Yana’s 2025 Podcast Rotation
A lot of people know me as that one friend who lives 30+ minutes out of the city centre. The lengthy commute to see my friends every time we go to a restaurant in Ponsonby or a bar on Karangahape Road is the biggest waste of my time, so last year I turned to podcasts in the hope of making better use of this time. I’ve tried listening to dozens over the past year, most of which were about fashion, lifestyle, art, design and culture.
If you too are getting sick of your playlist, below you will find all my favourite podcasts from last year that I continue to listen to today.
Nymphet Alumni
This was recommended to me by my friend Tom (an interview with whom you can read here) and according to Spotify Wrapped, it was my most listened-to podcast of 2024. In a nutshell, it’s a weekly podcast about culture and fashion. In my opinion, it’s a collection of delicious hour-long episodes where the three hosts, Alexi, Biz and Sam, discuss online culture, trends and current fashion-related events in a way that satiates my curiosity like nothing else. I could listen to them for hours. The hosts combine chronically online trends with fashion, music and film seamlessly in one discussion. My favourite episodes are those where Alexi, Biz and Sam dissect different aesthetics like the shoe diva, the loner girl, or the white boy who makes silly dance videos on TikTok. I will admit, the discourse is always very ‘gen-z’. My mum would probably need to refer to Urban Dictionary to understand what they are talking about. To give you an idea, some of the recent episode titles include ‘Pastel Protestant Grandmother’ and ‘Welcome to Mogwarts’. On the bright side, every episode is accompanied by a Pinterest board to help us, visual learners, understand the topic.
Favourite episode: No. 76 Get Silly
Brendawareness
The girl who only wears black and white. The blonde who’s friends with Rick Owens. Brendahashtag. If your screen time is over 4 hours a day, chances are you’ve heard of her. Brenda Weischer is many things. She is an influencer, the fashion editor of a Berlin-based publication, 032C, a brand consultant and, as of April 2024, a podcast host. Brenda records her episodes wherever she happens to feel the need to speak her mind, sometimes in her apartment but at other times in a park while she’s taking her dog on a walk. Sometimes she talks for 40 minutes, sometimes for only 15. Once the episode is recorded, she doesn’t listen back to what’s been said but sends the file to her assistant to be uploaded online completely unedited. The lack of production and her nonchalant approach to this creative outlet is what makes this podcast one of my favourites. There is no paywall and there are no ads. It feels like a voice note from a long-distance friend who happens to be reeeeeally into fashion. The topics vary quite a bit, so it’s not easy to summarise the content in a couple of sentences. What I will say is that if you are at all interested in the politics of ‘fashion with a capital F’, give brendawareness a go.
Favourite episode: 007 antisocial media or 008 always be closing
What’s Contemporary Now?
Tens across the board. In each episode, the host, Christopher Michael, is in conversation with an influential creative or thinker who is shaping the world in one way or another. His questions are always interesting and well-phrased, while the answers are always thought-provoking and inspirational. His recent guests include the editor in chief of W Magazine, Sara Moonves; the set designer of Poor Things, Shona Heath; and the ex-creative director of SSENSE, Thom Bettridge, just to name a few. Each episode is around 30 minutes and packed full of invaluable information. Although most of the guests are ‘creatives’ (I have a love-hate relationship with that term), the discussions are often broad and at times even existential, so I think it would appeal to even the most creatively challenged listener.
Favourite episode: The Muse and the Dream: Dara’s Story
The Business of Fashion Podcast
This one is extremely popular and deserves all the hype. The BOF podcast is concerned with the analytical. Hearing about who’s making money in the $2.5 trillion global fashion and beauty industries while many independent labels and iconic fashion retail spots around me are closing their doors is both interesting and frustrating. However, the podcast is much more than numbers. In most of the episodes, the founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of BOF, Imran Amed, is in conversation with an influential industry professional. Unlike most fashion podcasts, the discussion isn’t all creativity and magic, but it’s also not strictly analysis and insights. The conversation demystifies the ins and outs of the fashion and beauty industries without boring the listener. Lately, there have been more episodes titled ‘The Debrief’ hosted by Brian Baskin and Sheena Butler-Young. In these weekly episodes, they go deep inside their most popular BOF professional stories (which are normally behind a paywall) with the correspondents who created them. Basically, it’s a 30-minute audio of someone passionately sharing details on a topic they spent weeks, if not months, researching. These topics are often on the intersection of fashion and sustainability, politics, shifting consumer values, technology and globalisation.
Favourite episode: The Future of DEI and ESG in a Hostile Political Environment (SO relevant) or How Fashion Became About Power and Lost Its Ability to Dream with James Scully (this is from 2016, but still very impactful today)
The Cutting Room Floor
Established in 2018 by Recho Omondi, The Cutting Room Floor has been described as “Fashion's Only Fashion Show”. After working in luxury retail, pattern-making and founding her own eponymous fashion label in 2013, Omondi started a podcast as a platform to share the conversations she was having with other industry professionals behind closed doors. During the lockdown the podcast turned into more than just a creative outlet, growing into a viable business. The first few seasons of the podcast are still available on Spotify to give you a taste of what to expect. The rest of the full episodes are available on Patreon. I love her interview style; it’s very direct and, for lack of a better word, powerful. She knows how to hold a room and asks the questions we all want to know the answers to.
Favourite episode: S1 EP2 Matthew Henson: Everybody Wants To Be a Stylist
The New Garde with Alyssa Vingan
This is a podcast about the future and reality of the fashion and beauty industries hosted by ex-editor-in-chief of NYLON and Fashionista.com, Alyssa Vingan. I discovered The New Garde after the previously mentioned Brenahashtag went on it. The episodes are about an hour long, with a new guest sharing their experiences and offering advice to fashion girlies every week. Think of it as a more casual, relaxed mix of ‘What’s Contemporary Now?’ and ‘The Cutting Room Floor’.
Favourite episode: Year in Review 2024 (w/Alexandra Hildreth)
THE FACE Podcast
THE FACE Podcast describe themselves as “your weekly cultural digest, rounding up the stories that you should care about in film, fashion and music.” As THE FACE’s biggest fan I might be biased, but I think this is the best coverage of current pop culture. I find that news podcasts tend to be bland and unexciting, but not this one. Some of the magazine’s editorial team run the podcast and their commentary and analysis are consistently interesting and engaging. Bonus points for pleasant voices and accents.
Favourite episode: Because of the topical nature of the podcast it’s difficult to pick a favourite, but out of the most recent episodes, it’s probably the one titled Ukraine’s Queer Soldiers, Mutant Rage Rap and the Rise of Buzzballs.
Honourable mentions:
Throwing Fits
A moderately-funny podcast on menswear.
Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud
I only just discovered this, but the concept is very cool.
The Run Through with Vogue
It’s all in the name.
Death of an Artist
This one isn’t about fashion. I believe there are only 2 seasons so far, and each one is an audio essay on the life and death of a woman artist. The first season is about Ana Mendieta and the second season is about Lee Krasner. True crime vibes.
Cover image by Nina Leen
