Tamara Cincik

The hotel I stayed at in Paris for Paris Fashion Week, is about to be renovated, I do hope they don’t ruin it in the process…
I’ve stayed in quite a few hotels this month, from chi-chi in Cape Town, to stuck in a cold war post-script in Prague, but this one had a real art deco, frayed at the edges charm.

Am hopeful that it is as brilliant as this trailer for the new Wes Anderson movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel, when it opens here tomorrow, am hoping to sneak off and fall into it’s lobby wonderland.

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/

Sophie Ellis Bextor As Styled By Me in A Mishka Vintage Beauty For Her New Album Wanderlust.

Sophie Ellis Bextor is an absolute delight to work with, as well as being a total beauty, she is talented and generous to those who work with her.
Last night, I was invited to the album launch at Bush Hall, an opportunity for a rare date night with Jeremy. I was thrilled when I saw her beaming onto the stage wearing one of the outfits I had sourced for the album shoot: something Sophie had liked so much, that she had decided to buy and keep it.

The crowd were lovely: all seemed so happy to be there, and Sophie couldn’t contain her absolute excitement at sharing her beautiful new work, amazing voice and talented band.
Sophie has a great rapport with her audience and I beamed inside, when she said that everyone working on the project had been her first choice.
Thank you kind Sophie. It’s appreciation like that, which makes styling all the more pleasurable.
When she sang a surprise good bye accompanied by a piano to lead us out of the venue, you could hear how beautiful her voice is. I really felt so lucky to have been a part of the Wanderlust team and was thrilled to hear that already it is in the album top ten, within a day of launching.
www.sophiellisbextor.net

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

Looking Forward To This Next Week.

Isabella was a woman cut from her own uniquely crafted couture toile. I remember her well and in a time when rentalook-at-me-me-me’s scowl past cobbles to get to the shows at Somerset House, it seems somehow apt that their genuine precursor is given a show there, opening next week.
I have been lucky enough to be invited to the press opening and wonder what she would have thought. I hope she would have loved it…

Club To Catwalk At The V&A: Lessons in Posteuring, Posing and Maintaining Glamour Relevance…

The Entrance to the Show.

I was invited to the press opening of Club To Catwalk this week.  If you fancy an hour of digestible street culture history, then I can recommend this exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

This is not a dense, intense, cerebral gallery show packed with anything more avant-garde than a well-curated edit of the most relevant designer pieces from yesteryear.  For an easy to learn lesson in British club culture: the exchange of ideas between music, art, clubbing and fashion, as well evidence of the St Martins meets Blitz roots of many of our greatest designers, this ticks all the boxes.

Smart Clothes: I love how Chrissie Walsh was inspired by The Ballets Russes and Kandinsky.

Genius Galliano.

A jacket Leigh Bowery wore, customised with hundreds of golden hairgrips, for The Blitz Denim show.

Love English Eccentrics texile designs.  Swoon.

Stand And Deliver!

Troubadours and Peacocks.

Goths and Victoriana.

Pam Hogg Catsuit With Friends.

Boy London and the Ray Petri Zone.

Film Noir For Club Kids.

Betty Jackson.

To book or for more information, please click here: – http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/exhibition-from-club-to-catwalk-london-fashion-in-the-80s/about-the-exhibition/

Tamara Cincik.

Upstairs At Cochinechine.

I switched my ‘phone back on, after watching the Baz Luhrmann version of ‘The Great Gatsby’, my head slightly spinning with the beautifully intense overloaded imagery.  Imagine, then my surprise, when I saw that I had won the £900 spending spree prize at my local designer independent boutique!  The fabulous Cochinechine in Hampstead, where I have been known to indulge in Marc Jacobs boots and admired their cool edits of quirky, strong and on-trend pieces.  I am about to go there today: have checked the website multiple times and am more excited that I can spell!  Will let you know what I decide upon.

Downstairs At Cochinechine.

For a chance to win yourself, check their website: http://www.cochinechine.com/

There goes my retort that I never win anything!!!

A school friend, Fiona, who is involved with this fabulous event, has kindly invited me along to the series of talks at RIBA tomorrow hosted by Point.  Looking at the schedule for tomorrow, I have to say I am quite excited to hear Peter York whose opinions upon Sloane Rangerdom proliferated my adolescence with quick witted reference points, when I somehow gatecrashed into a world where women wore pearls, everyone wore their collar up and ‘ok’, literally did end with ‘ya’….

Themed around the concept of ‘authenticity’, it will be fascinating to hear, (gulp) 20+ years and another Tory PM at Number 10 later, what Peter’s verdict on today’s authenticity is.

http://pointishere.com/schedule/