Fashion Week T&T - The Review, Pt.2

A few of my faves from Pilar, Claudia Pegus, and Zadd & Eastman.
Check out last month's Au Courant Mag. for a close-up

I did things belatedly, and a bit backward, dealing with the 'bad' and the 'ugly' of Fashion Week Trinidad & Tobago (FWTT), weeks after its conclusion in June, and it's high time I dealt with the 'good!' So here goes:

Claudia Pegus (the Classic Collection, NOT CPFS) : Talk about grown-up glamour! With a hint of old Hollywood flair, Pegus' collection was a course on High Class. Every look was well tailored creating sharp silhouettes and a 'naughty lady' effect, using Pegus' signature materials (Taffetta, Lace, Silk, Tulle, etc) and rich, peacock tones. Think of the upper class 'lady that lunches,' out on a secret rendezvous, and you'll get the effect.

Radical Designs: More of a sportswear collection, the showing by Radical Designs stood out to me for one main reason: it signaled a return to the Radical Designs of yore. Recently, the Dianne Hunt lead fashion brand tended to regurgitate old designs and their basic tees with a generic graphical print on it. This showing reminded me that Radical can indeed put out inspired linen and cotton suits, dresses, and such.

Pilar: I believe Ms. T&T 2008, Anya Ayoung-Chee attended Parsons Design for Graphic Arts, but apparently, some of the design mojo from the Fashion department must have rubbed off on her, too. Debuting Pilar, a line named in memory of her deceased brother, Ayoung-Chee focused on incorporating ethnic prints , cottons and African elements into her first collection. Full of contemporary pieces with simple construction - shorts, halter tops, circle and full skirts - a Pilar piece is the kind of design you'd wear for the club, a social, dinner, or just hanging out.

Zadd & Eastman: This team is the one to watch - trust me! Zadd & Eastman was originally known as the 'go-t0' designers for a slammin' beauty pageant dress. But the South Trinidad-based team (Omzad Khan & Nigel Eastman, I believe) keep creating original, flirty, and girly pieces that scream 'buy me!' From their old standbys (ruffles on skirts; delicate prints & patterns) to new, form-fitting silhouettes, it was a strong showing that further heralded Zadd & Eastman's arrival on the fashion front.

Meiling (the Classic collection, not Msquared) : Meiling did what Meiling does best, by giving us a collection of airy separates and dresses that are decidedly feminine, but with womanly touches of grown-up style, and an air of mysterious finesse. With a muted, natural palette and the usual Meiling cottons, the collection didn't represent anything groundbreaking or novel, but was a solid showing nonetheless.

You might note, that my favourites - save for Zadd & Eastman, and Pilar - are the 'usuals.' You know, those designers whose names are synonymous with Trinidadian design. And it was not a conscious decision, really.

The truth is (as I've said so many times before on Au Courant,) that Fashion is an actual industry, just like Sports, Media, Construction, and so forth. And as such, there are certain standards and processes that must be present in a designer's or brand's efforts, for it to be considered a serious collection.

To me, those standards and processes (sound garment construction and aesthetic; tasteful, inventive, and practical clothing; cohesive collection presentation; company/designer overview; contact information; designer/business plan, etc) were lacking in the vast majority of collections, with the exception of the long-standing designers I listed above.

Well, I guess there's something to be said for longevity, after all...

LMN Harris

NB. Images courtesy Triniscene

Fashion Week T&T - The Review, Pt.1

Two looks from the very same collection by DAV Originals.

Five days. Forty two fashion designers. Hundreds of pics to wade through. Fashion Week Trinidad & Tobago 2009 (May 29th - June 2nd) gave me a lot to coo over, roll my eyes at, and ponder.

I purposefully waited for weeks before reviewing the collections; as I've said before, I didn't return to T&T for the show this year, as I did in 2008 for the Debut, so I wanted to give myself time to see the pieces from all the designers before giving my opinions on their creations.

And after carefully looking at the pics & pieces, I can only call it as I see it. The proof was in the pudding, folks, and let me tell you, the majority of collections weren't too good.

Let's get the bad news out of the way, shall we?

I'm not going to outright name all the names, but 75% of the designers who presented at FWTT09 failed to impress with their showings. Sad to say, the vast majority who fell in that category were designers who were either just getting some measure of recognition after years of toiling in the trenches, or were entirely new to the fashion scene.

I wanted, so badly, to rave about all the designers, but it's hard to have positive things to say when some collections obviously lack cohesiveness, a presentation theme, individual technique and aesthetic, along with an overall focus.

And that lack of focus said a lot. Perhaps there is not enough focus on understanding what the purpose of a fashion week is (hint - it's not just to 'show off' what you can do with cloth.) Having a show to reveal your collection is supposed to inform the viewers about your design focus, your approach to the design process, where you drew influences from, and so forth.

It's supposed to inspire 'fashion desire;' people should be clamoring to grab your pieces off the Model on the runway, the very instant they see your designs. From looking at the sets, it was hard to understand what some of the designers were trying to achieve and convey with their collections.

Some sets lacked a unifying theme, colour-scheme, motif or direction - plain and simple. Designers like Sonia Mack, DAV Originals, Simply Garnett and others presented pieces that were a mish-mosh of wildly varying elements, materials, and colours. At times, it felt as if the designers simply picked up whatever materials and pre-done looks thatwere hanging around in their studios, and just threw them onto the runway.

Others were doing fantasy design, totally disregarding that, unlike Carnival - where outrageous elements can be introduced on a costume and be deemed passable - fashions presented for a Fashion Week were to be actually worn by everyday women, and that attention should be paid to the season/place/people you're designing for. In which part of Trinidad & Tobago would a Marabou, or fur-trimmed coat be appropriate fashion?

These design-ills appeared in the collections of over 30 designers, and there were numerous pieces that were poorly constructed: linings were omitted, seams were sewn with too much tension and no give room, and many designers used patterned materials to create their looks, failing to line-up the patterns in a flattering manner.

Material selections revealed that designers went on the cheap (understandable, given that the world is feeling the recessionary effect), but even with $10.00 Cottons, there's a way to render a piece so that the materials fall, just right, avoiding that worn look.

I guess that's why they say, "The Devil's in the details...'

Note: Look out for "The Review - Part 2," where I'll talked about those stellar & dashing collections that are definitely worth mentioning.

LMN Harris.

NB Image courtesy Triniscene.com