🎙️ Burak Cakmak
Burak Cakmak, the Dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design in New York is a man with a mission. His entire career has been in the pursuit of making the fashion world more streamlined, socially responsible, and sustainable.
Burak Cakmak
Born in Turkey during a time when the country was a closed market and under a single-party rule, Burak saw first hand what it was like to live and survive with minimal options in front of him. As the country opened up, so did Burak’s eyes to what the outside world had to offer, and through education, he grabbed it with both hands. Studying political science and getting an MBA. His thirst for knowledge pulled him towards California and the tech world. But the impact of his formative years led him down a different path, one headed towards the field of sustainability.
During his career, he has helped to shape the social responsibility strategy for Gap, Kering, and the Swarovski Group. Each job bringing forth new challenges and opportunities to educate and enlighten some of the fashion industry’s biggest movers and shakers.
Then in 2016 Burak decided that instead of trying to change the current state of sustainability at established brands, he wanted to go to the true source of the fashion supply chain and became the Dean of Fashion at Parsons. This is his first role in the world of academia and over the last 4 years, he has reworked the school’s fashion focus, giving it a broader and more inclusive vision. And he challenged traditional customs with innovative thinking to help ignite a fire of social responsibility in his students. Students who will, of course, be the fashion leaders of the future.
I particularly wanted to talk with Burak now, as the world is facing a pandemic paradigm shift. To hear from him how he sees the future of fashion taking shape. And it was a relief to me to hear someone who is such a realist being so optimistic about where we go from here.
Just on a technical side note, I did want to let all you listeners know that - as is the new normal these days - Burak and I did our interview over Zoom Video. So don’t be surprised by a couple of very minor audio issues. And if you happen to be more of a visual learner, feel free to head over to my signature YouTube channel to watch the video version of this podcast in action.
Ok, now let’s listen to Burak let us in on what the future holds for us.
