The American Fashion Podcast (AFP), which broadcasts from the
Fashion Media Center of Manufacture New York (MNY), recently celebrated its
30th episode. The weekly, hour-long program, which brings together some of the leading voices in
America’s resurgent apparel industry, has already racked up 37,000 downloads,
with recent episodes debuting to an average of 1,400 regular listeners.
Fashion Media Center director Charles Beckwith says the
podcast has steadily gained traction thanks to a slightly irreverent take on
domestic fashion and design (best summed up by the show’s tagline “Local,
sustainable, irritable.”) Beckwith, along with co-hosts Seth
Friedermann and Lisa-Maria Radano, have tackled everything from e-tailing and
crowdfunding to “bad fashion” and streetwear. Beckwith believes
that the group’s emphasis on domestic apparel has found a particular niche with
younger enthusiasts who have been encouraged by the Made-in-America fashion
comeback springing up in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park.
Featured guests
have included Karolyn Pho, Katya Leonovich, Gretchen Harnick, and Abigail
Stewart. Beckwith says the most popular episode to date featured
an interview with Lisa Padovani, the costume designer for ‘Boardwalk Empire’ and
‘Gotham,’ that has racked up more than 8,000 downloads.
Beckwith believes AFP’s audience will continue to grow as the
show embraces more discussions of emerging designers, sustainable manufacturing,
wearable technology, America’s lengthy garment-making tradition, and new
business models for online fashion.
He adds, “The success of the American Fashion Podcast is
confirmation that there is a large and enthusiastic audience for local,
sustainable fashion. We’re excited to keep creating these podcasts as an
ongoing archive of the latest breakthroughs in domestic fashion.”
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