Amanda Wakeley: StyleDNA

In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with the impressive founder and CEO of the fashion rental platform By Rotation, the brilliant Eshita Kabra-Davies.

Eshita didn’t begin her career in fashion at all. She was working in investment management when the idea for By Rotation first came to her while planning her honeymoon — wishing she could access a beautifully curated wardrobe for each destination without having to buy everything.

Today By Rotation has become one of the most exciting businesses in circular fashion, allowing women to share pieces from their wardrobes while encouraging a more thoughtful and sustainable approach to fashion.

Eshita also speaks candidly about her early career in finance — including being criticised by another woman at work for expressing herself through fashion and being told she should “let her work do the talking”. A moment that ultimately reinforced her belief that style is an extension of identity.

This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, sustainability, confidence and dressing with joy.

In this week’s episode of Style DNA, I go on a style journey with the brilliantly talented artist and illustrator Clym Evernden @clymdraws, whose hypnotic “unfolding” drawings have captivated millions.

I first met Clym when I commissioned him to sketch portraits at my Albemarle Street store opening in Mayfair. Fast forward to today, and he has built a global following, working with some of the world’s leading luxury brands.

He describes his work as offering a small moment of calm in a frenetic digital world, and it truly does. One of his recent festive films reached an extraordinary 42 million views… with a cumulative watch time of 22 years.

From Central Saint Martins to discovering his signature ink brush line, this is a conversation about creativity, individuality, sustainability, and the quiet confidence of dressing for oneself.

In this week’s episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with the impressive founder and CEO of the ultra high-end resale platform Sellier, the brilliant Hanushka Toni.

Hanushka didn’t set out to build one of the most talked-about luxury resale businesses in Europe. The story actually begins with her mother, Dina, who opened a tiny consignment boutique in Knightsbridge simply for the love of beautiful designer pieces. When Covid hit and the doors closed, Hanushka stepped in with nothing more than her iPhone… and started live-selling from the shop floor.

Sellier now operates at the very top end of the resale market, with an average order value of around £3,500 per item — extraordinary by any e-commerce standard. We talk about the psychology of luxury handbags, the mystique of Hermès, the waiting lists, and why often a pre-loved Birkin can command more than its retail price…

Hanushka admits to owning over 600 bags (yes, you read that right), including more than 150 by Hermès. She describes herself as a mood dresser — starting with colour and energy before selecting the perfect companion from her enormous collection…

Hanushka has a wonderfully entrepreneurial side to her …she tells me about the inspiration for her newly launched “female intimate moisture melt”… genuinely clever!

There is something incredibly honest about Hanushka. She speaks candidly about post-baby body confidence, about being prejudged in business, about dressing to project power — and about the moment, only a few years ago, when she truly discovered her own Style DNA. She certainly has a passion for fashion and the circularity of it.

This is a conversation about ambition, image, luxury, reinvention… and the emotional power of a handbag.

This week on Style DNA I go on a style journey with the brilliant British British designer and creative director Clare Waight Keller — a woman whose career has quietly shaped modern fashion as we know it.
From working with Calvin and then Ralph, to leading Chloé and Pringle to becoming the first female Artistic Director at Givenchy, where she reopened couture and designed the wedding gown for Meghan Markle - Clare’s career is nothing short of extraordinary. She now sits at the helm of women’s and menswear at Uniqlo, overseeing a $23 billion global business.
We talk about being “given the keys” to Givenchy, immersing herself in Hubert de Givenchy’s archives, and the responsibility of reviving couture in a modern world. She shares what it felt like to meet him in Paris shortly before he passed away — a moment that clearly left its mark.
Of course, we revisit the morning of the royal wedding — the precision, the pressure, the veil, the steps… no rehearsal, just instinct and absolute focus.
But equally fascinating is Clare’s upbringing in Birmingham, learning to sew alongside her mother, sourcing fabrics from the local rag market, and how that early discipline shaped everything that followed.
Her own Style DNA? “Tailored. Tonal. With a touch of femininity.”
That tension between sharp structure and romantic softness feels very modern woman to me.
We also discuss motherhood in a high-pressure industry, why there are still so few female creative directors, sustainability as longevity (not trend), and the power of a great coat — she owns over 60.
Elegant, intelligent, generous and quietly measured — this is a conversation I absolutely loved.
I hope you enjoy it.

In this episode of Style DNA I have a fascinating conversation with the International News Anchor and Lead World News Presenter for Sky News Yalda Hakim. Yalda is an Afghan-born Australian broadcast journalist, Lead World News presenter for Sky News, and documentary maker. She was one of the chief presenters at BBC News broadcasting in English in the UK and globally. Known for her on-the-ground reporting and in-depth interviews, she has covered major global events from conflict zones including Gaza, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Darfur, as well as key political moments shaping world affairs.

Her work is marked by access to high-level decision makers, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and a focus on bringing clarity and context to complex international stories. Born in Kabul and raised in Australia after leaving Afghanistan as a child refugee, Hakim has built a two-decade career in international journalism and documentary filmmaking. She is recognised for holding leaders to account while telling human stories behind global politics. Beyond broadcasting, she founded the Yalda Hakim Foundation, which supports education and mentorship opportunities for Afghan girls.
 
Yalda offers so many insights about her style journey.
 
She is very aware of the gravity of her ability to communicate the story accurately.  I ask her about her thought process as to what she wears for specific interviews. She says she gravitates towards black as her power colour whereas many other journalists wear colour in the belief that they will stand out in the crowd. 
 
She tells me about learning to manage her emotions and getting in the zone before a massive broadcast which she generally does in her “safe space” the hair and makeup chair…once ready her ritual is to look in the mirror and tells herself “You have got this”… and watching her as much as I do on Sky News she absolutely does!
 
I ask her who was the most intimidating person she has ever interviewed… the Dalai Lama who she says has so such a powerful presence…. What did she wear? A mustard velvet Dolce and Gabbana jacket which symbiotically toned with his His Holiness’s saffron robes. She says it was an instinctive decision…lovely.
 
Her insights into the world of women in Afghanistan and the Taliban are fascinating… and truly sad particularly when told by an Afghan woman whose life is so different to what it could have been had her parents not taken the brave and bold decision to flee their homeland when they did. 
 
Yalda recalls that when Kabul fell, a heartbreaking moment, she reached out to a handful of powerful women to help get 1000 young women and girls evacuated.  She singles out Tory Burch, who has a woman’s foundation, as someone who dug deep and engaged with the mission from start to end.  Tory gifted Yalda a beautiful white jacket which is particularly precious as it reminds her of both the pain of the moment but also the power of the sisterhood to make a difference.
 
We talk about her approach to sustainable fashion and she tells me that she did a piece on the Rana Plaza disaster and the precarious other sweat shops that she visited in the area. She has seen the impact of fast fashion up close …as she says “we need to think about why something might be only £6.00… why is it so cheap?”… clearly because the makers are not being paid a living wage.
 
Unsurprisingly Yalda is fabulously eloquent and wonderfully open…Her words paint such powerful pictures of her extraordinary life …
 
Thank you for allowing me to turn the tables and make you the interviewee Yalda…this conversation was a real privilege xx