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Episode notes

Today I’m thrilled to be joined by one of the most established names in British luxury, Anya Hindmarch. She is a true leader in her field, the designer of the most beautiful handbags, a passionate environmental activist and now the author of a brand new book, If In Doubt Wash Your Hair.

She is known for using fashion as a force for good. Back in 2004, her £5 white tote bags, with the slogan, “I’m not a plastic bag” written on them, were one of the world’s most in demand items. More recently, during the pandemic, she’s worked with University College London to design a special 'holdster' for front-line NHS workers to wear, along with thousands of PPE gowns.

Anya’s recent book, If in Doubt Wash Your Hair, is a part memoir, part self-help book which aims to teach readers how to be kind to themselves and live a little more boldly.  It’s an uplifting manual for life offering practical tips and advice on how to make women feel better about themselves. Anya is refreshingly honest and shares her own  struggles and the ways she has managed to tackle her own self-doubt issues.

In this episode, we discuss her very exciting new project, The Anya Village, which is set to takeover Pont Street this month and includes a café, a plastic shop and a pop up salon for ’Shampoo and Therapy’. We also talk about how the past year has been a very busy time for her and how her priorities have evolved to reflect the changing times - such as her passion for circularity of materials and reducing plastic going into landfill. I really did learn a lot from this conversation and hope you do too!

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Life and Soul is hosted by Emma Forbes, produced by Georgie Rutherford and edited by Steve Campen.

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