My Choices for The Best Fashion Designers in Trinidad and Tobago

2014 has been a big year for Trinidad fashion, with all the shows and pop up markets and the opening of NoMoreFashionVictims.com which acts as a platform for these brands to reach customers around the world. I have noticed some amazing work that needs to be celebrated! I grouped my personal favourites as nominees for the best that the Trinidad and Tobago fashion industry has given us this year. Honestly, in some of these categories, I can't narrow it any further, so please vote for your favourites in the comments to help me decide!

Best Signature Design: 

Some designers have become recognised by a single piece

Adrian Foster's Long Wrap Skirt

Meiling's Kite

Christian Boucaud's belt

Most impressive Debut: 

With their work bubbling on the fashion scene surface since 2013, theses designers have blown us away without warning, with innovative design work and covetous pieces with massive commercial appeal. 

Aisling Camps

Zidelle Daniel

Charu Lochan Dass

Best fine Jewellery Designer

Micha Gomes

Janice Derrick

Ilmes

Best Fashion Brand 

These labels cater to a lifestyle. It's easy to become brand loyal with them when they dress you beautifully for work, play and days-off.

Sew Lisa

Meiling

J. Angelique

Gifts that Give

 Christmas is very commercialised, let's face it. When the fable of St. Nicholas came around, I don't recall him jumping through the chimney with an iPhone for Daddy and Louboutins for Aunty Joan. The gifts are supposed to be for the chillun'. Nevertheless, I'm not going to pretend that I don't get excited when I see my friends and family scribbling my name on a card attached to a giant shiny box. It is what it is.

If it's one image I can always easily flash to, is that of tired children in sweatshops working their fingers to the bone so that I can get a top for $10 and have it delivered before the 24th. If Christmas is for the children, I hope we all keep these little ones in our minds. When the vibrant "Sale" flags wave at us like some sort of insignia these coming weeks, I urge you to think about the real fashion victims; the people who must suffer to help these giant corporations meet the demand for their under-priced goods.

 I know that everyone has bills to pay and expectations to meet, and the cheaper alternatives of fast fashion are more attractive to our budgets, but I urge you to look for gifts that give this Christmas. Give things that show love, care and thought. How about a meal for your sister's family, if you know she has to scramble to cook on an evening after getting in from Port-of-Spain traffic. How about you treat all your nieces and nephews to a picnic, or trip to the zoo? Instead of buying 25 gifts for each member of the family, why not play Secret Santa and each person buys one really special piece for one other, so that each of you gets something great, made with love from a local artisan or designer? What about a piece of art from a young artist? (Could be worth quite a bit one day)

Want to give it a try? Check out some of these markets and sales for those really special gifts.

PAINT + JEWELS, studio sale featuring Ashley Thompson and Micha Gomes
Dec 5th and 6th Diego Martin





Chez Nous Christmas Showcase (Art, Clothing, Home Decor, etc)
The Verandah Retsaurant, Rust Street, St. Clair
30th  Nov, 7th December

UpMarket
Woodbrook Youth Facility and Trinidad Country Club

Meiling Pre-Collection Sale up to 50% everything at the Boutique
6 Carlos Street, Woodbrook
(New Collection Premiers Wednesday 19th Nov)

The Holistic Market

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from Caribbean Resort Style Week

This has been a hectic but fabulous month of November so far; the unofficial fashion month of Trinidad and Tobago! Every night I'm at events, and every day I'm meeting with designers and brands to retail on nomorefashionvictims.com (Shameless plug.)

This whirlwind month of fashion shows, product launches and Christmas markets was kicked off last weekend with the annual Bits and Pieces Christmas pop-up on Saturday and the Resort Style Week Port of Spain Show on Sunday at the Trinidad Country Club. The show lineup was impressive with big names like Meiling, Zadd and Eastman, Claudia Pegus and Millhouse to name a few. It was expected to be the fashion event of the year.

I can't get too lengthy and I don't want to go one reviewing each designer. There's another show in a couple hours and I need to hustle if I want to make it! So, here's the gist of it, and how I feel.

I'm always going on and on about the Caribbean aesthetic, and by now even I am sick of hearing about it. This show though, was a clear indicator of what Trinidadian designers think of the way Caribbean people dress or should dress.

The Good: The strongest designers to me are Meiling, Zidelle Daniel for XOZ, Adrian Foster, Charu Lochan Dass for CLD,  The Cloth, Aisling Camps and Zadd and Eastman.  Meiling, Aisling, CLD, Adrian and Zidelle all have something in common. Their aesthetic is clean, easy to wear, architectural, well-constructed and classic yet with special and surprising elements. They shy away from colour, which with the stigma of Carnival and our fusion of vibrant cultures, is a deviation from what some may perceive as a signature detail in the "Caribbean Aesthetic". Yet, they insert into their collections subtle and unexpected moments of chromatic hues here and there.

 

 (left)Chartreuse ribbon belted over Meiling's a denim and gingham patterned look
from Meiling's "Borrowed from the Boys" Collection 

On a mostly monochromatic collection, Zidelle incorporated this multicolor beaded bodice. Yes! Those are beads!

 The Cloth and Zadd and Eastman are very different from that first group. They embrace the conventional island inspiration of vivid flora and kaleidoscopic cultural influences. Yet, they maintain very sophisticated style lines and thoughtful design. While I am very drawn to the boxy silhouettes and woven cottons of the others, I am still enchanted by the flowy ease of Zadd and Eastman's collection, and the almost jarring juxtaposition of prints from The Cloth.

Somewhere between these two groups is that "Caribbean Aesthetic". 

My favourite look from Zadd and Eastman

The Cloth

The Bad: While some designers showed styles that would be fitting over a swimsuit (it was a Resort show after all) I feel there is still a disconnection between Runway fashion and Real Women. Everything is gorgeous when it blowing in the breeze and taped down strategically on a tall, slender girl with professional hair and make-up, but not so much on 5 foot tall me after eating some crab and dumpling at Pigeon Point. I urge the designers who like this style, to do more than just stitch triangles of fabric at the corners and call it a dress. Design is more than just what looks pretty. Get creative and try some manipulations of your pattern. Add an interesting detail or technique. Stop giving us the same old.

 The Ugly: I was shocked to see certain pieces on that runway, let me tell you. I won't call any names or post any pictures because people are sensitive. I never mean to embarrass or insult anyone but some things have to be said. Puff paints and glitter glue do not belong on any runway anywhere except for Project Runway's Threads which features little children getting creative with crafts and clothes. Zidelle Daniel made feathers out of fabric and cleverly layered them over one another on a casual crop top and hand stitched them into place. If she can invest so much thought, effort and creativity into a basic piece, how dare you squirt colourful glue onto silk like if this is kindergarten? You are spoiling good and expensive fabric. Not acceptable. You can do better than that. Also, I saw a "Sari" with a deeya painted on it. A sari is a piece of cloth wrapped. draped and tucked around a body. That is your design? A piece of cloth that people have been wearing since clothing was invented? This is what you do to make it modern? You draw a deeya on it? It baffles me that this particular collection was shown on the same platform as the greats. Fabric surface treatments have long been a Caribbean thing, but there must be some way more current, sophisticated and beautiful than drawing and painting pictures like if people want to be murals. If it looks like it belongs in a gift shop in Piarco, start over. I know not even you want to wear that.

Zidelle's Beautiful Fabric Feathers

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Slow and steady wins the race: The Slow Fashion Movement

"Consumers throw plenty of used clothing directly into the trash, from soiled and threadbare socks to tattered bras and underwear and stained shirts, alongside perfectly usable textiles and clothing. Though these numbers include all textiles like sheets and towels, they're astonishing nonetheless: Every year, Americans throw away 12.7 million tonnes, or 68 pounds of textiles per person, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which also estimates that 1.6 million tonnes of this waste could be recycled or reused." Elizabeth Cline

I hand washed some clothes today.

In the past, my closet was a mountainous stack of jersey tops and blue jeans that could easily find themselves flung into a washing machine with some Colour Catcher, and then carelessly thrown into a dryer where they became misshaped by the heat and tangled by the tossing. Who cared anyway? No item cost much more than a sports bar meal and I had probably already gotten my wear out of the pieces that were ruined.

Fast Fashion has created this way of thinking. Clothing is just an accessory. It's what we wear today and tomorrow we can get something else. There are countless chain stores and even boutiques that sell factory-made cheap styles that look great on Friday night, but barely make it through to Saturday Morning.

When I was learning about Fashion Styling, and how to sort a closet effectively, I used my own wardrobe as the Guinea pig. Sorting through and getting rid of the junk food, I realized that my clothes did not speak for me. These garments though pretty to the eye, had no real value nor love. Here I was supposed to be going out and telling people that their clothing and their image reflect who they are, and my clothing was saying that I was easily replaceable, socially unconscious and worst of all, that I was not special.

After years of us lapping up the sugary carbonated drink that is Fast Fashion, the Slow Fashion Movement has emerged; a shift in the way we shop and look at clothes. The idea has been greatly influenced by the way we now look at food; comparing junky, toxic fast food, with healthful, home-cooked meal that may have taken a bit longer and cost a bit more, but has left you feeling and looking better.

Take a look at all the benefits of Slow fashion here:  https://www.notjustalabel.com/editorial/slow-fashion-movement

I hand washed some clothes today. It was a beautiful custom-made bustier from Van Der Vlugt and a linen and lace cropped top from Meiling. They are pieces that definitely cost more than their counterparts at Forever21 or Charlotte Russe, but they are pieces that make me feel special. I feel like I am a part of their history. Designer Darcel de Vlugt measured me and fit me several times so that the boning would fit the curves of my body perfectly. When I bought the cropped top I admit I was a bit daunted that I just spent so much on a single article of clothing, no matter how beautiful it was. My friend saw me in it one day and said "I love Meiling! My mother still has all the clothes she wore from even before she was pregnant and they are still perfect." That for me is priceless.

Clothes should be more than a look. I want to pass down these things to my daughter. I want my jewellery to tell a story. I want my clothes to say more than "Blowout Sale". For me, it means that I will be shopping locally; seeking out the designers who are so involved in the end product, that when they see me in their work, they beam with pride. It definitely means that my closets will be less than stuffed, but at least it's only the best food going into them.


At the Coterie this past Friday, I had a look at what I consider to be some of the best fashion brands in the Caribbean right now. Head over to Vamp Boutique on Mucurapo Road, Port of Spain to see and purchase unique and loved work from Meiling, Aisling and Micha Gomes Jewellery.

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Pop Hop, a Launch and Runway oh my!: Busy weekend for Trini fashionistas

Whatever plans you made for next weekend; CANCEL THEM. There are at least three much anticipated events happening on the 12th and 13th of April.

Can we also talk about how cute the poster is?

First off, is the cleverly named Easter Pop Hop Shop by Team M at Meiling's on 6 Carlos Street from 4pm to 8pm. I have regrettably missed every shopping event that this group has thrown because of work, but not this one! The fantastic list of designers include some of my faves; Anthony Reid, Meiling, Rachel Ross, Sanianitos, Shannon Alonzo and Zee D. They ask that you come in Easter Headgear, so I cannot wait to see what people are going to turn up with. If you need more info, check out their Facebook Event:  https://www.facebook.com/events/419103741567651/









On Sunday the impressive Charu Lochan Dass opens her boutique on Gallus Street Woodbrook, her second branch following her store in Princes Town. To celebrate the opening she is having a special launch at the location. I for one am over the moon about this expansion, since it all goes a bit fuzzy for me once I speed past Chaguanas. Finally I will be fitting myself into some of her exquisite pieces!

After you post some selfies at Charu's, quickly get over to NAPA for Runway Shift! Cocktail hour is at 6.30 and the show starts at 7.30pm. Finally after a 9 month long screening process, 5 designer finalists will be showing their mini-collections to Simply Runway customers and the fashion public. They are competing for three three-month rent free Spots at Simply Runway Accents. The aim is to move local fashion from Runway to Retail; a stifling transition for many aspiring designers in the Caribbean.The initiative was conceived by Simply Runway Owner, Candice Baccus, and after a year of detailed planning and coordination, I am very happy to see this monumental day come true. Young, up and coming designers really struggle with the retail aspect of their business, and I hope that this project stirs a revolution in the business of Trinidad-made fashion. The finalists are all CAFD graduates; Adrian Foster, Anicia Brooks, Lisa See Tai, Mary- April Coutou and Megan Charles. I know have my favourites, but I am looking forward to see what each designer has come up with.  Oh , and btw, I'm the MC, so come say hi.
To follow up more and to find out where you can get tickets,this check out the page : https://www.facebook.com/runwayshift 

To the new batch of graduate fashion designers

Mark Eastman

For over two weeks now I have been contemplating about writing a review on the Mode Repertoire Fashion Show, put on by the CAFD graduating class of 2013. I felt as though my critique would not be fair nor objective since I was a classmate of many of these students, as well as had experienced much of what they have. I beamed with pride at every design that walked that runway- I couldn't honestly call out the disasters, because I know these young people, and I know their struggles; individually and collectively. It's like an aunt showing off a nephew's finger painting- all she she sees is the love and dedication in the toil, instead of the actual work.

Designer: Adrian Foster

Designer: Darscell Douglass

What I'm going to say will anger some people, but they will not be able to refute. Yes, these students showed us that they have immense talent, and put out some really great collections, but you have no idea what kinds of hurdles they had to overcome. This is why I am doubly proud of them. In my "interview" to get into CAFD,  I was told that many people drop out because the work is difficult. Well, I love difficult. I seem to attract a challenge everywhere I go, but it's a good thing because I work best under pressure. They were wrong, however. People don't leave because it's too hard, people leave because there's a lot of bullshit to deal with. Teachers and students have tirelessly voiced their dissatisfaction with the system and its runnings. Being intolerant of dis-organisation and run around answers, I had to leave. Now don't get mad and call me ungrateful. I cannot deny the wealth of knowledge that I acquired not only in classes, but through my relationships with lecturers and colleagues. I made wonderful friends and discovered talent that I know will make marks in this world. Nothing is perfect, CAFD. Don't get your panties in a bunch because I am openly saying what so many choose to irritably whisper by day in shadowy corridors. With experience and attention I don't doubt that the school has potential. In the media it is glorified. I just hope that it can live up to its name.

Some of my fave (and fab) peeps 

Friend and Designer, Ricky Bhowram with his show-stopping Electric Wedding Dress
( modelled by Former Miss TnT, Athaliah Samuels)

As for the 2013 graduating class, what stood out to me was that many of the looks that were shown, did not look like student work. You can see that certain restraint and maturity came in, with clean, no-fuss designs from many. I spotted several current and future trends. I saw clearly who the designers were in their clothing, as well as who their clients are. The tailoring was fantastic; better than a lot of the practising designers that work throughout the region. the students gave us work that was imaginative yet wearable, beautiful yet innovative. I'm very excited to see what comes of them. I'm hearing that not many of them have plans for the future, but I hope that after a brief hiatus (aka a vacation soaked in indulgent relaxation) that they get the ball rolling. Not everyone has to be an independent designer. I spoke to a graduate who hopes to do work for Meiling, I know of one who is with Janouras and a couple who are working on their business models. There are so many opportunities to be made. Graduates, MAKE your own path.

Graduate now teacher, James Hackett's Line: "The Lush Kingdom"

The amazingly talented, Sarah Woodham

I would like to express heartfelt congratulations to the entire class, as well as the Year 3 students who put down some impressive work at the Designer Critique show as well. Keep dreaming and making it come true.

Supporting Local! I'm in Adrian Foster while Simply Runway Owner, Candice Buccus looks elegant in a J.Angelique pencil skirt. Candice came to the show to allow the graduates to register for an opportunity to have their Collection featured and sold at Simply Runway in a specially designated spot, rent free!

From the Stage to the Shop: Tobago Fashion Weekend Afterthoughts

I spent the week rummaging through Social Media, macoing hardcore to catch a glimpse of the Tobago Fashion Weekend happenings. I was quite saddened to see that I missed out on what appeared to be a fantastic platform for new and more well-known designers to show what they're made of. It was really a special moment to see UTT Students showing alongside veterans like Claudia Pegus, and standing their ground with work that was comparable in technique, quality and beauty. Congratulations to everyone who showed! Despite the rain and other hiccups, TFW definitely did not disappoint.

Sterling Nelson

Sonia Noel

I know everyone has been waiting to hear my commentary on which designs I loved and which ones in my opinion crashed like a 747 on a rainy day, but as I perused the hundreds of images posted to Facebook, I thought of a bigger matter than that of my taste and criticism. What is the purpose of all of this? Even more, do people get the whole purpose of it all?

I believe it was Anthony Rahael who said that Fashion Shows are not just a pretty display for people to ooh and aah at. (Paraphrasing of course.) They are a part of a business model. Fashion shows are an opportunity  for buyers, stylists and customers to see the fashion product, so as to make a decision regarding purchase.

Christian Boucaud Easter Collection

Very recently I see boutiques starting to incorporate Trinidad based designers' items in their stores and I must say I am thrilled at this progress! Rachel Ross and Meiling are now joined by Fete A.G.D. jewellery at the Gallery in Long Circular Mall. Vamp Boutique on Mucurapo Road houses Statements by Sarah Young as well as Hak Gwai Designs. Indulge on Tragarete Road started by carrying Christian Boucaud, and now have Whole Peace Swimwear. Afiya Bishop currently has made samples of her own label "Loud" available at her store, next to trendy imported garments, and I'm hearing talks of her soon to be including another Trinidad based Label (Not at liberty to disclose this yet, but it makes me pretty excited!!) These are just a small few, but I know of at least 2 more very popular shops that are scouting local designers to stock on their shelves! Let's not forget that some designers like Christian Boucaud and Rhion Romany, have opened up their own shops!

As an individual consumer, I urge you to take a look at the great stuff that you have available to you right here. Some of my favourite things I have ever worn have been designed and constructed right at home in Trinidad.

Designers are on a wave to have clothing Ready to wear. Van der Vlugt and Adrian Foster put out special designs this past month, available in select colour and sizes, ready for you after alterations. Our fashion industry is finally becoming a tangible resource as it is reaching our consumers more readily. I expect that soon we will be able to view and purchase pieces online!

I started NoMoreFashionVictims as a means to open up the eyes of my fellow Trinis to the fashion industry. The market will not exist nor grow if the potential consumers are not just uninterested, but unaware of what the industry is in the first place! I am happy to see people's eagerness about attending Fashion Socials like the Filtered Fashion schmooze Thursdays at Paprika, as well as Fashion Shows and Launches. (Heard that J. Angelique's launch is totally booked out already!) It is great to know that people are not only looking to see what is happening, but are coveting and purchasing fashion made in Trinidad!

Designer Christian Boucaud with Model Athaliah Samuels at TFW2013

I have been saying all along that 2013 is the year for our fashion. The steps have been small but steady and I am hopeful about the future. I now await an increase in school programmes, workshops and the availability of the human resource and machinery required to grow these small businesses. For now I will close my eyes now and dream of the the department store dressing room where I would hang up garments from Zadd and Eastman next to Michael Kors and Max Azria.

Zadd and Eastman TFW2013

Zadd and Eastman

Photo Credits: Inken Janning, Tobago Fashion Weekend, Christian Boucaud Designs, Adrian Foster