The first piece of clothing I became obsessed with was a pink gingham shirt. It belonged to a girl I was on a summer camp with. The camp was a very spartan affair, a dorm with iron bunk beds and grey blankets, but we entertained ourselves by miming to Gary Glitter songs on a high windowsill in the canteen. We were both around eight years old and the shirt represented the glamour of normality. I noticed how composed I felt when I wore it. I never forgot about how it made me feel different. It eclipsed memories of any birthday or other supposed significant events from my childhood.
This was the pivotal memory and the genesis for my podcast Fashion Neurosis. I have always been hyper-aware of the power of being able to transform through clothes and I had a hunch that people were much more interested in them than they realised. On the podcast, I use clothes as a prism through which to refract questions about how people feel about themselves. In my conversations the thing that stands out for me — whomever I am speaking with — is their drive; the drive to go beyond the mirror in whatever arena they work in and the pursuit of an idea regardless of whether it will work or not.
Alex Consani on the Fashion Neurosis sofa
