Back Row with Amy Odell

*SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row newsletter for more coverage like this: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe. Go Premium and save three months on an annual subscription.* Trend forecaster Sean Monahan coined the "vibe shift" five years ago to describe the unease millennials felt coming out of the pandemic. Of all the terms Monahan has coined — from "normcore" to the "boom boom aesthetic" — the vibe shift may have been the stickiest. He and Amy revisited his predictions from five years ago and discuss what he got right and wrong. Monahan offers predictions on whether smart glasses will take; where rage bait is heading; the future of "flexing"; where the Met Gala goes from here; and what luxury fashion has to do to recover. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 03:00 The boom boom aesthetic and the '80s that weren't 06:00 Why crypto killed streetwear 08:30 Normcore, and the anxiety behind it 19:00 Did tackiness give way to taste? 24:00 Smart glasses, glassholes and surveillance 38:00 Rage bait and the clipping economy 47:30 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' and Jeff Bezos 1:04:30 How does luxury fashion recover? 📩SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row Newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe Back Row on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@amy_odell 📷 Follow Back Row on Instagram: @backrow 📷 Follow Amy on Instagram: @instamyodell Follow Sean Monahan 📷 Follow Sean on Instagram: @8ghtb4ll 📩 Read 8Ball: https://www.8ball.report/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amy Chozick has spent her career writing about polarizing women — she covered Hillary Clinton for The New York Times, profiled Elizabeth Holmes right before prison, followed Stormy Daniels for Vogue, and wrote the widely dissected profile of Lauren Sánchez Bezos. Her new novel, With Friends Like You (https://amzn.to/4yjRlvI), follows Emily, a broke new mom in Manhattan, who goes looking for the college friend who vanished — and finds her working as a high-end escort to billionaires. To write the book, she researched the world of the ultra-rich obsessively. She also reveals what surprised her about Lauren Sánchez Bezos, discusses the detail everyone rehashed from that profile, and more. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 02:00 A new mother, a missing friend, and a billionaire's escort 4:00 Billionaires' Row and the empty towers 13:00 Covering Hillary Clinton, and what power does to people 17:00 Profiling Lauren Sánchez Bezos 23:00 "They stopped apologizing" — the new rich 30:00 Hillary's suits, Lauren's taped-up Vogue pages 41:00 Is fashion getting tackier? Subscribe to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe Buy With Friends Like You: A Novel: https://amzn.to/4yjRlvI Follow Back Row: @backrow Follow Amy: @instamyodell Follow Amy Chozick: @amychozick Edited by Chrissi Harris. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a teaser of a paywalled episode. To listen in full, become a paid subscriber of Back Row at: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe. Or sign up in Apple Podcasts or Spotify. In a stunning move, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has cancelled "John Galliano: Horizons," the Costume Institute retrospective planned for May 2027. Galliano's biographer and fashion journalist Dana Thomas joined Amy hours after the Met made the announcement. They discuss what this means for fashion, for John Galliano, and for the Met Gala's planner and previously all-powerful architect, Anna Wintour. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Why Dana wasn't surprised 01:30 When you lose the politicians and the donors 03:00 "Not an aberration" — Dana's New York Times op-ed 05:00 The incidents that never got reported 06:00 The 2019 spa incident 07:30 What the comment sections revealed 11:30 Philippe Virgitti, still waiting for an apology Subscribe to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe Buy Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano: https://amzn.to/4cSeZHw Edited by Chrissi Harris. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row newsletter for more coverage like this: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe. Go Premium and save three months on an annual subscription and get access to 'The September Issue' Rewatch Bonus episode!* The September Issue is R.J. Cutler's 2009 documentary about the biggest issue of Vogue ever made up to that point — 843 pages, 13 million copies sold. Amy is joined by Kate Casey, host of Reality Life with Kate Casey and a documentary and reality TV expert, to rewatch it seventeen years later. They get into what Anna Wintour really thought of the film, why she and her Vogue team hated Sienna Miller's hair so much, how it all aged, and much more. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 02:00 13 million copies sold — and what's left now 06:00 How Anna and Grace actually met 17:30 The retailers' breakfast, when Vogue set the trends 25:00 "Your girls always look the same" - Anna at her harshest 41:00 Anna at home, and the kids who didn't follow her 48:00 The Sienna Miller cover disaster 1:07:00 843 pages, and the era that ended 📺 SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row Newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe 📷 Follow Back Row on Instagram: @backrow 📷 Follow Amy on Instagram: @instamyodell Follow Kate Casey 🎙️ Reality Life with Kate Casey: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reality-life-with-kate-casey/id1154758766 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7iZzKUbEWAsWVkFRebb9Gu 📷 Follow Kate on Instagram: @katecaseyca This episode was edited by Chrissi Harris. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back Row is on vacation this week, so we're revisiting one of the most popular episodes of the year: a two-parter on Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, in honor of The Row's 20th anniversary. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were on television before they could talk and millionaires before they could read. Former Us Weekly editor-in-chief Dan Wakeford, author of the new ⁠Celebrity Intelligence newsletter⁠, joins Back Row to break down the Full House casting story, the Dual Star empire, the billion-dollar licensing machine, and the NYU years that changed everything. Part Two — revealing the secrets behind The Row — is available to Premium subscribers. Sign up at ⁠Back Row⁠ (https://www.backrow.net/subscribe) to get newsletter access included with your subscription, or in Apple Podcasts or Spotify. ⁠Find Part Two in Apple Podcasts here⁠ ⁠Find Part Two in Spotify here⁠ Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:40 Dan Wakeford and Celebrity Intelligence 02:47 Why the Olsens are a unique case study 07:50 The Full House casting story 10:07 The reality of child stardom 16:22 How their personalities diverged early 19:49 From pennies to $80,000 an episode 26:27 The home video empire begins 33:28 The billion dollar licensing machine 48:00 Turning 18 and taking control 53:41 NYU and the paparazzi years 57:47 How everything changed Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row newsletter for more coverage like this: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe. Go Premium and save three months on an annual subscription. Is everything on social media — even lifestyle content — just rage bait now? New York Magazine features writer Rebecca Jennings joins Amy to unpack her hit Vulture piece on the "influencer recession," when aspirational content no longer works and creators have to come up with "brand-safe rage bait." What does this mean both for the content landscape but also, for rage itself? CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 02:00 What is the "influencer recession"? 02:45 The clipping economy & fake virality 05:15 Audrey Peters & the $25 DoorDash coffee 10:30 Why the Alo yacht flopped 14:35 Why Birkins are embarrassing now 19:30 The OpenAI influencer farm trip 24:00 Brands manufacturing their own rage bait 30:00 How Substack changed the game 34:30 Is rage bait losing its power? Read Rebecca's story: The Influencer Recession — https://www.vulture.com/article/influencer-recession-audrey-peters-interview.html Edited by Chrissi Harris. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row newsletter for more coverage like this: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe. Go Premium and save three months on an annual subscription.* Is fashion in the throes of a total creative collapse? Critic Eugene Rabkin — founder of StyleZeitgeist and author of the new book Torn: Fashion and Postmodernism — joins Amy to make the case. He argues luxury has "devolved into a consumerist spectacle," its lack of ideas papered over by relentless marketing. They get into the greedflation behind a $140,000 Dior dress, why "craftsmanship" is the industry's greatest con, the Italian sweatshop scandals that never seem to stick, how Bernard Arnault turned the fashion world into the fashion industry — and the death of criticism, and why nobody seems to care. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 02:30 Fashion's creative collapse: the thesis 08:30 Greedflation & the $140,000 Dior dress 13:00 The craftsmanship con 15:00 Sweatshop scandals: Dior & Loro Piana's vicuña 23:30 The death of fashion criticism 32:00 Bernard Arnault & how he industrialized fashion 📺 SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row Newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe 📷 Follow Back Row on Instagram: @backrow 📷 Follow Amy on Instagram: @instamyodell Follow Eugene Rabkin 📷 Follow Eugene on Instagram: @eugenerabkin 📚 Buy the book: Torn: Fashion and Postmodernism This episode was edited by Chrissi Harris. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Galliano is the subject of the Costume Institute's 2027 exhibition and will be celebrated with his very own Met Gala. Galliano's biographer Dana Thomas — author of Gods and Kings, a dual biography about Galliano and Alexander McQueen — joins the show to talk about what this means. Amy and Dana recap Galliano's fall from grace and image rehabilitation — thanks to Anna Wintour. This is a free preview. Hear the full conversation — a detailed recap of the controversy, the apology Galliano never made, and Amy's take on whether the Met should honor him — in the full episode in Back Row Premium. Sign up for the newsletter at backrow.net/subscribe to access the newsletter plus all Premium podcasts, or subscribe for audio only in Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Parisian Heist" author Jo Piazza joins Amy to break down the October 2025 Louvre robbery — the suspects, the mysterious "sponsor," and why authorities aren't sure the suspects are telling the truth. Plus: why museum security is so basic, how art gets used to launder money and fund violent crime, the billionaire families who quietly run the art market, and what a $181 million Jackson Pollock says about the state of art and wealth. (00:00) Introduction (02:30) Recap: the Louvre heist, October 19, 2025 (04:30) The Isabella Stewart Gardner heist: $500M, still unsolved (07:30) The arrests and the mysterious "sponsor" named Joe (08:30) How basic museum security really is (13:00) What was stolen: the Napoleonic crown jewels (16:30) The Wildensteins & how art launders money (30:00) The $60 billion shadow art market (31:00) Restoring Empress Eugénie's crown & the French jewelry houses (38:30) The $181M Pollock & Jerry Saltz's takedown of the art market Subscribe to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe Buy The Parisian Heist: https://amzn.to/4yLV6ex Follow Back Row: @backrow · Follow Amy: @instamyodell · Follow Jo: @jopiazzaauthor Edited by Chrissi Harris. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special episode in collaboration with the Power User podcast Amy Odell joins tech journalist Taylor Lorenz to trace the arc of wearable tech — from the abomination that was Google Glass to Snapchat's vending-machine Spectacles and the company's recent $2,000 flop. Also, why Meta's rollout of it's new $299 fashion-first AI glasses, odious as many find them, may end up being a smash hit. Follow Taylor's show Power User on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube, and subscribe to her newsletter, UserMag. Chapters: 00:00 Intro — why everyone's arguing about Meta's glasses 01:36 Turning a camera into a fashion accessory 01:55 Welcome + the "hot surveillance summer" question 02:45 Google Glass and the original abomination 04:16 Snapchat Spectacles, vending machines, and a $130 flop 06:48 GoPro and how sports normalized filming everything 08:55 Ray-Ban Stories (2021) and the "creep" problem 10:57 2025: Oakley Meta and the first AI glasses 11:55 2026: low-profile frames, rhinestones, and AI as the real sell 13:25 The influencer rollout and the decline of fashion media 18:39 Why Kylie Jenner 21:40 How phones already normalized recording everything 24:56 Fashion, plausible deniability, and getting women on board 26:20 Will they actually sell? Meta's copy machine 29:19 The anti-screen crowd may be Meta's best customer 32:14 Beyond glasses: pins, pendants, and camera AirPods 35:29 Who owns the data? Facial recognition and the scary part 37:11 Zuckerberg, Bezos, the Met Gala, and OpenAI's fashion play 39:59 Snap's $2,000 flop and why ugly tech dies 43:03 Wrap-up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

***SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row newsletter for more coverage like this. Go Premium and save three months on an annual subscription.*** Town & Country editor Caroline Hallemann's new book is The Kennedys and the Windsors: The Story of Two Dynasties, One Born, One Made. She joins Amy to discuss the eerie parallels between these two dynasties. Among the surprising stories in Hallemann's book: how Jackie Kennedy fought to keep wearing French designers as First Lady, why JFK Jr. wanted Princess Diana on the cover of George, the real story behind Diana's death and the ongoing conspiracy theories, and how Meghan Markle copied Carolyn Bessette's style. Plus: what Jack Schlossberg's blistering congressional loss means for the Kennedy dynasty. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 03:00 Young Jackie at Miss Porter's and her enduring fashion influence 08:00 What "American Love Story" got wrong about Carolyn Bessette 10:30 JFK Jr. launches George magazine 14:00 Why John wanted Diana on the cover 20:00 Diana's death: what actually happened 32:00 The conspiracy theories that still swirl around Diana's death 39:00 Why Meghan Markle keeps copying Carolyn Bessette's style 53:00 Is Jack Schlossberg the next JFK Jr.? Subscribe to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe Follow Caroline Hallemann: https://www.instagram.com/challemann/ Buy the book: https://amzn.to/4fVX8Bq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a teaser of a paywalled podcast. Get the full episode by subscribing to the Back Row newsletter. For podcast content only, go Premium on Apple or Spotify. Joy Cioci has been in fashion for 23 years — first with her own ready-to-wear and bridal brand, and for the past six years, as a private stylist to some of the wealthiest families in the country. She joins Amy to talk about what that job is actually like: how she pulls $80-90K worth of merchandise on loan for a single client, why some of her clients refuse to play the Hermès "game," and why women spending $1.5 million a year on clothes have no idea what just dropped at Chanel. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 4:00 Who Joy's clients actually are 9:30 How pulling merchandise on loan from stores works 11:00 Inside an $80-90K shopping trip 18:00 What ultra-wealthy people actually want from their wardrobe 21:00 Finding rare pieces no one else has Follow Joy Cioci 📸 Follow Joy on Instagram: @joycioci 🛍️ Shop Joy Cioci: https://joycioci.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lawyer and The Fashion Law founder Julie Zerbo makes her Back Row pod debut to discuss the latest Phia scandal. The startup, founded by Bill Gates's daughter Phoebe Gates and her Stanford roommate Sophia Kianni, was just found to be taking credit for affiliate sales it did not drive. People are calling it "fraud" but is it, really? Can the Gates name and a slew of celeb founders help them sail through this unscathed? Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:32 Phia's origin story and Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kiani's Stanford beginnings 09:16 The first scandal: Fortune's report on Phia's data collection 16:17 The second scandal: Bloomberg's cookie-stuffing investigation 19:18 Explaining cookie stuffing — and the Honey/PayPal lawsuits 27:23 Did Phia's investors do proper due diligence? 36:22 Could this be fraud? The legal answer 43:15 Does Phia's celebrity halo make it bulletproof? Subscribe to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe Follow Julie Zerbo and The Fashion Law: https://www.thefashionlaw.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Veteran fashion journalist Dana Thomas returns for Fall 2026 couture awards! We talk about the hat wars at Dior, the wildest shoes, and the Chanel chicken bag that seems like it can't carry more than a pill or two. This is a teaser of a paid episode. Subscribe at Back Row (save three months on an annual subscription) to access paywalled podcasts AND all newsletter stories. For podcast access only, sign up in Apple Podcasts or Spotify. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 03:18 What "couture" actually means 08:08 Award: Most Viral Front Row Celebrity 10:49 Award: Best Front Row Celebrity 13:37 Award: Best Couture Handiwork 16:58 Award: Best Shoes 20:18 Award: Best Bags Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe to the Back Row newsletter. Go Premium and save three months on an annual subscription to access paywalled podcasts and all newsletter stories. Taylor Swift married Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden — and nobody's seen the photos yet. Will Vogue get them? Will anyone? Amy Odell is joined by veteran celebrity journalist Justin Ravitz (former Executive Editor at Us Weekly and Rolling Stone) to count down 13 burning questions about the wedding of the year — 13, of course, because it's Taylor's lucky number. From the Dior couture ceremony looks to the guest list chaos (Zadie Smith? Wayne Gretzky? No Kardashians?) to whether this whole thing might end up as a theatrical release, Amy and Justin go through it all. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 02:50 #13 – What did she get talked out of? 06:23 #12 – What did Travis Kelce wear? 10:52 #11 – How close were they with their guests, really? 22:08 #10 – What was in the guests' NDAs? 25:33 #9 – Who leaked the wedding photos? 28:19 #8 – Were there religious elements? Was Adam Sandler ordained? 30:45 #7 – Did anyone try to slip them a gift? 37:27 #6 – Were there brand or corporate sponsors? 38:59 #5 – What were her cats doing? 40:54 #4 – Whose idea was the TT logo? 42:22 #3 – What celebrities were invited and said no? 44:57 #2 – Who was deliberately not invited? 51:59 #1 – Will the wedding be a theatrical release? 58:47 Final thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a teaser of a paid episode. To access the full episode, subscribe to Back Row at BackRow.net and get newsletter access included with your subscription. Or sign up in Apple Podcasts or Spotify. RoseMarie Terenzio and Liz McNeil — authors of ⁠JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography⁠ — return to the Back Row podcast in honor of Love Story's likely Emmy nominations. Terenzio assisted JFK Jr. at George magazine, and McNeil has covered him at People since the 90s, so they know what the show creators don't. We cover what we didn't get to last time: Daryl Hannah's bombshell New York Times op-ed, what the show got right and wrong about Carolyn Bessette's distress over the paparazzi, the plane crash, and whether Jack Schlossberg is the next JFK Jr. Chapters: 00:00 — Intro 04:00 — The actor who played JFK Jr. called RoseMarie 08:30 — Daryl Hannah's bombshell NYT op-ed 14:30 — The wedding: how reporters found out 23:30 — Was Carolyn really depressed and homebound? 28:00 — The plane crash: what actually happened Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

***SUPPORT THIS INDEPENDENT SHOW by subscribing to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe Go Premium and save three months on an annual subscription to access paywalled podcasts and all newsletter stories.*** Get 15 percent off Edie Parker with the code AMY15: https://edie-parker.com/ Brett Heyman launched Edie Parker as a luxury handbag business. Her acrylic clutches became a hit with Met Gala-going celebrities. Despite her success with accessories, she decided to pivot to a uniquely challenging industry: legal cannabis. She talks about what she learned working in Gucci PR during the Tom Ford era, why she entered the cannabis business, and the stigma she's still fighting. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 01:30 From Gucci PR to Founding Edie Parker 07:30 The Kate Hudson Met Gala Bag That Started It All 11:00 Why She Pivoted to Cannabis 13:00 Why You Have to Be Vertically Integrated in Every State 15:00 The Stripes That Are "Too Appealing to Children" 20:30 What Trump's Rescheduling Order Actually Changes 28:00 Celebrity Campaigns: Pat Cleveland, Gabby Windey, and More 35:30 Why No Institutional Investor Will Touch Cannabis 39:30 Did the Cannabis Pivot Scare Off Handbag Customers? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

***This is a TEASER of a paywalled episode. Sign up for a Premium subscription at Back Row (https://www.backrow.net/subscribe) for access to the Back Row newsletter and all paywalled podcasts. (Audio only subs available in Apple and Spotify.)*** As the founding editor of beauty magazine Allure, Linda Wells has seen it all, from the dawn of La Mer to the current age of plastic surgery overload. Now the editor of AirMail Look, she's been covering the craziest procedures, from rib-cracking and reshaping to $500k facelifts. She discusses how plastic surgery has gone completely off the rails — and where this wild trend is going. CHAPTERS: 01:15 – Beauty Trends of the 1980s 03:45 – The Wildest Trends in 2026 08:15 – The Growing Visibility of Plastic Surgery 15:05 – Why Surgeons Are Hunting for New Procedures 17:30 – The Sport of Celebrity Speculation 20:25 – Facelift Prices Are Up 400% 23:45 – The Risks of an International Operation 26:50 – Subscribe to Listen to the Full Episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It started with turkey meatballs and ended with an endorsement deal that led the internet to call her "Gwynicide." Gwyneth Paltrow has had quite a slew of viral moments this month. I sat down with branding expert and sociologist Ana Andjelic — CMO, author of the Sociology of Business newsletter, and host of the Hitmakers podcast — to talk about what this means (if anything) for Brand Gwyneth. CHAPTERS: 00:00 – Introduction 01:00 – The Turkey Meatballs and the Arugula Meme 05:30 – Inside the Jade Egg Era of Goop 09:30 – The Trae Stephens Interview and the AI Weapons Controversy 18:00 – The 51 Park Israeli Real Estate Ad and the Backlash 21:00 – The Three Pillars of the Gwyneth Brand 24:30 – Is Goop Still Relevant? 26:00 – Why Goop Kitchen Is Struggling in New York 31:00 – Is Gwyneth an Asset or a Liability Now? 34:00 – Can Kinship Ventures Actually Succeed? 📰 SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row Newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe Amy's Gwyneth book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Gwyneth/Amy-Odell/9781668005774 Follow Ana Andjelic: 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ana_andjelic/ ↳ Sociology of Business: https://andjelicaaa.substack.com/ 🎙️ Hitmakers podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3pmW3iyjF9pl65QgVcabPK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

***SUPPORT THIS INDEPENDENT SHOW by subscribing to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribeGo Premium and save three months on an annual subscription to access paywalled podcasts and all newsletter stories.*** Frances Solá-Santiago is a reporter for The New York Times's Wirecutter product review site, where her whole job is to test clothing and interview experts about how to find the best stuff for the best value. She's done extensive research into which chemicals sneak into our clothes — and what we, as consumers, need to know about them. In this episode, she reveals how we can shop consciously, some of her favorite picks for bags and clothes, and much more. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 01:30 How Wirecutter Actually Tests Clothes 06:00 Does Higher Price Mean Better Quality? 09:00 Vintage vs. New Coach Bags — What the Lab Found 10:00 Why Everyone Is Suddenly Worried About Their Clothes 12:00 PFAS Explained — What Forever Chemicals Are 16:00 Who's Most at Risk — You, Garment Workers, or the Planet? 21:30 Which Certifications Can You Actually Trust? 25:30 Health Washing Is the New Greenwashing 35:00 The Frankie Shop Blazer Test 39:30 Why Going 100% Natural Isn't a Guarantee 41:00 Where Regulation Is Headed 49:30 Is Dry Cleaning Safe? Follow Frances Solá-Santiago 📰 The Wirecutter (NYT) - https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/authors/frances-sola-santiago/ 📸 Follow Frances on Instagram: @fransolasantiago Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

***SUPPORT THIS INDEPENDENT SHOW by subscribing to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe Go Premium and save three months on an annual subscription to access paywalled podcasts and all newsletter stories.*** Celebrity stylist Micaela Erlanger joined me on the Back Row podcast to talk about dressing Meryl Streep for The Devil Wears Prada 2 press tour. Just as that winds down, she's getting ready to dress Lupital N'yongo for The Odyssey press tour. How does she do it? What goes into these viral press tours? A whole lot more than picking out pretty dresses. CHAPTERS: 01:02 – The Craziest Moments from The Devil Wears Prada 2 Press Tour 05:10 – Her Strategy for Styling Meryl Streep 11:05 – Dressing the Actor vs. the Character 12:50 – Meryl’s J. Crew Cerulean Sweater 19:20 – Micaela’s “Meta Dressing Approach” 24:20 – Collaborating with Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt 26:55 – Getting Brands to Open the Archives 34:35 – Fashion Emergencies on the DWP2 Tour 35:50 – Styling Lupita Nyong'o for The Odyssey 40:20 – Crafting a Moodboard 44:50 – Micaela’s Advice to Aspiring Stylists Follow Micaela Erlanger : Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/micaela/?hl=en Website: https://micaelaerlanger.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sustainable fashion darling Everlane just sold to Shein, the industry's least sustainable company. What does this shocking deal say about both companies, along with the state of "sustainable" fashion? I spoke with Ken Pucker, former Timberland COO and professor at Tufts University, one of my favorite experts on this topic. He explains why Everlane was never all that "sustainable," why Shein would want this, and why it's hard to be optimistic about the future of fashion. CHAPTERS: 01:05 – Breaking Down the Shein Everlane Acquisition 04:30 – Shein’s Innovative Instant Fashion Model 07:20 – How Everlane Ended Up in Bed with L Catterton 12:00 – Ken’s Take on the Future of “Sustainable” Fashion 16:00 – The Greenwashing Problem 18:45 – Everlane’s Radical Transparency Promise 22:15 – The Status of the New York Fashion Act 27:35 – Why Does Shein Even Want Everlane? 30:00 – Which Brands Could Be Next? 34:00 – Ken’s Advice for Sustainable Consumers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I sat down with Mary Gonsalves Kinney, founder of MGK Style and personal stylist to tech billionaires, politicians, and athletes, to go inside the world of how the ultra-wealthy really shop. Mary reveals what billionaires' closets actually look like, how much her clients spend per session, and what the fashion industry's pivot to the 1% means for everyone else. This is part of a paywalled episode. Subscribe to Back Row Premium to access the full episode and all paywalled newsletters at https://www.backrow.net/subscribe. For podcast access only, subscribe in Apple or Spotify. CHAPTERS: 00:00 – Introduction 01:00 – How Mary Styles Billionaires 03:40 – What Billionaires Actually Tell Their Stylist 04:49 – Dressing Women in Tech 08:03 – What's Really Inside a Billionaire's Closet 13:24 – Shopper vs. Stylist: What's the Difference? 14:36 – Sticker Shock: The $4,000 Nylon Sundress 15:31 – Why the Aspirational Customer No Longer Exists 29:15 – How Much Do They Spend Per Year? 32:17 – How Luxury Brands Are Quietly Changing Their Strategy Follow Mary Gonsalves Kinney: https://www.instagram.com/mgkstyle/ https://www.mgkstyle.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I took off for the holiday this week, so I'm unlocking half of a previously paywalled episode in which podcaster and reality television/documentary expert Kate Casey and I rewatch The First Monday in May, the documentary about the planning of the 2015 Met Gala. Featuring Anna Wintour hob-knobbing with canceled celebs, bandying her venti Starbucks around the Met, and more! Sign up for Back Row Premium to hear the full episode at BackRow.net to get newsletter access included with your subscription. Or sign up in Apple Podcasts or Spotify for podcast access only. CHAPTERS: 02:20 – How ‘The First Monday in May’ Got Made 09:20 – The Story Behind the Alexander McQueen Exhibition 12:40 – Anna Wintour is an Outfit Repeater 17:20 – Anna’s Venti Starbucks Cup 27:00 – Could the Met Pull Off ‘China Through the Looking Glass’ Today? 33:50 – Subscribe for the Full Film Recap! Follow Kate Casey: ↳ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katecaseyca/?hl=en ↳ YouTube: @realitylifewithkatecasey ↳ Reality Life with Kate Casey: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reality-life-with-kate-casey/id1154758766 ↳ Substack:https://katecasey.substack.com?utm_source=navbar&utm_medium=web Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were on television before they could talk and millionaires before they could read. Former Us Weekly editor-in-chief Dan Wakeford, author of the new Celebrity Intelligence newsletter, joins Back Row to break down the Full House casting story, the Dual Star empire, the billion-dollar licensing machine, and the NYU years that changed everything. Part Two — revealing the secrets behind The Row — is available to Premium subscribers. Sign up at Back Row to get newsletter access included with your subscription, or in Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Find Part Two in Apple Podcasts here Find Part Two in Spotify here Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:40 Dan Wakeford and Celebrity Intelligence 02:47 Why the Olsens are a unique case study 07:50 The Full House casting story 10:07 The reality of child stardom 16:22 How their personalities diverged early 19:49 From pennies to $80,000 an episode 26:27 The home video empire begins 33:28 The billion dollar licensing machine 48:00 Turning 18 and taking control 53:41 NYU and the paparazzi years 57:47 How everything changed Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row newsletter and go Premium to access all paywalled podcast episodes and newsletters: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe Kim Kardashian spent 10 years being the most reviled woman at the Met Gala. Then she became the blueprint. Cultural critic and psychoanalytic psychotherapist MJ Corey, author of Dekonstructing the Kardashians, joins Back Row to explain how Kim paved the way for the Tech Gala (04:42), why the hatred only makes her bigger (17:39), what the Paris robbery really did for her career (28:15), and why she's acting now (30:35). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The full episode is for paid Back Row subscribers: backrow.net/subscribe A note to listeners: On May 15, prices will increase to $8/month and $72/year. Upgrade to annual to lock in the lower rate. Or sign up at backrow.net/subscribe to get newsletter access included with your subscription and don't miss a single juicy story. This episode contains spoilers. We've waited 20 years for The Devil Wears Prada 2 — and it's better than expected. Rachel Tashjian of CNN joins me to break down what the sequel gets shockingly right about Anna Wintour, Vogue, and journalism's decline. We also cover Emily Blunt stealing the movie, whether the filmmakers got too close to Anna, and the billionaire character hiding in plain sight. Chapters: 00:00 Spoiler warning & intro 05:56 How accurately does the film depict journalism? 17:34 Did the filmmakers get too close to Anna Wintour? 29:07 The billionaire characters: who is Benji really? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is sponsored by Margaux. First time shoppers get 10 percent off with the code BACKROW. A few of my favorite styles: Wrap sandals Phoebe flats Downtown boot The 2026 Met Gala was the most controversial in memory — and Back Row is telling you what the fashion press won't. Amy Odell and Heather Cocks of Go Fug Yourself and Drinks With Broads break down the biggest narratives from the night: the Bezos backlash, the protests outside, why Vogue's silence was deafening, and what it actually means that tech billionaires have taken over fashion's biggest night. Plus: Beyoncé's return after 10 years, Blue Ivy's debut, the Kardashians and their nipples, Lauren Sanchez's Madame X look, why Jeff Bezos snuck in the back door, John Galliano and fashion's cancellation problem, and whether any of this controversy will actually stick. CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 00:49 The Bezos Backlash and the protests 04:14 The Ball Without Billionaires 07:15 Vogue's silence on the controversy 10:31 Why tech billionaires are really at the Met 18:26 Lauren Sanchez's Madame X look 43:39 The Kardashians, Beyoncé, and the best and worst looks 49:15 Galliano, Anna Wintour, and fashion's cancellation problem 54:05 Will the controversy actually matter? Subscribe to the Back Row Newsletter and Back Row on YouTube. Follow Heather Cox at Drinks With Broads and Go Fug Yourself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WARNING: This episode contains SPOILERS for 'The Devil Wears Prada 2.' This is my full interview with 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' director David Frankel and screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna. After talking to them both when I was writing 'Anna: The Biography,' I couldn't wait to hear about how they put this movie together after TWENTY YEARS. Who and what were they skewering? Did the film get too close to its source material, Anna Wintour? How did Lady Gaga enter the picture? And... will there be a THIRD movie?! CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 2:43 How the sequel finally got made 5:17 Miranda's backlash: the fast fashion puff piece explained 8:14 How Miranda Priestly changed in 20 years 9:36 The new assistants and the new workplace 12:20 Every cameo, explained 31:43 Emily Blunt and the evolution of Emily Charlton 39:52 Will there be a third film? LINKS & RESOURCES: ▸ Subscribe to the Back Row newsletter: https://www.backrow.net/subscribe ▸ Read my book, Anna: The Biography: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Anna/Amy-Odell/9781982122638 ▸ Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instamyodell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I went on Sam Sanders's show on KCRW to talk all things Met Gala 2026! We get into the Bezos Met Gala sponsorship, fashion's new Gilded Age, and The Devil Wears Prada 2. We also talked about why tech money is taking over fashion, what happened to the aspirational consumer, and whether the Cerulean monologue could even exist in 2026. Sam is one of the best interviewers around — this was a really fun conversation. Thanks to the KCRW team for allowing us to share it here. Follow Sam's show here. CHAPTERS: 01:30 – Has the Met Gala Become the Tech Gala? 05:20 – Has Fashion Entered a New Gilded Age? 10:20 – The Widening Gap Between the Classes of Fashion 14:20 – What it’s Like to be a Fashion VIC 18:00 – What’s Changed in Fashion Since The (1st) Devil Wears Prada? 20:00 – Does the Cerulean Monologue Hold Up in 2026? 25:10 – Fixing the Met Gala 27:40 – Amy’s Sources of Fashion Inspo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People magazine's "World's Most Beautiful" editor Andrea Lavinthal joins Back Row to go behind the scenes of the most coveted — and complicated — cover in celebrity journalism. Anne Hathaway talked to People about The Devil Wears Prada 2, her husband, and her haters. But handing out this prize isn't as easy as it might seem. Andrea breaks down how the "World's Most Beautiful" franchise has evolved since Michelle Pfeiffer in 1990 (3:28), why "most beautiful" is more fraught for women than "Sexiest Man Alive" is for men (1:51), and how much creative control a star like Anne Hathaway has over the shoot (9:33). Plus: why Gwyneth Paltrow's "Most Beautiful" cover made an editor think it would get her fired (25:54). Links & Resources 📰 SUBSCRIBE to the Back Row Newsletter for exclusive scoops and bonus podcast episodes: https://www.backrow.net/ 📸 Amy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instamyodell/ Mentioned in this episode: ↳ People's Anne Hathaway cover story, photographed by Jonny Marlow ↳ JFK Jr.'s "Sexiest Man Alive" cover story This episode was edited by Chrissi Harris. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices