Parsons Names Burak Cakmuk Dean of Fashion

NEW YORK — When the incoming dean of the School of Fashion at Parsons The New School for Design, Burak Cakmak, officially starts at the downtown campus in August, he will be all about sustainable design. In his previous role as vice president of corporate responsibility for the Swarovski Group in London, Cakmak traveled extensively to establish global environmentally minded programs and forge strong research partnerships with retailers and luxury brands. Connecting with suppliers, stores, non-governmental organizations, governments and media, Cakmak put in place best-practice industry standards across all business functions including raw material sourcing and supply chain management. His experience in the area included a run as general manager of Made-By Benelux in the Netherlands where he worked with H&M, Tommy Hilfiger, Acne, Primark and other brands. Before that, he was Kering’s first director of corporate sustainability. Cakmak started his career as senior manager of social responsibility at Gap Inc., a post he held for eight years. Cakmak succeeds Simon Collins, who relinquished his deanship last summer, but remains as the school’s creative adviser and board of governors member. Following an international search that culled “several hundred candidates,” five external ones and one internal candidate made formal presentations before Cakmak was

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