dive into Vogue World, The Row's viral sample sale, and more. Taylor, formerly at The Atlantic, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, now runs her own newsletter, p...

"Hermès playing cards are my go-to." Chapters: 01:35 - VIC no. 1: The Expat Living in Dubai 03:10 - VIC no. 2: The Personal Shopper for Upper East Siders 03:32 - VIC no. 3: The expat living in Hong Kong 05:31 - VIC no. 4: The New Yorker who's feeling uninspired 06:42 - VIC no. 5: The Personal Stylist to Upper East Side Billionaires and Centi-Millionaires Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

Fashion critic Rachel Tashjian joins Amy Odell to unpack the biggest shifts happening right now in fashion media. From Vogue’s future to the creator vs. critic debate, AI-generated fashion models, $26,000 Versace dresses, and why fashion discourse seems to be getting meaner. Rachel, formerly the Fashion Critic at the Washington Post and now Senior Style Reporter for CNN, breaks down: Chapters: 00:...

Hype for The Devil Wears Prada 2 (out May 2, 2026) is already off the charts. In this special holiday episode, listen to an excerpt from Amy's book Anna: The Biography about how The Devil Wears Prada book and film came to be — and how Anna Wintour really felt about all of it. Listen to the Anna audiobook on: Spotify, Apple, or Audible. Or get the book in print here. Amy's latest book Gwyneth: The...

And a bunch of other pieces from her clothing line. This is my story. Check out the photos in the Back Row story. 2:16 - Trying the gray T-shirt and jeans 4:23 - Trying the legendary black pants 5:10 - The oversized gray suit 6:13 - The Blair midi dress (one with the rouching) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brown may be the new black — but brands are the new cults. Amy talks to CUNY professor, author, and ex-marketing executive Dr. Mara Einstein about how brands exploit cult-like marketing tactics to get us to buy, particularly during events like Black Friday. They discuss the real reason brands pushed Christmas shopping before Halloween (!) this year; how brands get us to buy in a world where we're...