LFW SS26 - Tare Isaac - Interview - 'A Room Built For Us, By Us'
- Simon Nora-Dreyfus
- 12 hours ago
- 5 min read
It all began with a simple Instagram post. Last February, Tare Isaac — now settled in the industry as a member of the British Fashion Council — called for minority creators to join her project. A decade after launching her own label ‘Twin by Tare Isaac’, she created The Unity in Design Global Network (UDGN), a platform to support underrepresented creatives in fashion, shaped as a response to the challenge she herself faced as a British-Nigerian designer in the UK.
Her membership-based model (from £500 to £1,500) includes a digital platform and a four-month incubator program in which the enrolled designers are surrounded by experts from concept, to runway, to retail. STRAND had the pleasure of interviewing the ambitious Tare Isaac, following the debut of UDGN for LFW SS26 in which 16 designers –including her– showcased their collection.
You’ve said that your collections are deeply personal. What is personal about this one?
This collection is about where I come from - the Niger Delta region of Nigeria- in a small Ijaw community whose visual storytelling has never been used in fashion before. We always hear about the Yorubas and the Igbos, but rarely about the Ijaws. We are one of the oldest tribes in Nigeria, but nobody has ever taken the time to pay tribute to that. Our bread and butter is around the water, the fish we eat. I wanted to tell the story of the water bearer, the Ijaw people's sacred relationship with the water, our fishing heritage and how we just live by that. You could tell from the silhouettes, the flowery nature of the designs to the colours and even the makeup. I really wanted that story to come across.
We were together at the Sanyukta Shrestha fashion show. She's committed to sustainability – just like you. Do you feel you’re only a few driving slow fashion forward, or do you feel part of a larger movement?
I think I am part of something bigger. Even the BFC (British Fashion Council) and the London Fashion community are trying to navigate to that, because it’s all about preserving what we have. In my collection (‘The Water Bearer’), we recycled shells on that fishnet dress from the ocean, and the result is handsome. It was sort of a beautiful moment that got the whole team together. Most of the materials you saw tonight are hand-beaded, and each designer’s project is rooted in craftsmanship. As I said in my speech, storytelling is a huge part of fashion now, even in Africa. A big part of storytelling is what we do with our hands and how these skills are passed down through generations. It took three months for the designers to realise these pieces, working closely with local artisans back in Nigeria to ensure every outfit was made exactly as imagined. For instance, Mary Princess Obeya (one of the sixteen UDGN designers) used Asoke on trousers — a fabric that must be hand-knitted for hours to get these beautiful patterns.
The bigger picture tonight was the official launch of UDGN, where 15 other emerging designers unveiled their collections for LFW. It was, for some of them, their first-ever collection. How do you make such a platform economically viable?
UDGN is a three-part business model. The first part is the digital platform. Members get access to all our resources and tools. It includes a forum where designers can connect with one another and share any concerns. There is a wellness side of things: we have mentors that you can book to speak to if you’re struggling or if you have a fashion show coming up. It’s not to disclose your childhood trauma (she laughs), but more about managing stress and building resilience.
The second part is the incubator, which is a four-month program of really intense productive and business support, backed by experts in the industry. All the way from concept to production, designers walk with technical experts. We had five incredible mentors this season who focused on things like storytelling and pattern cutting. But the incubator also encompasses the business side of things: while the collections were coming together, experts in finance, marketing, and retail came in to say, “Okay, now you’ve got this collection, here’s the next step, here’s how to price it, here’s what you need to do to be taken seriously.” The last part is retail. Eventually, we get to sell the collections on the UDGN platform to help the designers and make sure they’re seeing a return on their investment.
You were mentioning mental health issues. Was it an important thing for you to tackle because of your personal journey in fashion?
Very important. It has been truly hard being in the UK on my own before my family came. And… This is a very personal story: one of my friends had a mental breakdown two years ago. She’s exactly like me. She’s from Sri Lanka. She’s a fashion designer, struggling, trying to fight for her business. One day we woke up and she had a full psychosis because she’s been struggling, overworked, stressed and eventually she had to go home (to Sri Lanka) for two years just to get herself in order. And I was like, Oh my god, that could easily be me. I work 9 to 5, I’m doing my business, I’m trying to get UDGN off the ground. One day, I could take off. From then, I started thinking that we had to take our mental health more seriously. Yes, ethnic minorities are juggling a lot, especially in fashion. It is such a high-pressure environment. You look at other brands, and you’d be like: Why isn’t my brand big like that? You always constantly compare it. What am I doing? What is it about me? Will I ever be accepted? These are deep-rooted issues that you have to talk to someone about. Actually, fashion is so personal, it reflects how you see yourself and the state of your mind in that moment translates into your work. So this project is 100% rooted in my personal experience.
Why did you feel the need to bring minority designers to the table and give them the access you once needed?
Well, even the way my designers have been brought to me is just serendipity. I just started by helping someone and this somebody told someone, and so on… Before you knew it, I had over 50 people that were calling me for support. Which led me to think: hold on a minute, there’s really something here, why not create a room for us, built by us? That’s how UDGN started, it is a response to the big gap in terms of opportunity and knowledge faced by ethnic minorities today in the (fashion) industry. I really feel like UDGN is my life’s work. It is a mission that I would wholeheartedly do over and over again.
Unity in Design Global Network has already opened applications for its second programme ‘UDGN Vanguard’, expecting to showcase it for the next London Fashion Week in February. Tare Isaac’s journey to challenge the status quo in fashion is only just beginning.
Written by Simon Nora-Dreyfus
Edited by Arielle Sam-Alao, Co-fashion Editor
