Hearing Fashion with Natalie Thurman

Natalie Thurman is a producer and editor of the podcasts Who What Wear with Hillary Kerr and Second Life. Both podcasts are associated with Who What Wear, a company with a vision to change the way women feel about fashion and beauty by continuing to champion the idea that style is inclusive and attainable for all. Natalie graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2020 with a double major in Drama and Psychology. 

How did you find your way into fashion and podcasting? 

I graduated in May 2020, which was the beginning of the pandemic. I was living at home, and I was just going on long walks everyday listening to podcasts. I felt like it was an escape. One of my favorite podcasts called Glowing Up had gone on hiatus for a couple years before that, but they had come back because they had more time during the pandemic. I was listening to it, and I was like, “You know, maybe I could work on this, I don’t know, that would be cool.” I sent them a cold email saying, “Hey! Any chance you’re looking for somebody who could work on your podcast?” The podcast was about beauty. It was a comedy-beauty hybrid, basically. I came into the fashion world through beauty more; that was always something I was really interested in. I started working with them in a part time internship, very informal. But, I started learning some editing stuff there. At that same time, I was just kind of reaching out to anyone I could. People were super generous with their time, I would say. Through that, I also did a Product Development internship at a beauty company. 

With those experiences, I was able to get a contract role doing social media at Byrdie. From there, I saw this podcast position open up — this editor/producer role at Who What Wear — and I was like, “This is literally perfect.” So now I work on two podcasts. One is called Second Life; that’s the one about women that have made major career pivots. And Who What Wear with Hillary Kerr is the other podcast, and that one is all about fashion and beauty. 

How did you find your voice in this industry? How did you gain the confidence to put your opinions out there and be bold with shaping fashion and female identities?

When I started the job, I felt really nervous. Obviously, I had interest in a lot of these things and my experience made sense, but at the same time, this was a lot more editing than I’d ever done. This was a lot more hands-on fashion and beauty content than I’d ever done. I think part of it was just, you gotta do it! It’s your job; you’ve got to jump in and just figure it out. I think that’s sometimes the biggest blessing: you don’t know what you can do until you have to do it. 

The concept of a fashion podcast is really interesting because fashion is so visual and tactile. How do you navigate capturing fashion in this spoken-word medium?

We lean into the process a lot as opposed to talking about specific looks. For the most part we try to be pretty detailed about whatever look we’re talking about. [We] try to paint a visual for the person. If the guest is a stylist, we’ll ask “how did you start working with this client?” I feel we lean a little bit more into that nitty-gritty kind of thing. What is it really like day-to-day to be a stylist? How did this relationship start with this client? How did you feel when you got this amazing reception on this Oscars look? 

I feel like we are hitting a new era where people are really realizing the need to be eco-friendly, but at the same time, fast fashion is a huge industry. In your opinion, what is fashion moving towards? 

I think trends are fun, but I think that there’s a lot more emphasis on personal style right now which I feel is more sustainable in turn. It’s having items in your closet that you’re like, “I love this item! I can style this shirt however I want, I don’t think I will ever stop liking it,” as opposed to “cutouts are really in, so I bought a cutout t-shirt, and actually, I don’t like how it looks.” It’s fun to lean into the trends that feel right to you but that can also be in styling. It’s the whole idea of personal style being more the forefront and shopping your own closet. You can go right into your closet and be like, “Oh, maybe the way of tying this cardigan is more in; I don’t have to buy a new cardigan but I can just style it in a way that feels very 2023.” 

“Considered purchases” are top of mind for me personally. I’m trying to do less of an impulse buy and instead, think, “Okay, I know I’m looking for a pair of black trousers. I’m going to really think about where I want these from, I’m going to try on a bunch of pairs and make sure it’s something that I’m reaching for all the time [in my closet].” 

What are your favorite looks?

I’ve been thinking about my personal style a bit because I’ve been cleaning out my closet and trying to add more intentionally. I’ve realized that I tend to prefer to dress kind of casually but a little playfully and minimally! Even if I’m super dressed up — I love getting dressed up — there needs to be an element of it that’s casual, whether that means my hair’s a little messy or I have a slouchy thing on. Something that would otherwise be very dressed up, I just feel most comfortable when there’s something kind of undone about it. And also, I like something a little playful, like Susan Alexandra — her necklaces and her beaded bags. 

For a long time, I felt like I had to dress in a certain way, or I wasn’t conscious of my own personal style. As I’ve been working here and learning a lot more about style and about what I like, I’ve realized that, yeah, fashion should be fun. It shouldn’t be so rules-oriented; it shouldn’t be like you have to do this. Thinking about [fashion] as a way of having fun or expressing myself has been really freeing.

Written and Interviewed By: Riley Card

Strike Out,

St. Louis