Grazia Fashion: Why I Wear It

“It’s dressing so people know I mean business, I’ve arrived!” Laura Jackson is a presenter, a design collaborator, author and supper club hostess. Last year, she added to her already packed resume when she launched Glassette, an online homewares platform, curating Laura’s magpie eye for excellent interiors finds from independent brands and designers. She talks to host Laura Antonia Jordan about the lengths she’ll go to for a great buy, why everyone should be welcome to enjoy good design and dressing for the job you want

“You have something instantaneous in your hands, you put it on and it automatically transforms you and makes you feel better” Osman is an artist, writer and designer, whose designs have been worn by the likes of Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Lupita Nyongo. Now Osman has written his first memoir, released this month – “The Go Between: A portrait of growing up between different”. He talks to host Laura Antonia Jordan about the emotional rollercoaster of writing his book, fashion as a tool for transformation and the power of ritualising dress.

“I’m just not really a tracksuit kinda gal” Katherine Ormerod is a journalist, influencer, former Grazia girl and author of ‘Why Social Media is Ruining Your Life’. She talks to host Laura Antonia Jordan about the realities of influencing, the liberation of making an effort and not being afraid of a little va va voom.

“Clothes for me are a language in a way” Anna Shaffer is an actress who made her screen debut in Harry Potter and is currently starring in ‘The Witcher’ – currently number one on Netflix. She runs the wine bar ‘Hectors’ in London with her husband Jimmy. She talks to host Laura Antonia Jordan about how fashion is a powerful tool of communication, how she accidently had a white wedding and how overdressing is only ever a good thing.

“I don’t feel the pressure of rejection at all. The only thing I feel bad about is if I didn’t wear something fun". Batsheva Hay is a New York based designer, who founded her brand Batsheva in 2016, known for its subversive and unexpected spin on traditional dresses. She talks to host Laura Antonia Jordan about her former life as a lawyer, the joy of compliments from other women, her love of all things Laura Ashley and how sexy doesn’t necessarily look how you think it might.

"If I didn't discipline myself to get up, have a shower, put on something nice, it was a spiral of despair". Clara Francis is an actor, co-founder of the dress company O Pioneers and a jewellery designer. She talks to host Laura Antonia Jordan about how getting dressed helped her through the darkest hours of grief when her daughter died, how she navigates dressing for the red carpet and confesses to her obsessive online shopping habits.

"When I had auditions I'd run to them in my Doc Martens because I couldn't afford to get the bus." Actor Chinenye Ezeudu loves her Doc Martens so much she even wore them for her audition for the part of Viv in Netflix’s Sex Education. She tells Laura Antonia Jordan what she bought with her first pay cheque and how she finds comfort in clothes when people let her down.

"A friend of mine gave me a Hermes scarf which I ended up tying on my tent." Sara Wheeler is a writer and the author of Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica and Mud and Stars: Travels in Russia. She tells host Laura Antonia Jordan that even in the South Pole it is possible to add small touches of personal style to the essential kit, about the thrill of packing and why red lipstick is her daily 'go to' for lifting her mood - even when swimming.

"It brought out the side of my personality I can usually only access when I'm drunk". That's the power of a diaphanous Dior dress according to fashion influencer Camille Charriere. She spoke to Laura Antonia Jordan about the stress of fashion week, how algorithms on instagram can hamper creativity and how the UK brought out the fashion in her.

"I didn't put on a bikini until I was 24 or 25 because I was paranoid about my body." Charli Howard is a model and the founder of Squish Beauty, but it's taken her years to come to terms with her body shape. She talks to Laura Antonia Jordan about how she's built her confidence and how that has changed the way she dresses.

"You're either a child, a grandma or you don't exist." So says Sofie Hagen, the author of Happy Fat, explaining it's impossible to buy glamorous, plus size nightwear. The stand up comedian also talks about dressing for different genders on date night, style icons and why fat people aren't allowed to look like they've not made an effort.

“The majority of that time was spent in pink pyjamas.” That’s the outfit Divya Chadha Manek turned to while she worked from home on the UK Vaccine Taskforce. She has since been awarded an OBE for her vital work, and talks to host Laura Antonia Jordan about her 20kg wedding dress, how a life in science does not mean a life in a lab coat, and whether she should wear ethnic clothes or ‘a dress with a hat’ when she goes to meet the Queen.

"When I worked with other women for the first time in 25 years it was pathetically validating". Georgia Pritchett is one of TV’s funniest writers – her credits include Succession and Veep – and has recently published her memoir 'My Mess is a Bit of a Life: Adventures in Anxiety’. She tells Laura Antonia Jordan how male dominated writing-rooms influenced her style, the horror of getting ready for awards ceremonies and how she finally nailed it in a tailored suit with a pink lining.

“I’ve rediscovered the joy of wearing a body skimming dress”. Kenya Hunt, Deputy Editor and Fashion Director of Grazia magazine, and author of Girl, is emerging from the pandemic with a desire to show off her body. Raised in the USA, she tells Laura Antonia Jordan what has influenced her style, how she sometimes wears ‘man-repellent’ pieces, and why she likes clothes that “reflect other women's shine”.

Stylish people on why they wear the things they do.