Samata Pattinson (born 23 January 1987) is a British-born Ghanaian

fashion entrepreneur A fashion entrepreneur is a person who has possession of a fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyl ...

. She is known for her work as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

Suzy Amis Cameron Suzy Amis Cameron (born Susan Elizabeth Amis; January 5, 1962) is an American environmental advocate, and a former actress and model. Her acting career began in 1985, known for roles in ''The Ballad of Little Jo'', ''The Usual Suspects'' and '' ...

's Red Carpet Green Dress organisation, which, as part of its activities, delivers

sustainable fashion Sustainable fashion (also known as eco-fashion) is a term describing products, processes, activities, and actors (policymakers, brands, consumers) aiming to achieve a carbon-neutral fashion industry, built on equality, social justice, animal ...

on the red carpet at the

Oscars The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

each year. Samata has contributed to,

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

EuroNews Euronews (styled on-air in lowercase as euronews) is a European television news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. The network began broadcasting on 1 January 1993 and covers world news from a European perspective. The majority of Euron ...

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

and Huffington Post and others. Her work in the fields of

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fash ...

and

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

have received coverage from different magazines.

Early life and education

Born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

, England, Samata is the middle daughter of Ghanaian parents and has two sisters. Her paternal grandfather was the tribal Chief Yo Naa III of the Dagomba people. She attended Catholic Primary schools before attending

Perse School For Girls The Stephen Perse Foundation is a family of independent schools in Cambridge and Saffron Walden for students aged 1 to 18. The Foundation is made up of 3 nurseries (2 in Cambridge and 1 in Saffron Walden, Essex) for ages 1–5, 2 Junior Schoo ...

from Secondary. Samata studied a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...

, finance and

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and previously Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of ...

Fashion career

Samata is an autodidact

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

who began her fashion career as a PR Director for

King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents), is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...

boutique Elival. In 2005, Samata launched her own clothing working with

Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the ...

on the Festival of Youth Arts Fashion in Piccadilly Circus, going on to become the first black British female to show during Nolcha Fashion Week, New York. Samata has been invited to Number 10 Downing Street by both

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...

and the Cameron administration for her work in the fashion industry. She was announced as the young designer winner of Suzy Amis Cameron's Red Carpet Green Dress contest, an international

sustainable design Environmentally sustainable design (also called environmentally conscious design, eco-design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability ...

initiative on the

' red carpet in 2011. She is also known for her Bloomsbury's 'Fashion Designer's Resource Book', and for her work as producer and

presenter A presenter is a person or organization responsible for the running of a public event, or someone who conveys information on media via a broadcasting outlet. Presenter may refer to: People * News presenter, person who presents news during a new ...

of short environmental video 'Designing Change'.

Fashion journalism and broadcasting

Samata was Fashion Editor of The Talent Magazine presented at the Channel 4 Magazine launch and styling actor

Nicholas Holt Nicholas Holt VSpokesman-Review'' - Washington State Employee Salaries - Assistant football coach employees - Univ. of Washington - 2010 compensation - accessed 2011-12-31 (born October 15, 1962) is an American football coach who is currently the ...

for the first cover issue. Samata's journalism work notably covers the subject of

and fashion enterprise. Her

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...

coverage for ''The Guardian'' coined the phrase 'Eco-Ghosting'. Samata's interviewees include

Missi Pyle Missi Pyle (born November 16, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in a number of successful films, including '' Galaxy Quest'' (1999), '' Big Fish'' (2003), ''Bringing Down the House'' (2003), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog ...

Dame Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Westwood came to public notice when she m ...

and Christopher Bailey. In 2016 Samata narrated, co-directed and co-produced short documentary about sustainable fashion entitled Designing Change with Suzy Amis Cameron. She has appeared on

ITV News At Ten ''ITV News at Ten'' (or more commonly ''News at Ten'') is the flagship evening news programme on British television network ITV, produced by ITN and founded by news editor Geoffrey Cox in July 1967. The bulletin was the first permanent 30-mi ...

, ITV News at Six, and others. She was asked by ITV News to pass an official comment on the appointment of fellow Ghanaian

Edward Enninful Edward Kobina Enninful (born 22 February 1972) is an English editor-in-chief of British ''Vogue'' and European editorial director of Condé Nast. He was appointed a fashion director of British fashion magazine '' i-D'' at the age of 18, a po ...

as the Editor of

Vogue UK British ''Vogue'' is a British fashion magazine published based in London since autumn 1916. It is the British edition of the American magazine '' Vogue'' and is owned and distributed by Condé Montrose Nast. British ''Vogue'' editor in 2012 ...

in addition to the role of women in broadcasting. In 2019 she interviewed Christopher Raeburn at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit.

Published work

Bloomsbury Publishing Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. Bloomsbury's head office is located in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has ...

published Samata's book the Fashion Designer's Resource Book in February 2013. Samata writes poetry and fiction, and in 2006 was invited to perform

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics o ...

at the

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It ...

for the Surrealism and Minimalism Festival. Samata is the author of popular women's empowerment book, THE TRIBE™ Empowerment Journal, her collective THE TRIBE counts musician

Shingai Shoniwa Shingai Elizabeth Maria Shoniwa ( ; born 1 September 1981), known professionally as Shingai is a Zimbabwean-British singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the vocalist and bassist for the English indie rock band Noisettes. In 2017, she l ...

and journalists

Shaunagh Connaire Shaunagh Connaire is an Emmy-nominated Irish broadcast journalist, who has worked for the BBC, Channel 4 and CNBC amongst others. Early life Connaire was raised in Longford and attended Meán Scoil Mhuire, an all-girls school in the town. In May ...

and

Charlene White Charlene Denise White (born 22 June 1980) is a British television broadcaster, journalist and presenter, best known for presenting ''ITV News'' programmes. She has been an anchor on ''Loose Women'' since 2021SXSW Eco,

Central St Martins Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of shor ...

London College of Fashion The London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, in London, England. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate, short courses, study abroad courses and business-training in fashion, make-up, beauty-therap ...

, Berkeley, Ravensbourne and

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It ...

. She is known for her strong views on sustainability which have been featured in publications such as Reuters, Business Insider, Business Of Fashion, Harper's Bazaar, Wonderland China, Yahoo Finance and WWD. In 2020, Samata was selected by

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

to champion their new series for the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership entitled 'Future we Want initiative', in addition to sharing insight for the inaugural IPBES, Global Biodiversity Podcast - Nature Insight. Samata, is a proponent of intersectional environmentalism, and is vocal about the importance of representation within the fashion industry for BIPOC groups and black creatives, and "celebrating coverage equally from global platforms, from

Vogue Poland ''Vogue Polska'' (meaning ''Vogue Poland'') is the Polish edition of the American fashion and lifestyle monthly magazine '' Vogue''. The magazine has been published since February 2018 and is the twenty-third local edition of ''Vogue''. Publicat ...

to Wonderland China".

The Oscars & Sustainable Design

Through Red Carpet Green Dress, Samata's design, educational and thought-leadership work with pioneers such as

Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Westwood came to public notice when she ...

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury bags and lea ...

and Tesla has frequented the red carpet at the Annual

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

since 2012. She has made appearances at the Environmental Media Awards and the Oscars amongst other sustainability initiatives. Her work style has earned her the moniker of being 'indefatigable' by Hollywood Director

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post- New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability ...

, whom she co-hosted the RCGD Global Pre-Oscar Event within 2020. Samata was cited by LOHAS Magazine as one of the Top 100 Women in their 'Green Women Power List 100' for her work leading sustainable change in 2021.

Philanthropy

In 2006, Samata recorded a spoken word youth charity single for a music project entitled Enfants Soldats to raised awareness about child soldiers. In December 2007, Samata organised a student fashion show as part of a fundraising concert in Freetown,

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

for a public sanitation project, with Sway (Japanese rapper), SWAY, Dawn Richards, and

WFP The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен� ...

initiative CatWALK the World. In September 2009, Samata designed costumes for the

ITV News ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. ITV has a long tradition of television news. Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the network in 1955, and has since con ...

team as part of the 'Newsroom's Got Talent' fundraiser benefitting Leonard Cheshire Disability and Helen & Douglas House Hospice for Children and Young Adults. The then-designer exclusively dressed the likes of Romilly Weeks, journalist Steve Scott and Katie Derham for a Grease tribute performance, in addition to donating a gown.

Associated organisations and honours

Women for Women International Women for Women International (WfWI) is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides practical and moral support to female survivors of war. WfWI helps such women rebuild their lives after war's devastation through a year-long tiered progra ...

charity Samata is one of Ghana's prominent fashion industry members and was invited by High Commissioner Kwaku Danso-Boafo to attend the

Screen Nation The Screen Nation Film & TV Awards, formerly the bfm (black filmmaker) Film and TV Awards, was founded in September 2003 by independent film producer Charles Thompson MBE, as a platform to raise the profile of black British and international fil ...

'Sons and Daughters of Ghana' at the Ghanaian High Commission. Samata judged the ''Top Model of Colour'' finale in

The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 c ...

, meeting President of The Gambia, Yahya AJJ Jammeh.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samata People from Cambridge Living people British women journalists Ghanaian women journalists British fashion designers English people of Ghanaian descent 1987 births Ghanaian fashion designers Ghanaian women fashion designers British women fashion designers