At TLMA we are inspired by the connections we have made across a range of industries. In our on-going series of interviews, we speak with Tamara Cincik Founder & CEO of Fashion Roundtable. Fashion Roundtable advocate for long term strategic and sustainable growth for the entire fashion industry in the global marketplace. The team of experts drawn from fashion, business, economics and politics consult for their clients, offering transformative solutions and strategies. Supporting the diverse voices of the industry, they create the potential for long-term, inclusive, sector growth through policy, political intelligence, consultancy and events.
Tamara, thank you for speaking to ourselves. How did Fashion Roundtable start and what inspired you to create the body?
Fashion Roundtable started through a unique combination of having both a career in fashion and the opportunity of working in Parliament for an MP called Sharon Hodgson. After seeing first hand that our incredible sector had very little engagement with Parliament and policy makers I wanted to create a platform that would bring together the diverse range of views and voices in our industry. As the largest component of the creative industries I realised this was a glaring issue and that we deserved a stronger voice to ensure we can be a part of the dialogue for policy.
What are the biggest issues facing the fashion industry at the moment? Aside from Covid-19?
Aside from the current situation, one of the biggest challenges that we are facing is representation. Because of this lack of representation. Fashion Roundtable have launched our Representation and Inclusion policy work for the APPG for Textiles and Fashion.
Other issues that we are facing also include:
- Sustainability and climate change.
- Onshoring and bringing manufacturing to the UK.
- Support for our SMEs during this crisis, Brexit and beyond.
We are at a key moment in the UK politically, economically and socially and many of the issues that the fashion industry are facing are also felt by a wide range of creative and non-creative sectors.
For you, what is the role of fashion in our daily lives and societies?
Each day we all get dressed; we all make rapid non-verbal assumptions about people. How we dress plays a huge part in how we see ourselves and others.
Folk costume and traditional clothing denote locality, status and weather conditions. Now we are more trend-driven, but we all gage someone else by what they are wearing and how they deport themselves. Clothes have the power to transform. There is a charity called Suited For Success which dresses homeless people for job interviews and that is an incredibly powerful metaphor for the impact of a good suit on someone’s life and livelihood. What’s more, the sector itself employs almost one million in the UK alone. It’s a huge factor in business, in our societies and in our identities both constructed or denoted.
Which designers excite and inspire you?
Roksanda, Preen, Charles Jeffrey, Gareth Pugh. Sacai, Comme, Nackiye, Vilshenko
What is your favourite place/experience in London that you are missing at the moment?
Given the deep changes the world and society are experiencing I have to say that there are three main things that I miss: the library in Highgate, Daunt Bookshop in Marylebone and, without a doubt, seeing my parents.
TLMA would like to thank Tamara and her teams for the valuable contributions and work they undertake for the fashion industry. For more information, visit www.fashionroundtable.co.uk.
