Caribbean couture

TOBAGO Fashion Coda 7, which takes place on April 18 at the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort, Lowlands, promises to be the epitome of Caribbean couture.

At the event, dubbed The Gala, patrons will see creations from several prominent names in the local fashion industry: Claudia Pegus, Neha Karina, Zadd and Eastman, CLD, Ecliff Elie and up and coming Tobago-born designer Daniel Clarke, of the brand Fluorescent Black.

The show, which is being produced by Don Grant, CEO of DG Events, also will feature the crème de la crème in local music, art and cuisine.

Among the artistes expected to perform are Yung Bredda (Ahkenaton Lewis), Nadia Batson, Sharlan Bailey and Sherwin Winchester.

Veteran artist Martin Superville, owner of The Art Gallery in Lowlands, also will have several of his pieces on exhibit.

Creative director Richard Young said patrons can expect a spectacular fashion experience, celebrating the uniqueness and dynamism of the Caribbean.

Speaking at the launch of the event at the Magdalena on March 18, an excited Young told the audience, “I am someone who is an advocate for what I call the Caribbean aesthetic. I believe we have our individualistic self. I believe it is one of the trademarks of the world that we need to celebrate and I think we take it for granted.”

He continued, “It is not just about us approximating metropolitan ways of doing things. It is about us crafting and forging our methodology and our style. That is what I bring to the table.

“It is not just about putting clothes on a body. It is not just about people feeling they are divas and they are strutting their stuff. It is about taking art and turning it into commerce but using our methodology to do so.”

Young believes the timing of Tobago Fashion Coda 7 – in the middle of the inaugural Tobago Rhythm and Soul Festival on the Easter weekend – augurs well for the production.

“It is so wonderful that we are working inside of the fashion festival that is the Rhythm and Soul Festival because fashion and music are inextricably linked. We have a brand of music that is now engaging the world and I think our fashion needs to be also recognised.”

Young, who has been involved in the fashion industry for more than 30 years, said he never misses an opportunity to talk about the beauty and energy of Caribbean peoples and what he considers to be the boundless talent that exists in the local designing fraternity.

“Sometimes people think I am an evangelist about our feeling of who we are and our love of self. I like an immersive, experiential journey (in his productions). You are not attending the show, you are experiencing. You are being immersively included in the celebration of our style.”

He believes the soothing, picturesque ambience of the Magdalena and other like destinations allow patrons to experience the fullness of the creations.

“Part of island style is the fact that we have water surrounding our beautiful island in this part of the world. These are the islands furthest south of the archipelago in the region and we are the toast of the region in terms of the brand of excellence that we wish to pass on.”

Young has worked extensively throughout the region, coordinating fashion events in Suriname, French Guiana, Guyana, Antigua, St Lucia, St Maarten, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Haiti, Santo Domingo and other islands.

“I have really worked the region, French, Spanish and Dutch territories, shaping this understanding that we need to celebrate the way we do who we are.”

He recalled jokingly the days when Caribbean style was once “a Panama hat, a Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.

“Absolutely ridiculous! Don’t you think those geographic adjectives do not pertain to us. But that is what was Caribbean fashion.

“So now Caribbean fashion has to be forged by us, saying how we want to wear what we wear, what our silhouettes are, what our details are, what the notions on our garments are, what our colours are, what our textures are, what our surface treatments on the fashion are.”

For instance, Young said, “cosquelle has become our couture and a way of celebrating who we are.”

He told the audience he once had gender and cultural studies specialist Dr Patricia Mohammed discuss the use of “coolie pink and green” at a presentation.

“We are no longer apologising for how we style ourselves. When calypsonians decided to wear gold shirts and other loud colours, it is because of the melting pot of cultures that we have, the Arabs, the Europeans, the Afros, the Indos.”

Young believes Tobago is an ideal destination for fashion productions.

“A Tobago space which is world class for its eco-tourism thrusts, being number one for about six years, I think that is something that is underplayed and under-rated. And it’s major that Tobago has been touted that way even by the World Travel Market. I celebrate that.”

He recalled doing a project with Grant under a colourless dome in Tobago several years ago

“I felt it was iconic and it actually stated to the world this is what island style is. You heard the water coming up on the sand, you saw the palms and the coconut trees and the moon was looking down on us. We were walking under that. Allyson Brown was there and we had goose pimples and were almost in tears because we said, ‘We had done it. And we had done it in the right space.”

Young went on, “So it has become my calling to say to the world that there is not only Caribbean style and the style in Japan and bespoke in Britain and Milan style but there is Caribbean style and we need to brand it not insularly as an island but collectively because of our history.

“Out of all the ugly of indentureship, slavery and colonialism, we have morphed into a beautiful people and that has to be transcribed unto our garments.”

He assured the audience will be mesmerised by what he is putting together.

“I have done fashion shows to spoken word, to drumbeats, to clapping hands, to stamping feet because we need to find the indigenous self to claim who we are.”

Young believes Caribbean fashion is being plagiarised in other parts of the world.

“So we need to take the front. We need to be the vanguard of who we are and I am going to be here at Fashion Coda to make that certified.”

Young, in his remarks, made special mention of master leather craftsman Ted Arthur, whose work also will be featured at the event.

“Ted Arthur is not to be ignored for what he has done on a world class level.”

He said he had included Arthur in a few of his shows and referred several people to him over the years.

“But he is a magnificent artisan, who is so humble and that humility is really quintessential. I think it is all part of our spirit and our ethos.”

Clarke, in his first appearance at Tobago Fashion Coda 7, urged patrons to support the work of the designers and accessory providers.

“There is one thing I always try to encourage everyone to do outside of the art, entertainment and food. This is a business for us. Network with the designers, touch base with them. Ask a question, order something, purchase something, even if it’s a key chain. It means the world to us,” he said.

In this regard, a pop up shop is being set up where guests can purchase items directly from the designers.

Clarke, who was the Caribbean Academy of Fashion Design’s student of the year in 2018, said he was grateful for the opportunity to be one of the headline Tobago designers at the event.

Internationally acclaimed make-up artist Kirk Cambridge-Del Pesche, who has worked with a slew of celebrity clients, including talk show queen Oprah Winfrey and for US First Lady Michelle Obama, said he was happy to be a part of Fashion Coda 7.

But the Vincentian-born stylist, who has worked on over 30 Broadway productions, said he also wants to host a free make-up session for beginners during his visit.

“My hope is to do a workshop for aspiring make up artists and young people who are now coming into the industry, to give them some insight on what it really takes to do this and to do it to the best and highest level possible,” he said via Google meet.

Saying the session will be informative, Del Pesche said the young people will get some tips on how to price their work in a competitive industry.

“I know that I want to inspire people who are from the same part of the world that I am from because many people do not feel it could be a job or career. I did not think it would be a career because I came from accounting and business.”

He believes Tobago has a lot of raw talent.

“We could be able to nurture that through Tobago Coda 7.”

Unlike previous years, the fashion show will be held in the ballroom as opposed to the poolside.

Grant said, “This year, we have decided to rearrange the setting. We have always been at the poolside with a view of the Atlantic Ocean. So we are now in the grand ballroom for the fashion show and the entertainment segment of the show will be on the ‘greens.’”

He said Fashion Coda 7, which is scheduled to run from 5pm to midnight, is all about celebrating the best of Tobago.

Apart from giving the local fashion industry renewed vigour, organisers are hoping the designs will resonate with regional and international audiences.

They also are hoping it will stimulate the economy by creating employment opportunities for designers, hotels, taxi services, artisans, food services, models and hair stylists.