Fashion photographer Calvin French passes away

Celebrated fashion photographer Calvin French has died after a period of illness.

French's work has graced the pages of local newspapers, international magazines, including GQ and Luomo Vogue.

French was born in Claxton Bay, and he lived in Canada since age 14, where he worked in the fashion industry as a model before going behind the lens as a photographer in New York his later years.

He was also a part of CreativeTT, a state enterprise focussing on promoting the business of culture, fashion, local media and the arts.

French died nearly a year after he launched his own digital magazine You, which he hoped would introudced young people to the authentic beauty of TT and the Caribbean through fashion, style, lifestyle and entertainment.

French said then the magazine highlights “the talent and creativity of the new generation of Caribbean designers.”

“I have been around the world, from South Africa to Seychelles, I have seen beauty and it is amazing but nothing comes close to the Trinidad I left as a child,” French said, according to a Newsday article on October 20, 2017.

He found beauty in most things local like the Forres Park Estate, often observing the sunset as he journeyed from San Fernando to Port of Spain.

“In my life I boasted of TT and its fabulous countryside but when I returned after 25 years the country had changes significantly, murders were everyday headlines and people lost respect for each other. We have become a very angry group of people.”