In this week's episode I will be talking to Womenswear Designer Hannah Blurton to discuss whether Fashion Interview Projects are necessary to the interview process or just an excuse for fashion brands to receive free designs. As well as hearing her personal story on the topic...

Hannah is a highly successful Brazilian-American designer based in Los Angeles and has been in the fashion industry for over a decade working for many well known retailers. She sat down with me to tell her story which has negatively impacted the way she feels about the industry. She believes her work was stolen from a large corporate fashion brand after she submitted her designs in 2020 as part of the interview process.

We will not be naming the brand in this episode as the goal of this discussion is not about naming and shaming. It's about bringing taboo topics from within the fashion industry to the surface, to encourage conversations with the hope of bringing change.

This is a subject I personally feel extremely passionate about so I couldn’t wait to hear Hannah’s story and discuss her feelings on the topic…

Useful links:

• Visit Hannah's ⁠Website ⁠ to find out more and get yourself on her waitlist for her upcoming courses!
• Follow and get in touch with Hannah on Linkedin
• Ad: Visit ⁠Fashion and the Free Studio⁠ to find out more on how we can help with your fashion brand
• Visit our website ⁠⁠Fashion and the Free⁠⁠ for all the latest fashion articles, stories and advice
• Read the article 'Endless hours and stolen work, is it time to put an end to fashion interview projects?'
• Remember to hit the like and follow button so you never miss an episode!
• Please kindly consider leaving us a 5 star rating and review, it helps other fashionistas to find us!

British fashion consultant and expert Elizabeth Stiles joins me to reveal the secrets to selling your fashion product- along with some incredibly useful tips for showing up on social media. Elizabeth has worked in the fashion retail industry for over 15 years across buying and selling departments for some of the biggest names and suppliers in the industry. Several years ago, she decided to leave the corporate world to start her own business working with small independent brands, passing on her industry insider knowledge to help them scale with success. With the vast increase of independent fashion brands in the past few years combined with Elizabeth’s friendly and personable approach it’s no wonder she has seen her business grow from strength to strength. Her success story on social media is definitely a lesson we can all learn from. I couldn’t wait to hear all her incredible advice and industry insider secrets!

We did this interview back in April so I am so glad to finally be sharing this with you!

Useful links:

• Visit Elizabeth's Website to find out more and get yourself on her waitlist for her upcoming courses!
• Follow Elizabeth on Instagram
• Ad: Visit Fashion and the Free Studio to find out more on how we can help with your fashion brand
• Visit our website ⁠Fashion and the Free⁠ for all the latest fashion articles, stories and advice
• Remember to hit the like and follow button so you never miss an episode!
• Please kindly consider leaving us a 5 star rating and review, it helps other fashionistas to find us!

If you listened to last weeks episode you’ll be aware that this is Part 2 of the 'How To Become a Successful Freelancer' discussion. In this episode we conclude with Anna Douglas to find out how she walked away from the corporate fashion world to start her own freelance design business and how she is teaching others to do the same. Anna owns Aydo fashion studio and provides education and coaching for fashion freelancers and designers. She has been in the fashion industry for almost a decade now and strives to help other freelancers, teaching them the things she wished she had known when she started.

I couldn’t wait to hear her story and find out her top tips on how to become a successful freelancer in fashion.

We did this interview back in April so I am so glad to finally be sharing this with you!

Useful links:

• Visit Anna's Website
• Follow Anna on Instagram
• Ad: Visit Fashion and the Free Studio to find out more on how we can help with your fashion brand
• Visit our website ⁠Fashion and the Free⁠ for all the latest fashion articles, stories and advice
• Remember to hit the like and follow button so you never miss an episode!
• Please kindly consider leaving us a 5 star rating and review, it helps other fashionistas to find us!

The Fashion and the Free Podcast returns! After a 3 month break, I'm back with an amazing line up of fashionista guests! In this episode I am going to be talking to two Fashion Freelancers and consultants, Charlotte Jade Johnson and Anna Douglas to find out how to become a successful freelancer. This episode is split into two parts- this week in part one we begin with Charlotte! Charlotte is a sustainable fashion business consultant and creator of fashion founder- a program with monthly coaching and mentoring. She helps entrepreneurs to launch and scale their fashion businesses with sustainability at the heart of their brands. She also has her own podcast and successful social media channels.

During our chat we discussed the positives and challenging side to being a freelancer, as well as top tips for time management, useful tools and how to find new clients. We did this interview back in April so I am so glad to finally be sharing this with you!

Useful links:

• Visit Charlotte's Website
• Follow Charlotte on Instagram
• Ad: Visit Fashion and the Free Studio to find out more on how we can help with your fashion brand
• Visit our website ⁠Fashion and the Free⁠ for all the latest fashion articles, stories and advice
• Remember to hit the like and follow button so you never miss an episode!
• Please kindly consider leaving us a 5 star rating and review, it helps other fashionistas to find us!

In this episode I am joined by Ashleyn Przedwiecki and Madison PM Cline from Fashion Revolution US to discuss how we can all be a positive force for change in fashion and to find out more about their upcoming annual event, Fashion Revolution Week.

Fashion Revolution is a non profit organization which strives for an equitable and just fashion system that benefits people and the planet. They have grown to become the world’s largest fashion activism movement and are approaching their 10 year anniversary.

With their annual Fashion Revolution Week fast approaching, what better time to chat to the team about their incredible work and how you can participate and make positive change…

Useful Links:

• Visit the Fashion Revolution Website
• Learn more about how you can take part in Fashion Revolution Week
• Check out their US Instagram page
• Check out their main Instagram page

• Ad: Visit Fashion and the Free Studio to find out more on how we can help with your fashion brand
• Visit our website ⁠Fashion and the Free⁠ for all the latest fashion articles, stories and advice

• Remember to hit the like and follow button so you never miss an episode!
• Please kindly consider leaving us a 5 star rating and review, it helps other fashionistas to find us!

In this episode I am joined by Sarah Ilston, Branded Content Editor for Hearst UK, to find out how to get a job at a fashion magazine...

Sarah has an incredible background in fashion. She actually began her career as a fashion designer for some of the biggest retailers in the UK, but later switched roles entirely to pursue her love of writing as well as her interest in working for fashion magazines. Fast forward to today and Sarah is now the Branded Content Editor for Hearst UK, one of the largest media companies in the world.

Find out more about her journey into fashion magazines and get some top tips on landing a role in the industry.

Useful Links:

• Visit our website Fashion and the Free for all the latest fashion articles, stories and advice
• Read some of Sarah's articles via the links below:

Harpers Bazaar

Red Magazine Online

Womens Health

Prima

Red Magazine

• Remember to hit the like and follow button so you never miss an episode!
• Please kindly consider leaving us a 5 star rating and review, it helps other fashionistas to find us!

With an overwhelming amount of confusing terminology out there it's hard to know what really makes a fashion brand truly sustainable... In this episode I am going to be taking a deep dive into the world of sustainable fashion with CEO and Co-founder of 1 Atelier Stephanie Sarka. Join us as we find out what it takes to make a brand sustainable- from on demand production to transparency and regenerative agriculture. We also clarify what many of these terms actually mean!

Stephanie has an extremely impressive background and extensive knowledge when it comes to this topic, not only is she a pioneer in this space, she is a seasoned entrepreneur and worked for the likes of Coach in the 90's. Her independent brand 1 Atelier is a unique luxury made to order business model. It offers clients a unique opportunity to create one-of-a-kind luxury accessories through their digital design platform. At the same time, they are revolutionizing the industry with a smarter, more sustainable and socially responsible approach - bringing in raw materials only as they need them, handcrafting each piece to order, dramatically reducing waste and their environmental impact.

Useful Links:

• Check out the website 1Atelier
• Follow 1 Atelier on IG
• Learn more about the Farm to Arm collection
• Visit our website Fashion and the Free & keep your eyes peeled for our key takeaways article from this episode
• Remember to hit the like and follow button so you never miss an episode!
• Please kindly consider leaving us a 5 star rating and review

If you're interested in a career in fashion there are many roles you can choose from. In this bite-sized solo episode, I highlight 6 important jobs in fashion necessary to create a fashion collection and the skills each one requires.

Useful Links:

• Visit our website Fashion and the Free for all the latest fashion articles, stories and advice
• Remember to hit the like and follow button so you never miss an episode!
• Please kindly consider leaving us a 5 star rating and review, it helps other fashionistas to find us!