Fashion Neurosis with Debbie Harry

Debbie Harry is an American rockstar, exploding onto the music scene as the platinum haired lead vocalist of Blondie. After gaining an Arts Degree from Centenary College in New Jersey, Debbie Harry moved to New York and worked as a Playboy Bunny and a dancer before forming Blondie in 1974 with Chris Stein, who was her romantic partner for 14 years until 1987. The band released its eponymous debut studio album in 1976 and split in the early 1980s, reuniting in 1997 - they have released a total of 11 studio albums. Harry also released five solo studio albums between 1981 and 2007. Debbie Harry had also had a successful acting career, appearing in lead roles in David Cronenberg's body horror Videodrome in 1983, and John Waters’ cult classic Hairspray. Her inimitable style has been the inspiration for many fashion designers and her luminous beauty and punk irreverence continues to make her an icon to multiple generations of music and fashion lovers. In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Debbie Harry discuss dying your hair on a tour bus, Andy Warhol, and Sex, Drugs, & Rock & Roll. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Helena Bonham Carter is an English actress. Known for her portrayals of interesting, singular women, she rose to fame playing Lucy Honeychurch in A Room with a View in 1985, and the titular character in Lady Jane in 1986. In 1999, Bonham Carter broke free of her “English rose” reputation by playing femme fatale Marla Singer in Fight Club. She portrayed the malevolent witch Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter franchise, and more recently played Princess Margaret in The Crown, for which she was nominated for several awards. Helena will star in a new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials for Netflix in January 2026. Helena Bonham Carter has two children with the director Tim Burton. They met in 2001 on the set of Planet of the Apes, and the couple went on to collaborate on seven films including Corpse Bride and Alice in Wonderland, until their separation in 2014. Known for her love of bloomers, long skirts and Victorian style, Bonham Carter launched her fashion line The Pantaloonies in 2006. She has starred in campaigns for Marc Jacobs and Prada, and cited Vivienne Westwood and Marie Antoinette as her style inspirations. Bonham Carter has been the recipient of a BAFTA Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, an International Emmy Award and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as receiving nominations for two Academy Awards, nine Golden Globe Awards and five Primetime Emmy Awards. She was made a CBE in the 2012 New Year Honours list for services to drama. In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Helena Bonham Carter discuss androgynous dressing, prominent bums, and the word Cunt being the new compliment. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Willy Chavarria is an American fashion designer. Born and raised in California, he studied graphic design at the Academy of the Arts, and got his start in clothing design working in the shipping department at Joe Boxer, eventually taking on a role in the company as a designer. Willy Chavarria worked at Calvin Klein as the Senior Vice President of Design until 2024. He launched his eponymous label in 2015. Known for his melding of politics and fashion, Willy’s clothing aims to uplift the underrepresented, and he has frequently collaborated with organisations to advocate for social justice. His designs draw on his Mexican-American heritage, and he recently presented his SS26 collection HURON at Paris Fashion Week. Chavarria has been awarded the 2022 Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian National Design Award in Fashion Design, was the CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year in 2023 and 2024, and in 2025 was named one of TIME100’s ‘Most Influential People of 2025’ and nominated for the Designer of the Year award at The Fashion Awards in London. On this week’s episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Willy Chavarria discuss politics in fashion, his fashion icons, and designing as a public service. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Annie Leibovitz is one of the most influential contemporary American photographers. Born in Connecticut, Leibovitz moved frequently in her childhood due to father’s position in the US Air Force. She took her first photos in the Philippines during the Vietnam War. After studying painting at the San Francisco Art Institute, Leibovitz began working at Rolling Stone magazine, and after three years was named their Chief Photographer. She photographed every major band of the era, and famously took photos of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, hours before Lennon was murdered. In the 1980s Leibovitz moved to Vanity Fair, and has since had a hugely successful career in fashion and celebrity photography and portraiture, photographing influential figures including Queen Elizabeth II, Demi Moore, Kate Moss, Barack Obama and George Clooney. She has exhibited in major galleries and museums, including MoMA and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and has published several monographs of her work, including WOMEN, a 2025 re-edition of the original 1999 book alongside a new volume, published by Phaidon. She was designated a Living Legend by the Library of Congress, and in March 2024 Leibovitz was inducted into the Académie des Beaux-Arts. In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Annie Leibovitz discuss Susan Sontag, the magic of dance, and the Rolling Stones. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Richard Russell is a record producer, musician, and the owner of XL Recordings. Richard joined XL as an A&R Scout in 1991, and in 1992 released the single The Bouncer with XL co-founder Nick Halkes, which was featured on Top of the Pops and led to a record deal. Russell pursued a career at XL, and by the mid-1990s was co-owner and chairman of the company. He has worked with artists including Gil Scott Heron, whose final album he produced, Radiohead, Jamie xx, FKA twigs, M.I.A, and Adele, who Richard discovered in the 2000s.  Since 2018, Russell has released Mercury Prize nominated albums under Everything Is Recorded, a project that has collaborated with artists including Florence Welch, Sampha, and Giggs. He is also half of the duo Sam Morton, with Samantha Morton, who released their debut album Daffodils and Dirt in 2024. In 2021, Richard published his autobiography Liberation Through Hearing, which details his sudden diagnosis with the rare auto-immune disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome in 2013.  Celebrated for his instinctive, human approach to sound and collaboration, Russell received the 2025 Music Producers Guild Inspiration Awards in recognition of his "fearless approach to creativity and unwavering commitment to artistic freedom.” In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Richard Russell discuss getting to know Gil Scott Heron through writing to each other, business and creativity, and freedom through music. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IB Kamara is a stylist, journalist, musician, and creative director. Born in Sierra Leone, IB moved to The Gambia as a child to escape from civil war, settling in London aged sixteen. Kamara studied Fashion & Communication at Central St Martins, where he began interning with legendary Buffalo stylist Barry Kamen. In 2016, IB curated an exhibition titled 2026 at Somerset House, exploring the concept of a utopia of Black Masculinity. As a stylist, he has worked with fashion houses including Chanel, Burberry, Stella McCartney, and Commes Des Garcons, who he designed hats for. In 2021, Kamara became Editor-in-Chief of Dazed and Confused magazine, editing the publication with a focus on including contributors from underrepresented areas of the fashion industry. Since 2024, he has been Creative Director of Virgil Abloh’s brand Off White. In October 2025, IB released his debut EP Pop Romance, inspired by Off White’s SS26 collection. In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and IB Kamara discuss liberation through fashion, making great porridge, and the joy of dressing others. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rosalía is a Grammy award winning Spanish singer-songwriter. Her work transcends genre, blending folk, avant-pop, hip-hop, jazz, reggaeton, and traditional flamenco. Born and raised in Catalonia, Rosalía has a degree in Flamenco Interpretation from the Catalonia College of Music, basing her second album El Mal Querer on her thesis, inspired by a 13th century Occitan poem. Her third album Motomami was released in 2022 to widespread critical and popular acclaim, and was her second album to win a Latin Grammy. Rosalía’s newest album, Lux, was released in November 2025, exploring themes of feminine mystique and transformation, and includes songs in 14 different languages. Rosalía made her acting debut in Pedro Almodovar’s 2019 film Dolor y Gloria (Pain and Glory), and will star in the upcoming third season of Euphoria. Her album covers and music videos are influenced by historical and religious artistic imagery. She is known for her love of fashion which aligns with the themes and aesthetics of her music. Rosalía has won 11 Latin Grammy Awards, two Grammys, four MTV Music Video Awards, and three UK Music Video Awards. She is widely considered one of the most successful and influential Spanish singers of all time. In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Rosalía discuss the art of flamenco, supermodels, being naked, and Chloë Sevigny. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alexa Chung is a presenter, writer, model, and photographer. A muse to many in the creative industry, Alexa is globally recognised for her impact on fashion and culture. After modelling in her teenage years, Alexa went on to host the Channel 4 music show Popworld, with a signature satirical humour that has made her hugely popular. She has since hosted TV programmes for MTV, BBC, and Netflix. After her sellout capsule collection with M&S in 2016, she launched her own brand Alexachung in 2017, earning the Breakthrough Designer Award from Harper’s Bazaar. She has collaborated with other brands including Madewell and Barbour, and has a Mulberry bag named after her.Alexa Chung is a three-time recipient of the Fashion Icon Award and has appeared on the covers of Vogue, ELLE, and Harper’s Bazaar. She has written regular columns for The Independent, British Vogue, and in 2013 published her book It. She is currently a writer for the Financial Times fashion. In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Alexa Chung discuss what makes an ‘It’ girl, her admiration for Mrs Prada, and her escape from the 2004 Thailand tsunami. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Arthur Jafa is an American artist. Raised in Mississippi, he studied architecture and film at Howard University, and has been working as a filmmaker and artist for over four decades. He has had a successful career as a cinematographer, working on films including his ex-wife Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust, Spike Lee’s Crooklyn, and Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. Jafa has also directed music videos for musicians including Solange and Jay-Z. In 2005, Jafa stepped away from the art world for a while, re-emerging in 2016 with his spectacular work of video art Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death, which combined and edited disparate found and original footage documenting the Black experience in America. Other notable video works include The White Album from 2018, which won the Golden Lion for best artist at the Venice Biennale. Arthur Jafa’s extended practice is widely considered to be at the forefront of contemporary art, independent film and cultural theory today. Witnessing, celebrating and cataloguing the deep soul of Black life through images, Jafa has forged a groundbreaking trail in the rich terrain of Black representation. In his show at Sadie Coles HQ Gallery, Kingly St in London, on until December, Jafa exhibits new paintings and collage, alongside two new video works. In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Arthur Jafa discuss checking Instagram first thing in the morning, wanting to frown like Roy Rogers, and the universal influence of James Brown. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tessa Thompson is an American actor. Her father is the musician Marc Antony Thompson who founded the musical collective Chocolate Genius Inc. She was raised between New York and Los Angeles, making her stage debut as Ariel in the Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company production of The Tempest. Tessa has been nominated for two BAFTAs and a Primetime Emmy for her work in the 2021 film Passing directed by Rebecca Hall, and the 2020 film Sylvie’s Love. She is also known for her role as Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok and as Bianca in the Creed franchise. Thompson founded her own production company Viva Maude in 2021, which has produced Hedda, the new adaptation of Hedda Gabler directed by Nia DaCosta, in which she plays the lead. Her fashion-forward style and elegance is the subject of much interest, and she is a muse to the American designer brand Rodarte. In this episode of Fashion Neurosis, Bella Freud and Tessa Thompson discuss playing male roles, tidying up the house in a heel, and fashion not being armour. Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices