Brexit Breakfast & Book Clubs: Fashion Roundtable's CEO Tamara Cincik announces our upcoming events schedule
Watching the bulbs emerge with flowers against a backdrop of hailstorms, sunshine and rain, all in a constant kaleidoscope of daily weather formations, I am sure that I am not alone in thinking that the weather reflects not only the climate crisis, but our inner anxieties. From a refugee crisis happening on the other side of Europe, to a very uncertain landscape developing as we enter the all-important trade deal phase of the Brexit negotiations. However you voted, whatever you might feel about Brexit, it is happening. The coming months are vital for us to understand not only the UK's emotional, economic and political seat on the global table, it is also imperative in an ever-shifting landscape.
Future-proofing your business decisions, adjusting your planning and understanding the implications of governmental budget— all while worrying about the coronavirus and its impact on international supply chains and the global economy— is a tall task. This is why we have brought together an incredible panel for our upcoming breakfast event on 31 March at Allbright, Mayfair to address these complex topics. You’ll get the chance to have your budget, Brexit, business and entrepreneurial concerns addressed with expert solutions. I hope to see you there, please visit here for tickets.
From female CEO Nika Diamond-Krendel of sustainable London brand Paradise Row, to leading fashion IP lawyer Alison Cole, as well as Fashion Roundtable's Professor Swati Dhingra and Navjyot Lehl, our empowering discussion will offer strategic solutions and valuable insights. The UK fashion industry is filled with the most creative, brilliant talents, mainly small and medium-sized enterprises, so we hope this event will help you navigate uncertain waters.
Prior to creating Fashion Roundtable, I hosted a series of events at the Houses of Parliament under the name Glass Ceiling Not Glass Slipper, to empower women and bring together debate, insight and address what is holding women back from realising their potential. It was always my intention to bring this back into my work (it has just been quite busy!) so I am delighted that with Fiona McKenzie Johnston we are organising a bimonthly Glass Ceiling Not Glass Slipper book club "to empower and inspire" at the AllBright, Mayfair, starting on 2 April. The first meeting will focus on last year’s joint Man Booker Prize-winners: Bernadine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other and Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments. This is open to all AllBright members and five Fashion Roundtable Members. If you are interested email sarah.squires@fashionroundtable.co.uk, or to find out more about FR Membership, please check out the information here. The book club's aim is to find literature that inspires and empowers us to form connections with each other while doing so. Feminism is a sisterhood— which is an apt point to remember as we enter the marketing frenzy that is International Women's Day.
Last week saw the inaugural meeting of the APPG for Ethics and Sustainability In Fashion at the Houses of Parliament. The Head of CSF Professor Dilys Williams is our special advisor and alongside the charity Hubbub, Fashion Roundtable are now working on this APPG with an exciting cross-party membership of members of the Conservative, Labour, SNP and Green parties. Our co-chairs are Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey and Catherine West MP. More on this soon. This has taken many meetings, several months of planning and allows us to unify our messaging across both APPGs to ensure that the fashion industry's voice is amplified in policy agendas and decision making. I see this as imperative, and the very reason we are hosting our breakfast business event. These are times of great change and if you want to be heard, it is time to have your seat at the table.
This leads me to our work with BECTU and Fashion Assistants — the cult Instagram page which highlights systemic malpractice across the intern and fashion assistant community with great wit, nonetheless it is worrying. In a nutshell, you need to join! We have a massive discount on membership— just £7.50 a month (it will go up very soon in line with what costume department teams pay), ensuring you are protected for up to £10k of lost, damaged or stolen clothes and have union protections against late or non payments. This is potentially revolutionary for the next generation of fashion talent and I hope that many of you take this amazing offer, while you still can. Join here. My work is consistently about finding solutions and safeguards so if I was a fashion assistant again, against the backdrop of all of the above, I know where I would spend £7.50 a month and it would not be in a coffee shop…