Besides my Soho office: Maison Bertaux, Ozgur forced a grin post rendezvous!
Today I am wearing:
Richard Nicholl grey raincoat
Markus Lupfer floral peplum sweatshirt
Vintage Skirt from Camden Market – I had it altered by my tailor: made shorter and taken in, as well as adding side pockets – I do love a pocket!
Boots: Acne
Handbag: Tila March
Socks: Jonathan Aston
This is how I wear vintage – in response to Channel 4’s ‘This Old Thing’ and as someone who has worn vintage since it was secondhand from charity shops: I mix it in with current clothes, sourced from sample sales or lucky styling gifts, generally not the high street (but for high street prices), never vintage shoes and always partial to a spot of day wear glitz and sheen! If you take clothes to a tailor something really average can be lifted into something amazing. I bought a pink dress at Chiswick car boot sale recently, seeing potential, I had it transformed by tailoring costing me £10, into a skirt which nods to Roksanda Ilincic in it’s glamour.

What does design mean to you?

Good design is something you don’t have to think about, as it works flawlessly in your life.
I don’t feel design ends with a product, it is how you lead your life, how you interact with people and the choices you make. These design your life; hopefully how you want it be. I enjoy a beautifully made dress, sofa, or cushion: appreciating what I consider to be their great design; but I do see design as more than objects I can buy.

What inspires you?

My family. My son’s laugh and cuddles. I do love when a client is happy with my work.

I bought a Moldovan Kelim rug in Istanbul this weekend. As soon as I researched the style of carpet I wanted: made for a her dowry by a bride, I fell into an imagined thematic of the story of these rugs: how they seem like a meeting point between Balkan and Ottoman designs.
I could see a running storyline of these women and their lives, their expectations and their hopes.

I hope that they were well-paid for their rugs… I shall treasure mine. They are simply magical. That inspired me this week.

I then went to see my client, Zeynep Tosun, on the otherside of Istanbul, to discuss her show this upcoming London Fashion Week. I had an idea for the show, for some pieces to be designed, which I don’t think has been done before by a designer, in that context – often working as a stylist, my work is instinctive, which is really creative – it was such a buzz to discuss this idea, considering the marriage of artisan talent with good design.

I believe in some way, though this idea for my client Zeynep, is nothing to do with a kelim rug, the carpet I bought inspired me.
What would be your ideal collaboration?

I would love to work with brands on their collections. There are so many brands, which I think need refining, or redefining. A wish list client would be Chanel.

How do you think digital technology and social media affect the fashion industry?

Digital technology is such an intrinsic component of fashion: from the prints designers, such as Peter Pilotto, use on their clothes; to the cut and fit, that it really is vital to the business as it is now.

Social media is a part of life. People can be kept up to date on what you are doing: whether it is someone in the industry, or someone who is interested in what we do. It’s a great way to access an audience, discuss a point of view, to show a fashion film – and sometimes to have a rant!

Some blogs are brilliantly written or photographed; some are just heinous. There can be a lack of editorship filter in the blogosphere; which Suzy Menkes debated brilliantly in her column; but fashion is about trends and this is the latest.

What has been your biggest lesson whilst working within the fashion industry?

Good manners, which isn’t something I learnt in the industry, but something I try to apply on a daily basis to my working and non-working day, I would say is a big lesson. Never be rude to anyone. We are all working hard, under deadlines and stress.

In terms of fashion, I tend to know what I like very quickly what and what will work for a shoot.
I now have a system of editing, which I find works well for me, but I think for all stylists, it is trial and error and also being adaptable to a client, or situation, within a framework of discipline, keeps shoots on track.

How do you differentiate yourself from other fashion stylists?

I am quite good at layering?!

http://www.studiodesignuk.com/studio-now/guest-writer-tamara-cinkik-fashion-stylist/

Tamara Cincik, stylist, writer and brand consultant!

Tamara Cincik

Tamara Cincik is someone you need to know! She’s a London based fashion stylist, writer and brand consultant. (She’s certainly an accomplished woman of our era). Her styling has appeared in several international style magazines and furthermore, she holds the position of contributing Fashion Editor for many other high-end publications.

After graduating from UCL with a BA Honours degree in English Literature, Tamara assisted various leading stylists, including Anna Cockburn, for whom she worked, as an assistant, three years. Known for juxtaposing aesthetics and concepts, Tamara mixes the unusual with the everyday to, in what she calls, “mundane magic”, delve into the imagination to create a superlative reality within our own.

What we love the most about this woman is that she transcends through markets, she can work with couture as well as high street labels. She has been consultant and worked catwalk shows from Lacroix to Topshop. She does what she loves and what she believes in, and there’s no stopping her! Most definitely a force of nature, even in her spare time, she can be found gardening and writing about it for the Guardian online!

1. You style many runway shows and act as a consultant to well-known brands, why do you think everyone seeks your collaborations?

I love working on shows for clients, pushing a designer’s potential and making people take notice of their talent. My 2014 New Year’s resolution is to do more consultancy and creative direction. This really excites me and this is where I see my career heading, I hope.

Vogue UK – Styling by Tamara Cincik

Vogue UK – Styling by Tamara Cincik

Commons and Sense – Styling by Tamara Cincik

Eva Herzigová – Styling by Tamara Cincik

Novembre – Styling by Tamara Cincik

Grey – Styling by Tamara Cincik

2. What’s your never-fail, go-to outfit?

I’d say there are three: depending upon what I am doing…

a) If I am staying in working: blue and white denim dungarees from Beyond Retro, with a Sacai blue cardigan and a KTZ T-shirt.

Look 1

b) If I am going out to a meeting, but also need to run about: my old teenage blue denim 501?s, with a Markus Lupfer sweatershirt with a floral design on the front and a peplum, worn with a Jean Paul Gaultier blouse underneath, with a Florian necklace, my friend, Melanie Chan, the Creative Director at Jas M B gave me for my birthday and perhaps a pair of Manolo Blahnik bronze heeled loafers with matching socks – I am very into shiny shoes!

Look 2

c) If I am going out: an amazing trench meets velvet dress by Sacai from the AW 13 collection, which my dear (and very generous!) friend and former editor Ingrid Brochard treated me to this Christmas, or perhaps a vintage dress from Lizzie at Mishka Vintage, who is my go-to expert for vintage. I have a great Biba padded brown floral coat from her, which I wear with culottes, a Bill Gibb sweater also from Lizzie’s shop and Marc Jacobs sheepskin lined boots. I tend to wear vintage with a nice pair of heels and am lucky as I get invited to sample sales, so have a range of gorgeous shoes from Manolos to Louboutins.

Sacai AW13

3. Which piece should every woman invest in?

A hat in the sun!

In Turkish culture (my father is Turkish), traditionally, women are bought gold by their family, so it isn’t their investment; it is their family’s. It once acted as a dowry. I have 22 carat gold jewellery, which I wear every day and which I was given. I would say it is for the individual and their bank balance, whether this is important to them.

Good skin is the sign of good health, so for me it would be a hat to wear in the sun: I love my Lock and Co. panama, or my fedoras from Stephen Jones. I wear sunscreen in sunshine and use moisturizers.

4. And men?

Nice underwear and moisturizer. I’m not saying that they should spend hours in front of the mirror, English men certainly aren’t like Turkish or Italian! But a little sense of cleanliness goes a long way, doesn’t it ladies?!

Over the age of 30, good trousers or jeans and putting an end to wearing trainers, unless they are at the gym.

5. Could you please create your perfect casual, but at the same time chic, look with clothes from Hiphunters Shop?

It would be jacket from Cerruti 1881 Vintage, Erdem silk jumpsuit, Saint Laurent heels, and Garrard earrings.

CERRUTI 1881 VINTAGE – JACKET
Cerruti 1881 Vintage
Jacket
177.02 £

Shop-button

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ERDEM – Vala SS Eames Silk Jumpsuit
Erdem
Vala SS Eames silk jumpsuit
1353 €

Shop-button

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Garrard – Wings earring
Garrard
‘Wings’ earring
7213.57 £

Shop-button

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Saint Laurent – Paris capped-toe leather pumps
Saint Laurent
Paris capped-toe leather pumps
466 €

Shop-button

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6. Which has been your most challenging shoot?

There was a Japanese artist I was sent to work with, for a French magazine in Paris. She had a studio with her husband in the Marais. I would say they were the most challenging; but the results were amazing, so if it turns out great, I don’t mind the challenge. These are part of working with creatives.

7. Whose style do you really like?

You look at a lot of celebrities and might like their style, but usually that is their stylists’… I like the way these people, some of whom are friends, put their clothes together and they come from a varied range of incomes (from billionaires to regular ones). I don’t believe money buys style, I have known some very stylish people living on not very much money and vice versa…

Stylish people I like: Ulyana Sergeenko, Tara Subkoff, Tara St. Hill, Karen Binns, Carine Roitfeld, Sarah Reygate.

Ulyana Sergeenko

Tara Subkoff

Carine Roitfeld

Karen Binns

Tara St Hill

Sarah Reygate

8. If Dior were alive right now, what do you think he would think about the grunge trend?

Christian Dior’s New Look was a shock to post war fashion and mindsets. The skirts used vast reams of fabric, and in a time when these were highly rationed, sent out a direct message to women about what was and wasn’t modern. Grunge in the 1990?s was a reaction to the 1980?s consumerism and therefore again highly politicised. I would therefore imagine Christian Dior would be looking at the longer historical trajectory of any style, just as his was an echo of the 1850?s crinoline, this grunge trend is an echo of the 1990?s and perhaps therefore he might think in our post 9/11 world a cultural critique of what we are reacting to now. Also designers who have worked their way up to the post of chief designer and large houses are now pushing 40, so were 20-something then. They might have been inspired by their youth…

9. What inspires you while working?

When a team comes together to create a shoot which was in my head and makes it even better than I had imagined. It is great when a client, or publication, is happy with my work. I love working on consultancy and creative direction, time flies by when you enjoy what you do!

Have just seen this for the first time in a while…
A film about bereavement, clothes and the colour pink, by my dear friend Clauds, for which I worked on the styling.
Memories!
I hope that you enjoy it.

I feel like a lapsed blogger: instead of uploading on a daily/hourly basis, I have been working so much, that between prepping, editing, mood-boarding (let’s make that a verb!), styling and shooting, that other than being mother to a 2 year old and planning our imminent move to Muswell Hill, that I literally haven’t had much time to write.  There hasn’t been much time to tend our allotment either, though I did bake a filo pastry potato and spinach pie this morning – with spinach and red onion from the plot.  When you wake up at 6am, as we now do, thanks to my son’s body clock, by 8am, life feels positively brunch-like…

The past month has taken me from selling a car load of loot at Chiswick car boot sale, to styling a huge campaign for the Dubai market, then Hamburg for the Ligne Roset campaign and now prepping for  an commercial in London.  The Dubai shoot was for Mall of the Emirates, which involved 12 huge boxes of designer clothes as prep, fine jewellery galore, rows of Manolos, Ginas and Charlotte Olympia shoes and masses of time on skype in briefing meetings.  I shot the campaign in Prague, that beautiful mad city, which decided to be 36*c the week I was there, in a studio with no a/c.  Liam my assistant was so fried when the producers closed the windows to keep the cold air in, while he was steaming the clothes, that by mid-day I embarked upon an open window intervention!  The shoot looks amazing, we had such fantastic clothes, that I can’t wait to share it when it is released.

 

 

(Photos all courtesy of Jozef Pavleye)

Back to London, for time with my son and husband, we went to Alma Street Festival that Sunday, our local street party, then into prepping for the Ligne Roset campaign, which I styled last week in Hamburg.  Being a huge Ligne Roset fan: our sitting room hosts several pieces, I was delighted to be asked to style for them.  I chose a really vibrant, fresh silhouette which the client loved, good times.  Sunday might have been recovery from The Stones at Glastonbury for some, for my family it was time for a street festival, or two.  First stop: Amwell Street Fete, which was fantastic, exactly what a local street party should be: I bumped into the lovely Sharon Dowsett make up artist supremo and her husband Tony sipping pimms and selling an amazing array of Victoriana from their stall.  The stalls were a ridculous feast of artisan bargains and vintage treasures: Jeremy bought some homemade strawberry jam for £2, while I found a gorgeous blue silk velvet and lace late 1930’s dress (bias cut with a hint of Mildred Pierce around the shoulders) for £10 from Pennies Vintage (http://penniesvintage.com/).  Dukey got his groove on at the bouncy castle and I redecorated rooms in my imagination several times over, as I swooned at a sofa from Timorous Beasties and fabrics at various stalls.  Hampstead Summer Festival, which we went onto, was fun, but Amwell Street Fete was simply heaven: sunshine and sweetness, urban yet urbane, local and lovely.

And now?  Now I am prepping for an advert I am styling at the weekend and waiting for the heads up on shoes and socks!..

 

After a walk which felt like Indiana Jones pushes a pram around the Heath, while my baby  giggled at the hilarity of it all: how heavenly to spend time at Kenwood while the rhododendrons are out, bumping into old friends on a shoot randomly set up next to us.  A perfect afternoon with our gorgeous gifts of love xxx.

Photos from the darkside at Mishka Halloween Night, all courtesy of the uber-talented Karolina, for more of her work please go to: www.karolinaurbaniak.com

Last night I hosted a Halloween Styling Night at my favourite North London vintage emporium Mishka.

Spooks, witches, children of the night braved the cold wet wilds of N8 to shop: channelling their inner divas of darkness purchasing looks perfect for the twilight hours and start of party season as Halloween leads to Bonfire Night, leads to Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve…  aka a fabulous bunch of excuses for a cocktail dress, Ossie Clark maxi dress, bias cut lace beauties, or any number of retro treats.  As treats become the new tricks!  Boom….

The lovely Nadia Jones whose has designed the best in high street womenswear (from Oasis to Mary Portas), fell in love with a 30s webtastic long dress, perfect for an awards ceremony she is attending next month; while my bridesmaid, the stylist and some might say living Barbie ‘Dolly’ Anna Trevelyan, rocking a fluro pink wig (sadly I wasn’t with my camera to capture the moment) swooped on an 80’s black and lurex long, sleek cardigan.

If you didn’t get the chance to join us last night, I suggest you do soon!