大象传媒

In our climate of 鈥渇ast fashion鈥� we can update our wardrobes for the same price as buying a sandwich, but as we know, the ethical price is high. So how can we break the cycle of buying cheap clothing and sticking it in the back of our wardrobe when fashion moves on?聽Dr Kate Fletcher claims the only sensible response is to find a way to separate the ideas of clothing and fashion, and fall back in love with our own wardrobes. She has started a movement called the 鈥渃raft of use鈥� which focusses on caring for and maintaining our favourite items. So how can we feel good about our clothes without spending money? And why do we treasure some clothes and throw others away?聽Jenni talks to Kate and to fashion editor Melanie Rickey.

Do you find yourself relying on the same colours and styles of clothes time and time again?聽In the rush to leave the house in the morning, is it easier to sling on something black than to think about combining different colours or doing something different with your make-up?聽Are you wearing a uniform?聽 The fashion designer Celia Birtwell is known for her colourful prints, but admits that she rarely deviates from wardrobe staples in grey, cream, and black. She joins Jenni, who admits to mostly wearing black, and Sally Feldman, who is Senior Fellow in Creative Industries at the University of Westminster, and loves to mix up colours and try new things.

As the Barbican launch the first ever exhibition devoted to聽the work of the fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier, we look at his enduring motif 鈥� the Breton stripe 鈥� and ask how this piece of French sailor kit ended up as a wardrobe staple for everyone from the Duchess of Cambridge to Kate Moss.聽 Fashion historian Amber Butchart and fashion editor Melanie Rickey discuss the timeless appeal of the nautical stripe.

We鈥檝e often looked into the wardrobes of well- known people to see what鈥檚 hiding there 鈥� and now, it鈥檚 couples. How do they accommodate each other鈥檚 fashion sense? The artist Grayson Perry and his wife Philippa have a slightly more complex approach than most because they have to share with a third person 鈥� Clare - who鈥檚 Grayson鈥檚 alter ego. She was thrust into the public eye when Grayson won the Turner Prize in 2003.聽 Grayson and Philippa met 26 years ago at a creative writing course and both say his cross-dressing has never been an issue. They told Henrietta Harrison that their dress sense is more adventurous now compared with the eighties, when they used to share frumpy Jaeger suits.

Celia Birtwell joins Jenni to talk about her life as a leading textile designer in the late 60s and early 70s, in partnership with her then husband, the iconic fashion designer Ossie Clark, up to designing special ranges for high street retailers today. She shares her views on the impact of print, fabric, and colour on how we dress, and how now in her seventies, she sees a need for more stylish yet practical clothes for the modern older woman.