The Fashion Week we never knew we had

Call me late if you will, but it wasn't until I watched the Haute Caribe video that I noticed the link between Carnival and Fashion.



Anya Ayoung Chee insists on maintaining the connection between her designs and Carnival. I had not really committed to the idea until she said something about the world having their eyes on Trinidad for Carnival these next couple weeks, and now they would get to see us for fashion too.Brilliant concept actually.

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There we go battling FWTT to give us a chance, when we already had our audience! International celebrities come flocking to the streets for the fetes, J'ouvert and mas. How could I have been so ignorant to the immense opportunity?! 



I always thought of Carnival in terms of the music and energy. Fashion never crossed my mind because the costumes are a far cry from any contemporary fashion direction. It would be like drawing inspiration from a tacky Vegas Showgirl. Our designers don't even design clothing with remotely that amount of bead-work and embellishment. Yet how could I not have made the clear connection between the colours and the vibrancy? The photography, the movement? The life, the love, the passion?!



Carnival is our Life. Fashion is Life. Carnival is Fashion



see the video that woke me up at www.hautecaribe.com

Carnival has always opened up doors for fashion 

For the second year in a row, internationally recognized Trinidadian designer, Anya Ayoung Chee has presented her section for Tribe. This year she creates Acara Acraea for the Band's Butterflies and Beasts theme.Anya has been very instrumental in defining the undeniable link between fashion and Carnival. The launch for her section also included clothing which went with the theme of the section.

Monday Mas options have made another revolution. From going casual over the past few years, fashionable masqueraders are now resorting to custom made Monday costumes. One successful emerging Monday Mas creator is Ela Design Company, led by Maria Elena Jute and Nina Alcantara. This team goes all out with designs that could have belonged to their own section! This one is definitely for the hard- core costume lovers who will never settle for tube tops and hot shorts.

Where we are now is a good way off of the days when our mothers would smear lipstick on our faces and send us to kiddies Carnival. Trinidad's Makeup Artist community has really come out in the recent years, and many of them have undeniable talent when it comes to artistic and conceptual face designs.

Fashion Photography booms during Carnival!
Laura Ferreira is light-years ahead of her time. Her vision and realization of fashion photography in Trinidad has already propelled the image of the industry by having onlookers recognise it's potential.
In these pictures which feature The Lionfish section of Bliss Carnival 2013, it is blatant that Carnival and Fashion are the members of a unique marriage in a niche market owned by Trinidad.
Model: Nissa Hanooman
MUA: Christopher Rama
Hair: Ashvin Bally
Costume Design: Valmiki Maharaj