Samata (fashion entrepreneur) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Samata Pattinson
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Samata in 2023
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| Born | January 23, 1989 Cambridge, England
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| Alma mater | Queen Mary University of London |
| Occupation | Sustainability advocate, writer, producer and entrepreneur |
Samata Pattinson (born 23 January 1989) is a British-born Ghanaian sustainability advocate, writer, producer and entrepreneur working in design and entertainment industries. Samata has contributed on sustainability to The Guardian, EuroNews, Vogue and Huffington Post and others. She delivered TEDxTalk in 2023, has been recognised by various magazines, podcasts, TV and radio programmes, and has spoken at United Nations HQ, and the 2021 and 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
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Early life and education
Born in Cambridge, England, Samata is the middle daughter of Ghanaian parents and has two sisters. Her paternal grandfather was a royal of Ghana's oldest Kingdom, Yoo Naa III of the Kingdom of Dagbon. She attended Catholic Primary schools before attending Perse School For Girls from Secondary. Samata studied a master's degree in economics, finance and management at Queen Mary University of London.
Fashion career
Samata is an autodidact designer who began her design career in London. Samata has been invited to 10 Downing Street by two British Prime Ministers for her work in the field of sustainability. She was announced as the student designer winner of Red Carpet Green Dress contest, an international sustainable design initiative on the Oscars' red carpet in 2011.
Samata previously worked for Red Carpet Green Dress (RCGD) organisation, which delivered sustainable fashion on the red carpet at the Oscars each year. She joined RCGD in 2011 as a contest winner and then went on to become its global CEO.
In 2023, Samata wrote the first sustainable fashion guide for the 95th Academy Awards (known as the Oscars). She is also known for her Bloomsbury's 'Fashion Designer's Resource Book', and for her work as producer and presenter of short environmental video 'Designing Change'.
In 2022, Pattinson featured in the Billie Eilish documentary on climate change alongside Eilish, Maggie Baird, Finneas O'Connell, Vivienne Westwood, Vanessa Nakate and Yungblud, and associate produced Andrew Morgan's Texas in 2023.
Fashion journalism and broadcasting
Samata was Fashion Editor of The Talent Magazine presented at the Channel 4 Magazine launch and styling actor Nicholas Holt for the first cover issue. Samata's journalism work notably covers the subject of sustainable fashion and fashion enterprise. Her London Fashion Week coverage for The Guardian coined the phrase 'Eco-Ghosting'. In 2016 Samata narrated, co-directed and co-produced a short documentary about sustainable fashion entitled Designing Change. She has appeared on ITV News at Ten, ITV News at Six, and others. In 2023, she moderated and presented at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit.
Published work
Bloomsbury Publishing published Samata's book the Fashion Designer's Resource Book in February 2013. Samata writes poetry and fiction, and was invited to perform spoken word at the Tate Modern. Samata is the author of popular women's empowerment book, THE TRIBE™ Empowerment Journal, her collective THE TRIBE counted musician Shingai Shoniwa and journalists Shaunagh Connaire and Charlene White as members.
Public speaking
Samata has lectured and spoken at conferences and fashion colleges such as Yale School of the Environment, SXSW Eco, Central St Martins, London College of Fashion, Berkeley, Ravensbourne and Fashion Institute of Technology. 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 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 to Wonderland China".
The Oscars & Sustainable Design
In 2023 Samata wrote the first official sustainable style guide for the Annual Academy Awards. Through Red Carpet Green Dress, her design, educational and thought-leadership work with pioneers such as Vivienne Westwood, Louis Vuitton and Christian Siriano has frequented the red carpet at the Annual Academy Awards since 2012. She has made appearances at the Environmental Media Awards and the Oscars amongst other sustainability initiatives. In 2021, she was named as one of the Top 100 Women in their 'Green Women Power List 100' by LOHAS Magazine for her work leading sustainable change, alongside Jane Goodall, Susan Rockefeller, Marina Abramović, Lil Miquela, Clare Farrell of Extinction Rebellion and Lindita Xhaferi-Salihu of UNFCCC.
Philanthropy
In 2023, Samata was announced as an ambassador for The Act on Fashion Coalition alongside ambassadors like Sophia Kianni, Sophia Li, Aditi Mayer, Maya Penn and Marina Testino.
In 2006, Samata contributed to a youth charity single for a music project entitled Enfants Soldats to raise awareness about child soldiers. In December 2007, Samata organised a young persons' fashion show as part of a fundraising concert in Freetown, Sierra Leone for a public sanitation project, with SWAY, Dawn Richards, and WFP initiative CatWALK the World.
Associated organisations and honours
- Women for Women International 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 'Sons and Daughters of Ghana' at the Ghanaian High Commission. Samata judged the Top Model of Colour student finale in The Gambia, meeting President of The Gambia, Yahya AJJ Jammeh.
