Fashion Your Seatbelt

What first impressed me about the fashion designer Alice Temperly was how assured she felt. When she enters a space, instantly, there is a sense that this is a woman who knows exactly who she is, what she has accomplished, and is crystal clear on the goals she has set for herself and how she wants to achieve them. Alice is someone whose work has always felt like stepping into a story. She founded...

Ameni Esseibi is someone who has spent years challenging the fashion industry to make room for her — and won. She is the first plus-size Arab model, a body positivity advocate, a Jean Paul Gaultier ambassador, a Paris Fashion Week runway veteran, and a woman who has built an entire career on the radical act of showing up exactly as she is. Born in Tunisia, raised in Dubai, and educated in the Fren...

Chriselle Lim is many things at once: a pioneer of digital fashion storytelling, a serial entrepreneur, and a woman who has built a career by evolving in the public eye with intention and integrity long before “creator economy” became industry shorthand. From the early days of The Chriselle Factor to her impressive transformation of the fragrance brand Phlur, which she bought, rebranded, and recen...

Nadine Kanso is a pillar of Dubai's creative community. Born in Beirut, the Lebanese designer has called the city home since the year 2000. And over the past quarter century, she has become one of its most distinctive and beloved creative voices. A talented photographer, a recognised fashion muse, and someone with an innate gift for interior design — Kanso is a born artist in the fullest sense of...

Model and poet Farnoush Hamidian has that unquantifiable something, what the French call je ne sais quoi , that only fashion’s most iconic muses possess. All eyes turn towards her when she enters a room, and anyone who has seen her walk a couture catwalk can confirm she dominates the runway with a presence born not just from beauty, but inner strength. Born in Iran, Farnoush’s path to the world’s...

The debonair Alexis Mabille is a renowned French designer known for his innovative work in both fashion and interior design. Born into a big family, he learned early from his mother how to sew clothing, dressing both friends and family in his creations. Later, he would enroll in the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, graduating early because of all the hands-on sartorial experience of his...

There are fashion designers, and then there are couturiers – those rare artists who understand how to sculpt emotion from fabric or create drama from a single silhouette. Stéphane Rolland is one of those exceptional few. From the moment he stepped onto the haute couture stage, Stéphane made it clear that he wasn’t interested in playing it safe. His signature collections are bold, architectural, an...

There’s a certain kind of designer who doesn’t just make clothes – she builds a world. Mariam Yeya, the French-Egyptian force behind the fashion label Mrs. Keepa, does exactly that. Her creations aren’t just garments; they’re declarations of individuality, freedom, and fearless femininity – a colorful and creative visual dialogue that is a sartorial dance between structure and spontaneity. Launche...

There are visionaries who predict the future — and then there are those who quietly build it. Mohammed Aqra belongs to the latter. As the Chief Strategy Officer of the Arab Fashion Council, he has become one of the most influential figures shaping the evolution of fashion across the Middle East and beyond. Equal parts strategist, connector, and cultural diplomat, he is redefining what it means to...

In this episode Nicolas Santi-Weil, the CEO of AMI Paris, discusses what it takes to build a global multimillion dollar independent fashion brand today, how Asia helped shape AMI’s future, and why his carpe diem approach to business has proven so successful… Nicolas Santi-Weil is not your typical fashion CEO. Equal parts strategist and storyteller, he’s the architect – alongside founding designer...

In the latest episode of the Fashion Your Seatbelt podcast, up and coming fashion designer Burc Akyol shares his unfiltered views on the fashion industry, his nascent signature brand and what it’s really like to work with Cardi B. There are some designers that feel like lighting in a bottle. Burc is without a doubt one of those. The poetic way he talks about fashion, his clear sense of self awaren...

In this episode, I speak with Charlotte Chesnais, a woman who has spent a decade creating jewelry coveted by cool girls around the world. This year, she is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of her signature brand and her 40th birthday. Major milestones for a woman who seems to take everything in stride and with a broad smile. In a landscape where jewelry often shouts for attention, designer Char...

Designer Dima Ayad is rewriting the conversation around Arab fashion, inclusivity, and the power of creative resilience. Born in Lebanon but raised in Dubai, she grew up within the rhythms of the city’s hospitality and luxury spaces. Her early career unfolded in PR and marketing roles at Jumeirah, Raffles, and Atlantis. Places where she learned not only about always going the extra mile and delive...

In this episode, I sit down with Laure Guilbault, the Paris Correspondent for Vogue Business. Laure is a diehard fashion journalist. She worked at WWD for five years, became Business of Fashion’s first Paris correspondent, and is now the Paris Correspondent for Vogue Business. She doesn’t just report on fashion – she dissects it. From the C-suites of luxury maisons to the atelier floors of emergin...

In this episode, I sit down with Lucien Pagès, one of the fashion world’s most accomplished storytellers and the founder of the eponymous Lucien Pagès Communication, a prominent public relations agency in the luxury fashion and beauty industries. Cards on the table…I have known Lucien Pagès for decades. I have watched with joy as his unique mix of charm, creativity, and candor has manifested itsel...

In just seven short years, Charaf Tajer, the founder and creative director of the brand Casablanca, has proven that the fashion world has room for a multitude of sartorial expressions. His unique blend of old-money style, colorful prints, sporty inspirations and architectural touches has managed to recalibrate the language of contemporary fashion. With roots in Paris and Morocco, Charaf’s path to...

Guillaume Delacroix is a luxury brand whisperer. His entire career, from his early days working at Karla Otto and KCD to his time at Giorgio Armani and Balenciaga, to his current role as the founder and CEO of DLX, he has been helping leading prestige companies craft their narratives in ways that spark conversations, engage the public and create lasting impressions. Guillaume launched DLX nine yea...

I don’t think I have ever been as nervous about interviewing someone in my entire career as I was when my former boss and colleague Suzy Menkes agreed to speak with me for this podcast. I worked side by side with Suzy for 16 years at the International Herald Tribune, which is now known as the International New York Times. Over that period she mentored me, encouraged me and guided me. Shaping my ca...

From the moment Alexandra Van Houtte first told me about her newly launched platform in 2016, describing it as Google for fashion, I knew she was onto something. Since then TagWalk, the website she founded and is the CEO of, has grown by leaps and bounds and has become a linchpin platform for anyone working in the fashion industry. It is the first runway image keyword search engine in existence. I...

Talk about an inspirational story. Paula Wallace, the president and founder of the Savannah College of Art and Design, better known as SCAD had a singular vision back in September of 1978, To create a world-class art and design college that would prepare students for a global workforce. Under her leadership, SCAD has grown from a small art school with 150 students to a global university that spans...

Fashion entrepreneur Anine Bing is a very savvy business woman who knows how to seize her moment. An early adapter to the social media space, Anine, who is a former model and blogger, was one of the first to translate her online following into a successful fashion brand business. She launched her signature line back in 2012 out of the garage in her home in California. Her collection of chic staple...

Kaat Debo is the Director and Chief Curator of Antwerp’s famed ModeMuseum fashion museum, better known as the MoMu; a museum that has spent the last three years under renovation. But now, after years of waiting, Kaat is able to reintroduce the world to her second home. A museum with over 35,000 pieces of Belgian fashion in its archives and a unique history that celebrates sartorial storytellers wh...

I’ll never forget the first time I discovered the work of Mary Katrantzou. It was in London in 2008 I believe, and I just happened to wander into a room where a rack of her now-famous perfume bottle printed dresses was on display. On hand was her mother who was proudly showing off the stunning creations her daughter had dreamt up. And Mary’s mom had every right to be proud. Her work was unlike any...

Designer Spencer Phipps is a born risk-taker. There isn’t a limb on his body that doesn’t have a scar from one escapade or another - that he jumped into with both feet before asking questions. The man is even missing a significant portion of one of his pinkie fingers from one memorable misadventure. And when it comes to taking risks, Spencer also has no problem doing that in business. It was, afte...

You get the sense, when you speak to designer Joseph Altuzarra, that he is that perfect combination of creativity and commerce. That as a French American, he has an innate sense of style coursing through his veins. While his American roots give him savvy business sense and a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” attitude. From a young age, Joseph - who was raised by his French Basque father and Ch...