Wardrobe Icons 'ICONversations'

Photographer Julie Adams and Laura first met 15 years ago, on the set of a shoot in London. They have been close friends ever since and shared many life experiences, including career ups and downs, marriage and motherhood – the friends both have two girls.When Julie’s young daughters started to talk about body image, she knew she wanted to do something that would help them feel confident and happy in their skin. Her idea? A project celebrating all women, in every shape and from all walks of life, in their raw, beautiful state.In this bonus episode, recorded remotely during lockdown, Laura speaks to Julie in her hometown of Sydney about the result of that initial idea – This Is Me, the book she created with friend and journalist Georgie Abay that showcases unretouched portraits of real women in their swimwear, alongside moving stories of their journeys to body acceptance. Their candid conversation is an essential reminder that beauty lies in our individuality. Produced by Pineapple Audio Production.

In this podcast, Laura chats with good friend, writer and Wardrobe ICONS Editor-at-Large, Deborah Brett.In last year’s Mother’s Day issue of The ICONS Update, we asked some of our friends to share the advice they give their children, and Deborah said: “Strive for excellence in everything you do, but not perfection. The first is a goal, the second is a straitjacket.” It’s this one piece of advice that has inspired the subject of this podcast: perfection. For someone who appears so perfect, this might seem a little strange, however Deborah is no stranger to less-than-perfect situations. After experiencing a career crisis, the breakdown of her marriage and the loss of her mother, Deborah has eschewed perfection, and instead mastered the art of focusing on, and sharing, the good aspects of her life. We hope you enjoy!

Our first episode of season two is here and we can’t think of a betterperson to give us a January boost than the contagiously positive andpassionate Editor-in-Chief of InStyle magazine, LauraBrown. 'Sisterhood' is the word we picked for Laura, and she is atestament to that. A ceaseless champion of women, her inclusive and supportive message radiates outof everything she does, from the pages of InStyle to her presence onsocial media. Our conversation, which took place in her downtown New York offices,is full of her inspiring sentiments – and a lot of laughs. We hope youenjoy!

Laura fell head over heels with event planner Fiona Leahy’s tablescapes on the tiles… and then the woman behind them. Fiona is a master at designing celebrations that transport you to another world. And as someone who often has to create these magical moments under different sorts of pressure—but always with so much passion and unbridled imagination—we were intrigued to discuss CREATIVITY. Where does it come from? Can you learn to be creative or is it ingrained? And does stress help or hinder our creativity? As you’ll hear, Laura and Fiona don’t agree on every point—but we’re agreed on one thing. Always RSVP yes to a Fiona Leahy event!

As avid listeners of the GOOP podcast, where chief content officer Elise Loehnen interviews leading thought-makers on every wellness topic imaginable, we were thrilled to get some time with her for an ICONversation when she recently visited London. Not only is she GP’s right-hand woman, but her CURIOSITY is the reason GOOP has become the place to go for advice on everything from work-life-balance to tuning into your psychic abilities. We took a deep-dive into her childhood, friendships, work-life and more, to get to the bottom of what makes her CURIOSITY tick.

Wardrobe ICONS co-founders Laura Fantacci and Petro Stofberg are usually the ones asking all the questions. This week, however, they are the focus of our ICONversation about The Juggle. Who better to discuss the balancing act required to build a business with your best friend, while busy family and social lives jostle for place in the pecking order too. They handed control (of the mic) over to their colleague Brooke Le Poer Trench—their honest and insightful answers are an essential listen for any woman wearing many hats and juggling many balls. You are not alone!

For two decades, Caroline Issa, has been sharing thought-provoking fashion content and stories, inspiring us with her street style and designing capsule collections with well-respected brands. Our word for Caroline is INFLUENCE, because she wields hers with discretion, generosity and honesty. In this ICONversations with Laura Fantacci and her colleague Brooke Le Poer Trench, Caroline shares the ways in which her childhood has influenced who she is today, the way her teenage modeling impacts her management style everyday, the female mentors who have guided her, and the way she leveraged the influencer culture, making it a positive force in her career and using it to blaze a path for non-traditional designers in the fashion industry.