Samata
Samata is a British born Ghanaian entrepreneur working across fashion and media. The published author (The Fashion Designer’s Resource Book – Bloomsbury Publishing), writer (The Guardian, VOGUE, Huffington Post) and designer is also known for her work as Global Director for Suzy Amis Cameron’s Red Carpet Green Dress campaign, showcasing sustainable fashion on the red carpet at the Oscars every year.
Samata
Interview by Thomasina r. Legend
images by Samata
Samata, a talented presenter and producer, is committed to creating positive change within all the fields she operates in and influences, and her work has been featured in VOGUE (USA & UK), E! Entertainment, Hello Giggles, The Huffington Post, Women’s Wear Daily, ELLE, InStyle, Essence, Red Magazine, Refinery 29 and more. The former Fashion Editor of The Talent Magazine, she is also Editor of SamataHome.com, a portal for her work and personal style, a board for curated style pointers and a central hub for the like-minded to discover and connect. Most recently Samata founded THE TRIBE in 2016, a global collective, created for women to empower and celebrate each other.
Samata works on several philanthropic and charitable projects. In 2006 Samata recorded a spoken word charity single for music project entitled Enfants Soldats, later organising a fundraising concert in Freetown, Sierra Leone for a public sanitation project. In September 2009 Samata designed costumes for the ITV News team as part of the ‘Newsroom’s Got Talent’ fundraiser benefitting Leonard Cheshire Disability and Helen & Douglas House Hospice for Children and Young Adults. A keen philanthropist, Samata is an active fundraiser for America’s soon-to-be first plant-based school, MUSE School CA, founded by Suzy Amis Cameron and James Cameron, where over 50% of the children are on financial aid. She is also an advocate for international organisation Women for Women International.
Our Editor-in-chief connects with this all round phenomenon of a woman to discuss her career, her work on sustainability, challenges and experiences learnt along the way, new ventures, and a look into the future for Samata.
You have been in the fashion business and environment from a young age and have accomplished so much. Let’s discuss how this journey and passion started, what inspired you to pursue what you obviously love and are very talented at, having studied Economics, Finance and Management at Queen Mary University. I’ve always been a creative person at heart - whether writing poetry or customising clothing - transforming things, be it words into verses or fabric into garments is just something that comes naturally to me, in a way, it is part of who I am. So I can’t say when it started, it began when I knew what my days were missing, if that makes sense. Studying Economics, Finance and Management was partly to appease Ghanaian traditional parents, but also because in the back of my mind I knew that that kind of degree would come in useful one day - and it has. When I graduated I dived straight in - work experience with an international clothing brand, PR for a 3-floor boutique in Kings Road - you name it. I soaked up as much experience as I could on all sides of the industry. It was insane because I was fresh out of University running the PR for this huge boutique and being sent on buying trips to Paris with a hefty budget. It was sink or swim and I think in those moments, when you realise someone's livelihood or business is at stake, you just kind of do it. It’s also in those moments that you realise what you love, what your calling is.
That is really amazing. Would you say your experience at the boutique inspired the launch of your own label in 2007? And as a young autodidact designer, what reservations did you have if any about taking that bold step in setting out on your own having no official training. I didn’t have any reservations and that is probably the best and worst thing about me - I don’t overthink, I am passionate but I can be reckless. It’s all about self-learning! For me doing that made sense because I loved designing, I wanted to make a living from it and I had friends around me who were into the same thing. In hindsight I should have got so much more experience and funding together but I learnt by failing in so many areas - after a show in New York I was approached by a buyer from Henri Bendel but I just didn’t have the infrastructure in place to translate that opportunity into a win for my brand - and those are the kind of lessons that always stay with you! That was definitely one of the toughest lessons; walk before you run so that you can fly.
That is true. I must say I am learning the same sort of lesson but at the same time we can’t have too much regrets on the way we chose to approach things because it has brought about some amazing lessons and experiences. Lets talk more on your label. Tell me about your label Samata and what type of woman you design for? Well, right now it is paused and being prepped for launch. I think deep down I know that when it starts again, it won’t stop, so I am really finessing everything from the hem and trim, to the website. I have enough to keep me happy and busy in the interim! I design for women who love being women - it’s a simple enough statement but I want to create pieces for the outlier, the unique woman whose outfit you always anticipate. I remember reading an interview with P.Diddy and he said that when Beyoncé is going to perform there is always a level of anticipation in the room. I want to create dresses, which have that impact too. I can’t say too much but it’s all about quality, beautiful design and incredible fit. I love the social campaign #TheresNoRightWay to be a woman, it fits my ethos completely. When it goes live, I will be known for creating dresses that celebrate women, not help them to pretend.
That is great and I look forward to the launch with excitement. In 2011, whilst working as a designer, you entered the Red Carpet Green Dress competition subsequently winning it. What propelled you into entering the RCGD competition and what impact did winning it have on your objectives for taking part in the competition? I mentioned before that I took a break from designing, I had a really tough year and just needed to sit it out and revaluate what I wanted and if fashion could truly make me happy. I adore fashion and the industry, but it’s relentless and it can often feel like you aren’t even scraping the surface of success. You get into ‘the room’ and there is another door you don’t have a key to. After a pretty bleak year, Christmas rolled around and I had been given a sketchbook by my mum - I just doodled in it, just the one dress - and a few days into the New Year I submitted that one sketch for the Red Carpet Green Dress competition online. I remember clearly that the deadline was midnight and I submitted at say 11:55pm - that’s how nonchalant I was about it all!
Around 2 weeks later Suzy Amis Cameron called me to let me know I had won and everything changed for me in that moment. I went over to meet her and the day I was due to return to London she invited me to sit down and asked me to run the campaign. I had to decide whether I could pause my label and focus on that. It wasn’t a tough decision because I felt the door to travel through life with Suzy was going to be magical. She had such an impact on me when I met her and I still have never met anyone like her. I didn’t see it as postponing my dreams, merely adding an incredible layer to them.
Wow that is truly amazing and I am so happy at the turn of events for you especially when you decided to send in the dress for the competition and how amazing it is that you were later appointed the Global Campaign Director of the RCDG, the very competition you won. Can you talk us through more of what the Red Carpet Green Dress is, what it does and aims to accomplish, how subsequent winners have benefited from winning the competition and what your role as a Global Campaign Director entailed? Suzy Amis Cameron and her husband James Cameron (Director of Titanic and Avatar) have been involved in environmental causes, protecting the planet and its precious resources for a long time. Inspired by the global red carpet opportunity presented by her husbands’ blockbuster hit ‘Avatar’ in 2009, Suzy Amis Cameron founded the project - we create ethical fashion for the Oscars red carpet each year. As Campaign Director I am involved in everything from talent selection to planning our Pre-Oscar celebration.
That is a great way of bringing greater awareness of the issues concerning sustainability. When we talk about sustainability in fashion, can you talk us through what this should be and represent because when sustainability is mentioned, it is entirely shrouded by numerous ideas of what designers and brands especially high street want to portray it to be, which then tends to befit the entire point of sustainability. I agree entirely - in fact whenever I speak to anyone about the topic, I ask him or her for his or her definition. Quality is so important but so is where you source, whom you source from and who is making your clothes. It all matters! I remember the book which changed my life was Sass Brown’s for me sustainability is striving to achieve the 360 in ethical, safe and green design. It covers everything from not wasting and recycling, to using quality, safe or certified inputs and dyes, across to educating your consumers about how they should look after those clothes once they have them. It’s about asking who made your clothes and caring about the answer, but it is also about beautiful design, which is built to last, and can after use become part of another cycled - closed loop. Fast fashion isn’t appealing anymore because ultimately consumers lose excitement the moment they have the new item. I think the real genius lies in creating pieces people do not want to ever part with. When Suzy came into my life I also started learning so much about dyes and how some are harmful to the endocrine system - for example - and just other interesting pieces. So the sustainability umbrella is far and wide reaching. In an ideal world we would look at all of these things when we create sustainable fashion.
Do you think there is enough being done when it comes to sustainable practices within the fashion industry and if it isn’t, after all the campaigns and numerous awareness and tragedies that have occurred over the years through unethical practices by so many brands, what suggestions do you have that can be taken on board moving forward? I don’t think we can even say there have been numerous campaigns - I can name a few but Fashion Revolution Day is one of the most poignant and obviously what Suzy Amis Cameron aims to do with Red Carpet Green Dress is start a conversation on a highly visible platform - we certainly need more because right now sustainability has not taken over the high-street and become the norm. Once it does, our job is done. So we need more designers creating ethically and more consumers buying ethically - we should not only focus on what is being made but also actually ask consumers to change their buying patterns and perceptions. The weight is on all of us.
That is very true. We all have a responsibility to play especially when it comes to changing the consumer’s perception on fast fashion.
When it comes to the fast paced nature we consume fashion presently and the desire for affordability being at the forefront of the masses, do you seriously believe that the fashion industry can truly be sustainable and held to account to incorporate ethical practices when it comes to production, distribution & subsequently consumption? Absolutely, it’s a business like any other and to survive it must adapt. And on top of that, fashion is such an incredibly creative field - what other industry could come up with an innovative solution in the same way that fashion can. I am very hopeful! After a while I believe choice will be removed though and legislation will kick in, once the severity of the impact fashion has on the world is truly realised.
What are some of the challenges you are aware of that designers face when it comes to implementing ethical and sustainable practices from sourcing to production? Access to information, supportive infrastructure for companies trying to do things the green way, and accessible pricing I think are important areas but above this, knowledge sharing is not where it could be. Still, I have to say that collaborations, industry conferences - like the Copenhagen Fashion Summit - and innovators like Cradle To Cradle are moving the needle. When trade secrets become a shared USP, we are all going to be positively impacted.
Apart from fashion design, you have excelled in the fields of Journalism with experiences that have spanned from being the fashion editor of The Talent Magazine to writing for The Guardian, Vogue UK and subsequently bagging the best of them all, a Bloomsbury Publishing deal that birthed the gift to the fashion world, the amazing and very needed Fashion Designer’s Resource Book in 2013. You have been a very busy & vision driven woman. Can you talk us through what led to the creation of the FDR book? It’s been over six years since I started writing The Fashion Designer’s Resource Book and over four years since I received my first copy from publishing house Bloomsbury in February 2013 but I still love that it’s being found useful to people. That goes to show that whilst trends change almost from one month to the next, the fundamentals always stay the same, and the basics are the basis of everything! The book itself was borne out of a desire to turn a diary and journal of thoughts and lessons into something other designers might find useful. I didn’t feel there was anything out there for designers starting out by a creative still in the trenches.
How long did it take to finish the book and did you face any challenges when working on the book that opened up insightful lessons that you would like to share with us. It was a labour of love and something I wrote between busy bursts of work - getting the interviews was not so difficult but decided what to narrow in on when fashion can cover so much was a struggle!
The @FDRBook covers a range of topics that are all very important aspects that designers need to be able to navigate through the saturated chaos that has become the fashion industry that really did have a limited source of direction for emerging designers but one of the most important topic to me that caught my eye straight off in the contents page which I feel is not really addressed much or at all is ‘Emotional Well-Being’ and I am glad it is an area that you have covered in-depth and would like to ask you to narrate to us your personal journey emotionally and mentally when you set up your label, the toll it took on you, the lonely moments of feeling inadequate or not up to par before the success set in and what you did to combat those moments. It’s exhausting working across multiple time zones, mastering your social media, rolling out marketing/PR initiatives, finding decent suppliers/manufacturers, building a team and ultimately expressing your creativity through work with the belief, hope or blind faith that it will all generate a living for you.
Simply put, I think creative people are hugely vulnerable or at least sensitive and if you bare that mind of course you will suffer the worst lows if things are going your way or you can’t see a break happening in the immediate future - plus your resources are nearly always tight! There were times when I thought failure would hit me hard, but that’s when self-belief, getting away, talking to people who believe in you is crucial. You have to breathe and get your needs met so that you can bounce back full force. That’s what I do. Galleries, watching my favourite shows, reading, hanging out with friends or having a day in bed and getting up to face another day! Listen to your body and your quiet mind - don’t force anything (by all means push yourself), but don’t force it through or you actually might ruin it.
Very true and well said. In 2016 you co-produced/directed and narrated the short video ‘Designing Change’ alongside Suzy Amis Cameron and Brandon Hickman, can you tell us more about this project? What inspired it, what was the message you wanted to communicate through that video and how has that impacted the campaign on sustainability? Designing Change was really about a peek behind the scenes at Red Carpet Green Dress and the wider message the campaign is part of. We wanted to put together a video which showed the reason why we started the campaign and talk to other activists in the space such as Vivienne Westwood and Tommy Crawford who at the time ran Greenpeace’s Detox Fashion Campaign. These are such brilliant minds and speaking to them whilst also sharing shocking footage - the pink rivers in Guangzhou (most populous city of the province of Guangdong in southern China) - was also crucial for us. It was important to bring in our Red Carpet Green Dress family - such as our natural dye specialist - and show the challenges we face each year making an ethical dress and where we struggle too. I love directing and producing it with the team - it was a huge passion project for us.
Photography: Brandon Hickman
Dresses on Suzy Amis Cameron and Samata: Lindee Daniel
Photo by Brandon Hickman
In July 2016 you launched ‘The Tribe’, a women’s only event and collective that brings together and celebrates women from various industries to inspire, encourage and support each other. What inspired you to launch The Tribe and what are your aims & objectives for creating the movement? And also what has the response been like since launching Tribe and how does the Tribe work? The events are part of it - bringing women together from all walks of life across all industries or otherwise. Awards for women celebrate who they are and that is fantastic but I want to celebrate women who aren’t in the public eye too. Beyond the events we are starting conversations - mainly online - with other women who are engaged in the conversation too - they get the concept and are also fed up with this feeling of ‘never-enoughness’, the idea that there is always this next thing they should be aiming for in life. Incredibly we have thousands of women supporting the movement online and a growing number signing up to come to our events with us.
How important is female empowerment to you and what is your vision when it comes to THE TRIBE and empowering, inspiring and motivating women to accomplish their dreams and goals? Women feeling good about who they are is important to me because I feel so often we are reminded why we aren’t enough - it’s one thing after the other and keeping your head up is hard sometimes so THE TRIBE is simply a space for women to be reminded of who they are and it also fundraises for ‘Women for Women International’ so that’s a great tie-in. My vision is for it to become a global group of women warriors who support and help each other to navigate challenges or problems - emotionally but also tangibly - with work.
When it comes to charity and philanthropy you have selflessly dedicated your time, knowledge and experience in helping causes such as Enfants Soldats for child soldiers, organising charity fashion shows in Freetown, Sierra Leone and most recently Women For Women International - helping women survivors of war. This is a depiction of a purpose driven life and I really want to know honestly at what age did you realise that you had such a powerful purpose and vision. Charity is important to my family - both of my parents give their time generously to other people. We have had many Christmases with strangers at the table who couldn’t fly home or had no family nearby so my mum would invite them to join us. Or when on holiday in Ghana I woke up several times to my father and his houseboys giving food to local children before they went to school. Whenever he travelled from the UK to Ghana he would be laden with suitcases helping this aunt take something to her son or gestures along those lines. They both like helping people and you can see it's purely motivated - so that spirit is contagious. Especially when you see how happy it makes others.
But also, this is actually the work that reminds you of your purpose. With ‘Women for Women International’, they are supporting women survivors of war - I mean if you ever need a reality check or reminder of perspective that’s all you need! Same with Sierra Leone - going there and seeing women whose arms or breasts had been cut off by rebels was a slap in the face and we all need to be reminded that we are part of a bigger family, not only our flesh and blood. We have a responsibility to care and help where we can.
That is so true. We are more and can always do more where and whenever we can to better transform the lives of others.
What does VISION mean to you and how important and relevant is it to the building of ones dreams and goals? Vision means having a picture in your mind to work towards, but being willing to see that picture through a different lens or even slightly altered. It means still climbing the mountain, but being willing to fall off the beaten track and not go the path well trodden. I don’t see how you can build a dream without a vision, because you can end up spending your time on fruitless tasks. For me personally, I love surrounding myself with pictures and memories of why I am doing what I do, and of course - anyone who knows me knows this - I love a good inspirational quote! Getting books is one of the nicest things you can do for someone - I sent THRIVE by Arianna Huffington to people in my life that I wanted to encourage, and when I receive a book it also helps motivate me.
That is brilliant. Did you at any point in your creative journey ever feel like your vision for your life, your career and business would not manifest? If you did, how did you deal with those times as I can imagine they were some of the toughest? I always knew it would manifest, I just didn’t know how long it would take or what form it would take. I knew it would because there was nothing else I could see myself doing. Enjoyment only kicked in when I let go of the extremely narrow version of success I defined and adapted to a new form. It was liberating.
What advice would you give to anyone who gets to that stage in their lives and feel their vision or idea of what they dreamt of is not manifesting into the success that they hoped it would be? Take a time out and step away from the drawing board. You get the best perspective that way. You see so much more of the bigger picture when your nose isn’t pressed to the minutiae. Spend some time in another field, put down the tools. It was the best thing I ever did. When I found out that I won Red Carpet Green Dress I had not been designing properly for at least a year!
As a member of Ghana’s prominent fashion industry and having done a lot of work in Africa like judging the Top Model of Colour finale in the Gambia, you are and must be definitely very familiar with the presence and rise of the African fashion market, breaking boundaries in design and bringing the continent to the forefront when it comes to fashion. What is your take on the African fashion market and how is sustainability and ethical practices incorporated if it is at all? I actually just finished my first Business of Fashion article about this! For me, Africa is inherently sustainable. We don’t waste; we are resourceful by nature, by habit. So in this way I use a term I came up with a few fashion weeks ago for the Guardian, ‘Eco-Ghosting’ - that is operating sustainably without the terminology. Take the way we use every piece of the fabric for our traditional gown to create bracelets, head wraps...you name it? Or the natural dyes; black natural dye made from the bark of the Badie tree? I was speaking to a family friend, Kofi Laing, Radio Host and TV Presenter on Multi TV, for this interview and it was so astounding to learn how Ghanaian fashion is sustainable through tradition and not only on conscious practise.
What are some of the challenges you think are prominent that young emerging African designers are faced with as they try to break onto an increasingly dynamic and fast evolving global scene and what advice would you give them in the pursuit of success in the industry? Access to funding is super challenging. I also think the industry is super crowded and cutting through and making a lasting impact is harder than we like to acknowledge.
In a room crammed with intelligent and brilliant minds how do you edge yourself out above the noise and make a lasting connection? I think all the other challenges - access to finance, securing PR, finding the right stockist - could actually be whittled down to that one challenge really.
How do you pop in a room full of so many bright colours? It’s challenging for emerging designers full stop - that’s why I wrote my book but when it comes to African designers (East to West and North to South) in particular I am actually quite excited. I think we should focus on what is happening instead of what isn’t. Right now, fashion weeks from Accra to Cape Coast are as exciting and anticipated as the more established ones over in the West. My advice is just to be relentless - be bold, push your voice out there as much as you can and read up - Business of Fashion is profiling some great pieces on the African market right now. Look at brands that have cut through and see how they are achieving success. It can be as simple as a clean website, social media presence on at least one platform and obvious, clear links to buy (so many start-ups crash in these areas) and a collection of 5-6 pieces. You don’t have to go crazy, just start. Selling online, building your delivery costs into purchases...whatever it is, be smart so that you can keep your head above water!
Follow the publications showcasing African fashion most intelligently and in a less patronising way - I love Nataal Media for example and of course Voix Meets Mode! Don’t just blindly send out emails to VOGUE and the obvious platforms - look closer to home for inspiration and support too! Go for the platforms your customers are actually reading versus what they buy and leave on the coffee table and also strategic pricing strategy and good track record for delivering. My personal favourites right now are Tsemaye Binitie and I’ll always love Deola Sagoe.
WOW so many incredible words of wisdom right here. Thank you so much for appreciating what VMM is about and trying to achieve. It really makes my heart glad to know we are on your list of favourites. So, finally, can you share with me one of your favourite quotes and how it has been influential in your success all round. My absolute favourites are ‘Do today what others won’t, to get tomorrow what others don’t’ and ‘Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.’
Remarkable. Thank you so much for this interview.
