Sighs and Whispers

About Sighs and Whispers

Podcast by Laura McLaws Helms

Publisher

Laura McLaws Helms

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

26 Sept 2016

Latest episode

10 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

52 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   10 Jul 2026

   The Architectural Minimalism of Ronaldus Shamask

   Fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms speaks with fashion designer Ronaldus Shamask. Known for his architectural designs, Ron grew up in the Netherlands before emigrating to Australia at the age of 12. After working as a window dresser in Melbourne, he moved to London in the late 1960s, where he found work as a fashion illustrator. After a few years designing for the theatre in Buffalo, Shamask moved to NYC in the late 1970s. There his debut fashion collection for autumn/winter 1979 made a splash with its simple and austere clothes, shorn of all decorative elements yet striking in the precision of cut. Shamask’s designs for women and men brought him acclaim throughout the 1980s, and while in the 1990s he often took a step back from fashion week, whenever Shamask the brand has publicly reemerged, at NYFW in 2011 or a retrospective exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2012, there has been much fanfare, with everyone in the fashion industry gleeful at the return of a true master of artful minimalism. His designs are both highly collectible and very wearable, seeming to exist outside of trends or a particular fashion moment. To sign up for my newsletter, visit https://laurakitty.substack.com/ For full show notes, episode resources, video clips, and a slideshow of photographs, head to https://sighswhispers.com/episode-51- shamask Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms Featured Guest Ronaldus Shamask

2. 

   14 May 2026

   Erika Elias: Charlie's Girls, Youth Fashion, and Life in the Garment Industry

   Fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms speaks with fashion designer Erika Elias. Now 95, Erika Elias was born in Vienna in 1930 and raised in Czechoslovakia before escaping to America with her family in 1940. Once in New York City, she studied at the School of Industrial Art (now the High School of Art and Design) and Parsons before starting a career in fashion in the 1950s. By 1960, she was head designer at Juniorite, Inc., a junior sportswear brand. Highly skilled at understanding how to translate the youth movement on the street into mass market clothes, in 1967 she was brought into start Charlie’s Girls, a new juniors sportswear line of funky, inexpensive pieces. For six years, Charlie’s Girls was one of the most successful brands in America, often selling hundreds of thousands of units per garment, leading Rags Magazine to write, “Erika Elias has more fashion influence than anyone you’ve ever heard of.” Erika was a true career woman—her complete focus was on designing and advancing her career at a time when that was unusual for a woman. To sign up for my newsletter, visit https://laurakitty.substack.com/ For full show notes, episode resources, video clips, and a slideshow of photographs, head to https://www.sighswhispers.com/episodes/episode-50-erika-elias Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms Featured Guest Erika Elias

3. 

   31 Mar 2026

   Hylan Booker: Fashion, Art, and Breaking Boundaries

   Fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms speaks with fashion designer and artist Hylan Booker. Born and raised in Detroit, Hylan Booker came to the UK in 1958 as a G.I. in the US Air Force. In his downtime, he studied at the Swindon School of Art, before enrolling at the Royal College of Art in London, where he studied alongside Ossie Clark. Booker launched his own line after graduation in 1966, quickly becoming one of the most talked-about collections in Swinging London. In 1968, he was tapped by the historic House of Worth to design its couture collection, becoming the first Black to hold such a role at a European couture house. Through the 1970s, he freelanced for many British fashion companies and established a cosmetics line for women of color, before returning to the United States in 1980. After designing menswear in New York, Booker moved to Miami in the 1990s, where he established his own couture line of exquisite evening gowns. After closing his line in the wake of 9/11, Hylan switched his focus to art—primarily painting, as well as soaking up the beauty of art while working as a guard for LACMA, which provided him the opportunity to also start writing about art and fashion history. Over his long and varied career, Hylan has always been at the center of everything—continually creating and always evolving. Living in Los Angeles and still painting daily, Hylan is a highly erudite, philosophical man, and this is a particularly fascinating conversation. To sign up for my newsletter, visit https://laurakitty.substack.com/ For full show notes, episode resources, video clips, and a slideshow of photographs, head to https://sighswhispers.com/episode-49-hylan-booker Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms Featured Guest Hylan Booker

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Contact Sighs and Whispers

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.