Mary Portas | Amanda Wakeley Style DNA Podcast

In this episode of Style DNA I go on a style journey with the extraordinary Mary Portas OBE. Mary is a businesswoman, broadcaster, author and activist. She started her career as a window dresser at Harrods but her creative flare soon saw her go from Topshop (in its heydays) and on to Harvey Nichols, becoming a board member at the tender age of 32. Mary was the person responsible for Ab Fab using the then Harvey Nicks as their destination for shopping as well as creating some visionary and memorable windows turning the once fusty department store into THE place to enjoy the theatre and discovery of fashion. Her recently published book I Shop, Therefore I Am: The '90s, Harvey Nicks and Me is well worth a read, or even better, a listen on Audible as Mary is the most brilliant narrator as well as an excellent accent mimic. As you would imagine for someone who has been so deeply entrenched in the fashion world Mary is not short of opinions ...but they are incredibly insightful ones. Charmingly she is not afraid to laugh at herself, as well as sharing stories of her fascinating journey through fashion and retail recalling moments from what feels like another era now. She talks about the late deputy editor of Vogue, Anna Harvey, (the most fabulous low key editor on the planet) advising her on her wardrobe as she progressed from the windows to the boardroom and suggesting that she really should invest in a Saint Laurent Le Smoking... it nearly broke the bank at the time but she sti