The New Garde with Alyssa Vingan

Alyssa Vingan

The New Garde is a podcast about the future of the fashion and beauty industries — and the culture surrounding them — hosted by two-time former editor-in-chief, Alyssa Vingan. thenewgarde.substack.com

  1. JAN 20

    It Girl Incorporated (w/ Savannah Engel)

    The role of the fashion publicist has evolved significantly over the past couple of decades, and Savannah Engel has been boots on the ground through it all. In this delightfully chaotic episode recorded ahead of last fashion month, I chat with the founder of Savi about growing up in the Mississippi Delta — with a mother who was one of the first female executives at Wrangler — and how learning to work the room at SMU frat parties eventually led her to explore a career in PR, landing a gig at Michael Kors while she was technically still enrolled at school. Tune in for Savannah’s hilarious storytelling, as well as her take on why the world of public relations as it once stood is over; how she learned that “people and parties” is her most valuable skill; how trauma bonding with fellow assistants via nightlife made her indispensable to her bosses because of the relationships she built; what it was like starting a community building agency long before that became a popular term; lessons she learned from working the door at clubs, as well as through hosting and doing seating charts for dinner parties; the realities (and lack of ROI) of a small brand putting on a runway show; why no amount of online socializing or clout can replace IRL human interaction; what makes an actually good party; how publicists shifted from someone behind the scenes to becoming more forward-facing; whether everyone has what it takes to become an “It Girl” in the age of social media, and so much more. This episode was recorded in the podcast studio at The SQ @ 205 Hudson. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenewgarde.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 10m
  2. 12/16/2025

    The Kennedy of It All (w/ Maura Brannigan)

    It’s not your imagination: The Kennedys dominated the collective consciousness this year, and the pull was particularly strong within the fashion industry. This week, I sit down with writer, strategist, and Kennedy scholar Maura Brannigan to discuss the myriad ways that the American political family has permeated the zeitgeist recently, and how they represent politics as pop culture in a very palatable way — especially during this disturbing time in our country. Tune in for Maura’s take on Carolyn Bessette Kennedy as a moodboard muse and a rare example of true personal style, as well as why minimalism and old money restraint feel so aspirational right now; JFK Jr. as the poster boy for yuppie style that’s driving the prep revival seen at brands like J.Crew and Dior Men’s; CBK and JFK Jr.’s couple style, as well as our thoughts on the Ryan Murphy series costume design discourse; Sarah Staudinger’s purchase of three iconic CBK pieces at Sotheby’s auction for $177K (while Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s violet wool coat, worn on the night of John F. Kennedy’s election to the presidency, just sold for $50,800 this week); Julia Fox’s bloody Jackie Kennedy Halloween costume at this moment of political violence being back in the cultural conversation; Jack Schlossberg’s political trajectory, from brain rot content to Vogue correspondent to congressional candidate; RFK Jr.’s MAHA rhetoric affecting the beauty and wellness industry; Olivia Nuzzi’s aesthetic transformation in the lead up to American Canto and leaning into the “I had an affair with a Kennedy” look, and so much more. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenewgarde.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 3m
  3. 12/02/2025

    2016, Part 1: Beauty (w/ Jessica DeFino)

    If you, like me, spend a good amount of time on TikTok, you’ve likely felt awash in a sea of nostalgia for 2016, which in just a matter of weeks will be a full decade in the rearview. Not only was it a banner year for realizing things, it was also a moment in time that shifted the cultural paradigm in a way that’s now coming into full focus. In the first of a two-part episode, I sit down with Jessica DeFino of Flesh World to discuss how the beauty trends, products, and developments that defined 2016 have changed the industry forever. Tune in to hear about Jessica’s time witnessing the creation of beauty standards firsthand while working for the Kardashian apps in 2016, as well as why the natural next step in the trend cycle is a reaction to “clean girl” beauty; reflections on a time before micro and ‘core trends; the cut crease to blepharoplasty pipeline is real; the self-care boom in the aftermath of the first Trump election and how it’s evolved; why 2016 makeup and “Republican makeup” are so similar; what the King Kylie era brought to wider beauty culture, and the impact that Kylie Cosmetics had on the celebrity beauty brand boom; how trauma dumping during GRWM videos on TikTok has become such a popular content genre; why Ozempic is the new Botox, and more. This episode was recorded in the podcast studio at The SQ @ 205 Hudson. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thenewgarde.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 14m
4.5
out of 5
31 Ratings

About

The New Garde is a podcast about the future of the fashion and beauty industries — and the culture surrounding them — hosted by two-time former editor-in-chief, Alyssa Vingan. thenewgarde.substack.com

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