The Week for Fashion

It’s June 13 and I put on my best fancy dress and headed to the Stadium for the Saturday catwalk showing of this year’s Caribbean Fashion week.
An hour in my friend and I are nibbling at the biscuits she had stashed in her bag, wondering why we skipped lunch and thinking that the late start is beyond fashionably late and tiptoeing towards obnoxious. Just as we were getting genuinely fidgety the show started with “Art on the Run”, meant to be a fusion of the visual and performing arts and fashion, it was a pleasant enough ode to umm African flags? The Meiling collection was good, if a little disjointed, it took me on vacation, to a party, and into a tub of Neapolitan ice-cream, not my favourite flavour but still sweet. New UK designer, Jennivi Jordan’s collection… textural, orange, red, green, pink, yumminess… the late start is now forgiven… sort of. Another standout, model and author Lois’ collection in shades of grey that made for an oxymoronic menswear inspired, sexy, schoolmarmy and altogether practical collection. There were others; good, bad, ugly, curious (and some built-exclusively-for-passa-passa) but some heavily perfumed soul had arrived late and sat nearby so most of the rest was a blur. I spent the rest of the night blinking and winking (itchy, watery eyes)… fingers crossed that I didn’t appear to be giving Hector Lincoln the eye.
This is the ninth year of Caribbean Fashion Week and each year it has grown, and inspired a bit more development and a bit less polyester in the region’s fashion circle. The 2008 borne Caribbean Fashion Industry Fashion Forum (CAFIF), a not-for-profit-association, has added the super-hero power-packed-punch of teamwork behind the endeavour. 2009 is the dawn of the West Indian Sea Island Cotton (WISIC) project featured in the sum of Sandra Kennedy’s collection. Did I mention that I love cotton like Pvt. Bubba Blue love shrimp? It’s versatile, its comfy and breathable, its natural, and the WISIC is growing fantastic cotton in Barbados, Nevis, Antigua and in our very backyards. It’s then converted to fabric in Europe and Japan where it is in high demand. Hoorah, local industry! I wonder if WISIC is organic? If yes, awesome! If no, there is still work to be done, I hope that’s where they’re headed and that one day it will be processed, more readily available at home.
Cheers to Mr. Cooper and all of Pulse,
Sashay shante,
Jane Instigator