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

The Fashion Avenue

Anya definitely created an avenue for fashion in Trinidad.
Last night's show was quite the spectacle with a runway spread over two giant trucks in the middle of one of the busiest streets in the capital! The turnout was impressive, with people making their way to Adam Smith Square straight after work or school just to catch a glimpse of the celebrated designer who is putting Trinidad on the map.

Anya's patriotic drive is evident in the way she presents anything she does. Her both collections were dedicated to her twin island nation with names like "Tobago Love" and "Carnival of Colour". She said something that stayed with me- that for a couple weeks the world's eye is on Trinidad because of Carnival, but that now it would be on Trinidad for Fashion too! (Sorry world... at the moment we have nothing you can really see, unless you know someone who knows someone who gets their dresses from that wonderful secret talent living in Arima.)

It was all pretty moving and thrilling I have to admit, but, not to be a party pooper, however I do fear that all the hype may be nothing but hot air.

The country loves Anya...now. When she first entered Project Runway there was no big hullabaloo about it. When her sex tape came out, people had the nastiest things to say. Now, she's famous, and a plethora of sponsors and contributors are flocking to help her with anything her dear heart desires. Good for her! But what about the rest of us? If the CAFD students wanted to put on a street-stopping fashion show would Junior Sammy be so willing to lend his assistance? If it were another designer, would the ministries and relevant departments come together to make it happen? Another fashion prodigy can be lurking in our midst. Do we have to wait for them to win some sort of American Reality show before we acknowledge their talent? Newsflash! Anya was designing before her run in with Heidi Klum eh.

"The Fashion Avenue"  

They are declaring Ariapita "The fashion Avenue". Does this mean that spaces would be made for designers to set up their boutiques? Are the roadways going to be organised to make them more conducive for strolling shoppers? Is FWTT going to provide us with 2 weeks a year that coincide with the rest of the fashion capitals of the world? Are we getting a textile mill, or investments in the industry? Are there going to be factories ,or sweatshops (God forbid) ?What does this "Fashion Avenue" mean? I really am hoping for a straight answer.

Anya has done her part, and done so beautifully. I am taken by her humility and grace, despite her international success. We cannot, however, ride on her coat tails forever and only jump up when she organizes something. The girl is doing her- Trinidad needs to do Trinidad. It has been a wonderful distraction while it has lasted, but it is time for us to use her experience in a way to propel the industry as a whole, and to stop focusing on this individual! Don't put all your eggs in one basket TnT!