Samantha Tams’ heart beats when Mexico is brought up in conversation, but her eyes get a particular glint when Latin America is mentioned in the realm of fashion. A diplomat by profession and a fashion lover by nature, the Mexican has built a long and successful career thanks to her work all around the world.

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Tams made her fashion debut a little under two decades ago as a shopping assistant of shoes and bags in Saks Fifth Avenue. She worked her way up to the top, reaching a senior ranking job that she excelled at over teh course of seven years. While Tams saw her future in politics, specifically as an ambassador, her love of fashion prevailed. Luckily, her verbal and social skills made for a perfect translation in her new career, allowing her to reach even greater heights.

In 2018, Tams founded Latin American Fashion Summit, an annual event that gathers some of the best minds in Latin American fashion.

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Tams partnered up with her sister in law Estefania Lacayo founding the Latin American Fashion Summit in 2018. The platform facilitates connections between Latin American designers and entrepreneurs, creating a hub of Central and Latin American talent that makes our strenghts visible. Tams and Lacayo were pivotal in showing the world that high fashion isn’t exclusive to Europe, and that Latin America has a lot to offer in terms of textiles, art, and architecture.

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It’s been five years since the creation of this summit, and achievements continue to pile up. Despite the challenges that have popped up, Tams and her partners continue to create a path of Latin American fashion lovers. She’s someone with an unbreakable spirit, something that propulses her in her professional and personal lives. Over the course of her life, she’s lived in London, Paris, Ecuador, Orlando, and more. She’s now based in Merida, Mexico, where she continues to build her life in the fashion industry and as a mother.