Curious By Design

You drop the bag, you feel good, you move on. But what actually happens after that? Tori goes inside the only full textile sorting plant in the entire DACH region (run by Carla Vorarlberg, a social enterprise under Caritas) to find out where your donated clothes really go, who touches them and why that €5 price tag in a second-hand shop makes complete sense once you know the full story.Guest Bio:Nathalie Steiner[Instagram, LinkedIn]Nathalie is a Project Manager for Circular Economy at Caritas Vorarlberg, where she works at the intersection of sustainability, social impact and practical implementation. With a background in EU policy and international development, including experience in Brussels, she brings a well-rounded perspective on how circular systems can move from theory into real-world practice. Her work focuses on textile reuse and building solutions that connect environmental goals with social value.Host Bio:Viktoriia Simakova[⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, ⁠⁠enless: your sustainable styling app⁠⁠⁠]Viktoriia is a bright spark of creativity and purpose, someone who doesn’t just talk about change, she lives it. She is the founder of , a project born from her love of fashion and her concern for the planet, helping people reconnect with their wardrobes in ways that feel meaningful, not wasteful. Based in Austria, Viktoriia is studying informatics, with an eye for how AI and smart design can shape a better future. She sees clothes as more than fabric. They are stories, memories, possibilities. She’s warm, curious, quietly persistent, always asking: how can we consume kindly, dress mindfully, and treat our environment with respect? Beyond code and algorithms, she cares deeply about people: the ones wearing the clothes, the ones making them and the bigger world in which it all unfolds.Study discussed:Study published in March 2026 by Loughborough University

Sustainable fashion isn't failing.It's just under more pressure than we like to admit.What happens when you try to change fashion from the inside?In this episode, I talk with Nadine, a circular economy expert and fashion founder, about fast fashion, industry pressure, circularity, and the decision to close a brand after ten years (not as failure, but as growth).A conversation about sustainability, community and choosing what really lasts.Guest Bio:Nadine Schratzberger[LinkedIn, Instagram]Nadine is a circular economy expert and designer from Vienna who founded the sustainable outdoor fashion label MONTREET. Her work blends functional design with circular principles, earning her accolades like PETA Germany’s Best Outdoor Piece 2021 and a nomination as an MIT Innovator Under 35. Nadine also consults, speaks and builds community initiatives to help the fashion industry rethink sustainability from the inside out.Host Bio:Viktoriia Simakova, Founder, Les Ensembles[⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Les Ensembles: your sustainable styling app⁠⁠]Viktoriia is a bright spark of creativity and purpose, someone who doesn’t just talk about change, she lives it. She is the founder of , a project born from her love of fashion and her concern for the planet, helping people reconnect with their wardrobes in ways that feel meaningful, not wasteful. Based in Austria, Viktoriia is studying informatics, with an eye for how AI and smart design can shape a better future. She sees clothes as more than fabric. They are stories, memories, possibilities. She’s warm, curious, quietly persistent, always asking: how can we consume kindly, dress mindfully, and treat our environment with respect? Beyond code and algorithms, she cares deeply about people: the ones wearing the clothes, the ones making them and the bigger world in which it all unfolds.Books discussed:Shopping via my link costs you nothing extra, but helps me out a little. Thank you!Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant by Yvon ChouinardMoral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference by Rutger Bregman

We burn wool.The same wool that once clothed us through ice ages.Why? And what does that say about how we value things and each other?A story about memory, care, and the hidden wisdom in our closets.Key Quotes:“Such a nice material like wool… is thrown away.” “The only way to survive this hurry-up mentality… is to slow down.”“Maybe the softest thing in your closet isn’t wool. Maybe … it’s care.”Guest Bio:Gabriele Schuller, Artist[Website, ⁠Gabriele's installation “Steinreich”⁠]Gabriele is a gentle wanderer of art and nature, whose creativity is as rooted in the cycles of the earth as it is in the human heart. Born in Wels in 1961, she now lives between Linz and the Salzkammergut, weaving her life and work together in paintings, installations, textiles. Anything that helps her explore what it means to live, die, grow, fall, and rise again. For Gabriele, making art is never separate from the world she senses around her: the seasons, the decay and renewal, the quiet whispers of nature. She studies deeply—culture mediation, graphic design, textile technology, art history—but she also makes with her hands, with intuition, and with care. Her projects often invite others in: workshops, public art, curatorial work. She believes art is strongest when it connects. And at the core of what she does is this mission: to find words and images for what she feels, to translate lived experience into something that moves both maker and viewer.Host Bio:Viktoriia Simakova, Founder, Les Ensembles[Instagram, LinkedIn, Les Ensembles: your sustainable styling app⁠]Viktoriia is a bright spark of creativity and purpose, someone who doesn’t just talk about change, she lives it. She is the founder of , a project born from her love of fashion and her concern for the planet, helping people reconnect with their wardrobes in ways that feel meaningful, not wasteful. Based in Austria, Viktoriia is studying informatics, with an eye for how AI and smart design can shape a better future. She sees clothes as more than fabric. They are stories, memories, possibilities. She’s warm, curious, quietly persistent, always asking: how can we consume kindly, dress mindfully, and treat our environment with respect? Beyond code and algorithms, she cares deeply about people: the ones wearing the clothes, the ones making them and the bigger world in which it all unfolds.Books discussed:Shopping via my link costs you nothing extra, but helps me out a little. Thank you!Staying with the Trouble by Donna HarawayBraiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Welcome to Curious By Design! Join Tori as she uncovers the hidden stories behind the things we use every day, starting with fashion in season one. From the history and craft woven into your clothes to the choices shaping our world, this podcast blends curiosity, storytelling and thoughtful conversation. Meet designers, makers and thinkers & discover how everyday objects carry meaning, memory and culture. Perfect for anyone who loves stories, reflection and small moments of wonder.