Fashion Week T&T 2010 ... Nouveau Caribbean Review
http://www.trinijunglejuice.com/tjjnews/articles/1507/1/Fashion-Week-TampT-2010--Nouveau-Caribbean-Review/Page1.html
By Tuere aka Teekay
Published on 04-Jun-10
In the weeks leading up to the grand event there had been lots of talk of the disorganisation that was allegedly plaguing the 2010 edition of Fashion Week. On Friday night, this rumoured disorganisation reared its ugly head. At nearly quarter to 9 the show still had not started and many attendees were on their feet waiting to be seated, most of them never were. At this point many people had been there for more than an hour in anticipation of the advertised 8pm start time. This year for the first time ...
>> View Fashion Week T&T 2010 ... Nouveau Caribbean Gallery
>> View Fashion Week T&T 2010 Coverage
In the weeks leading up to the grand event there had been lots of talk of the disorganisation that was allegedly plaguing the 2010 edition of Fashion Week. On Friday night, this rumoured disorganisation reared its ugly head. At nearly quarter to 9 the show still had not started and many attendees were on their feet waiting to be seated, most of them never were. At this point many people had been there for more than an hour in anticipation of the advertised 8pm start time. This year for the first time the organisers introduced tiered seating with different sections having a different price. This coupled with tickets presumably being over sold lead to chaos on Friday night, which proved to be one of the more popular nights. One disgruntled patron who wanted the seat he paid for made sure his voice was heard. The audience cheered him on as he was eventually seated in the correct section. When the show finally started several people were left standing at the foot of the runway, huddled in a crowd, craning their necks in an attempt to see the models. To their credit the organisers made an apology on the night and it seemed that even the prospect of standing for hours did not deter those unfortunate audience members from sticking around to see the show.
Friday night’s Nouveau Caribbean presentation kicked off with Radical Designs who showed off their trademark casual outfits in a variety of materials and patterns. The collection moved from linens in earth tones to florals in bright colours, clothes adorned with heart patterns, some in bright shiny material and denim. Miss Trinidad and Tobago Universe representative Latoya Woods walked the runway for Radical and it seems that their artiste of choice is Swappy who once again performed his hit “Gyal Say” and livened up the crowd. The designer and one of the FWTT board members Diane Hunt had immersed herself in the crowd at the foot of the runway to look at the show and when she tried to emerge at the end of the presentation one of the staff who was on crowd control duty attempted to stop her because they did not know who she was, oops!
The show moved on with Geopa by Paula Urich who brought smiles to everyone’s faces with her presentation of Caribbean children’s clothing. Her show brought some of the most adorable young models to the runway in brightly coloured and batik printed outfits. This was followed by Brown Sugar by Kittitian designer Judith Rawlins who displayed an eclectic line that showcased the designer’s capacity to work with different materials and styles. This included bright cotton outfits with a loose fit, a black and white patterned dress with matching umbrella and a metallic swimsuit. Garnett D’Andrade took things to a more seductive place with his line Simply Garnett’s. He opened his show with a theatrical presentation that included half naked men attached to each other by a length of cloth. As the models wearing ethereal designs in autumn tones made their way down the runway they touched the bare chested man ever so lightly as they passed. Simply Garnett’s earth tone goddesses made up one of the few cohesive collections at FWTT 2010.
There was a brief intermission after this as we stood (those of us who had seats) to acknowledge the arrival of the Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar. After the official entourage was settled, Patterson Nelson’s line Pat and Pearl Haute Couture took the runway. This included designs that were similar to costumes and made out of silver metallic camouflage material. Haute couture or haute mess? We’ll let you decided for yourself. Donna Dove New York followed with a line that included interesting harem style pants that were constructed out of men’s shirts. There was yet another break in the show at this point when we were addressed by Prime Minister Persad- Bissessar who walked the runway with Minister of Culture Winston “Gypsy” Peters. She spoke on the importance of sustaining the fashion industry and steps that should be made to do this. She ended her speech with a quote from Ralph Lauren who said “We don't design clothes we design dreams”. While the message of her speech was appreciated the disruption of the flow of the night’s show generally was not. Post speech Mark Ava Daniels from Barbados presented Avark. This was followed by Alicia Sanchez from the Dominican Republic who’s line Favala showcased pieces with African influenced ethnic prints and interesting cut out designs.
Anya Ayoung -Chee’s Pilar then took the runway with speakers on stage as a prop alluding to a musical influence on her designs. She worked in mesh, chains, brocade, bold accessories and leather to her clothing. She concluded her edgy presentation by making a statement with models holding placards. Millhouse by Gregory and Coline Baptiste-Mills was up next with dramatic men’s wear that was highlighted by bold printed ascots. The show ended with Robert Young’s The Cloth. Young made a speech prior to his models taking the runway about the political statement he makes with his designs. His show began and ended with young people in t-shirts with political statements on them. His models walked the runway in his trademark quilted designs to no music but background noise that sounded vaguely like children playing in the rain.
Friday night was a long night as a result of all the glitches and official business. The lineup of designer’s compensated for this somewhat by bringing life to the runway with generally bright and upbeat presentations. The inclusion of regional designers also added a twist to the Nouveau Caribbean showcase. We recognize the goals of the organizing committee of developing the industry especially as a viable alternative for diversifying the economy. We look forward to seeing some improvements in the next installation that will make this vision a reality.
Teekay for the TJJ Fam
>> View Fashion Week T&T 2010 ... Nouveau Caribbean Gallery
>> View Fashion Week T&T 2010 Coverage
>> View Fashion Week T&T 2010 Coverage
In the weeks leading up to the grand event there had been lots of talk of the disorganisation that was allegedly plaguing the 2010 edition of Fashion Week. On Friday night, this rumoured disorganisation reared its ugly head. At nearly quarter to 9 the show still had not started and many attendees were on their feet waiting to be seated, most of them never were. At this point many people had been there for more than an hour in anticipation of the advertised 8pm start time. This year for the first time the organisers introduced tiered seating with different sections having a different price. This coupled with tickets presumably being over sold lead to chaos on Friday night, which proved to be one of the more popular nights. One disgruntled patron who wanted the seat he paid for made sure his voice was heard. The audience cheered him on as he was eventually seated in the correct section. When the show finally started several people were left standing at the foot of the runway, huddled in a crowd, craning their necks in an attempt to see the models. To their credit the organisers made an apology on the night and it seemed that even the prospect of standing for hours did not deter those unfortunate audience members from sticking around to see the show.Friday night’s Nouveau Caribbean presentation kicked off with Radical Designs who showed off their trademark casual outfits in a variety of materials and patterns. The collection moved from linens in earth tones to florals in bright colours, clothes adorned with heart patterns, some in bright shiny material and denim. Miss Trinidad and Tobago Universe representative Latoya Woods walked the runway for Radical and it seems that their artiste of choice is Swappy who once again performed his hit “Gyal Say” and livened up the crowd. The designer and one of the FWTT board members Diane Hunt had immersed herself in the crowd at the foot of the runway to look at the show and when she tried to emerge at the end of the presentation one of the staff who was on crowd control duty attempted to stop her because they did not know who she was, oops!
The show moved on with Geopa by Paula Urich who brought smiles to everyone’s faces with her presentation of Caribbean children’s clothing. Her show brought some of the most adorable young models to the runway in brightly coloured and batik printed outfits. This was followed by Brown Sugar by Kittitian designer Judith Rawlins who displayed an eclectic line that showcased the designer’s capacity to work with different materials and styles. This included bright cotton outfits with a loose fit, a black and white patterned dress with matching umbrella and a metallic swimsuit. Garnett D’Andrade took things to a more seductive place with his line Simply Garnett’s. He opened his show with a theatrical presentation that included half naked men attached to each other by a length of cloth. As the models wearing ethereal designs in autumn tones made their way down the runway they touched the bare chested man ever so lightly as they passed. Simply Garnett’s earth tone goddesses made up one of the few cohesive collections at FWTT 2010.
There was a brief intermission after this as we stood (those of us who had seats) to acknowledge the arrival of the Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar. After the official entourage was settled, Patterson Nelson’s line Pat and Pearl Haute Couture took the runway. This included designs that were similar to costumes and made out of silver metallic camouflage material. Haute couture or haute mess? We’ll let you decided for yourself. Donna Dove New York followed with a line that included interesting harem style pants that were constructed out of men’s shirts. There was yet another break in the show at this point when we were addressed by Prime Minister Persad- Bissessar who walked the runway with Minister of Culture Winston “Gypsy” Peters. She spoke on the importance of sustaining the fashion industry and steps that should be made to do this. She ended her speech with a quote from Ralph Lauren who said “We don't design clothes we design dreams”. While the message of her speech was appreciated the disruption of the flow of the night’s show generally was not. Post speech Mark Ava Daniels from Barbados presented Avark. This was followed by Alicia Sanchez from the Dominican Republic who’s line Favala showcased pieces with African influenced ethnic prints and interesting cut out designs.
Anya Ayoung -Chee’s Pilar then took the runway with speakers on stage as a prop alluding to a musical influence on her designs. She worked in mesh, chains, brocade, bold accessories and leather to her clothing. She concluded her edgy presentation by making a statement with models holding placards. Millhouse by Gregory and Coline Baptiste-Mills was up next with dramatic men’s wear that was highlighted by bold printed ascots. The show ended with Robert Young’s The Cloth. Young made a speech prior to his models taking the runway about the political statement he makes with his designs. His show began and ended with young people in t-shirts with political statements on them. His models walked the runway in his trademark quilted designs to no music but background noise that sounded vaguely like children playing in the rain.
Friday night was a long night as a result of all the glitches and official business. The lineup of designer’s compensated for this somewhat by bringing life to the runway with generally bright and upbeat presentations. The inclusion of regional designers also added a twist to the Nouveau Caribbean showcase. We recognize the goals of the organizing committee of developing the industry especially as a viable alternative for diversifying the economy. We look forward to seeing some improvements in the next installation that will make this vision a reality.
Teekay for the TJJ Fam
>> View Fashion Week T&T 2010 ... Nouveau Caribbean Gallery
>> View Fashion Week T&T 2010 Coverage