You've asked; AuC has answered. A Review of The Cloth 09 collection.

Ever so often, I pop onto Facebook to browse through what's out there; after not checking for weeks upon weeks, things tend to pile up and a 'quick peek' turns into a 2hr surf-session! Which actually turned out to be a good thing today.

Peeping onto the page of the head designer for The Cloth, Robert Young, I couldn't help but notice that he was asking the FB masses what they, "thought of The Cloth collection and of Fashion Week Trinidad & Tobago (FWTT 09)... what was good and what could have been different?"

I've already said what I thought of FWTT 09 as a whole, but I've only just seen proper pics of The Cloth's 09 collection, so I'm bursting with all kinds of opinions.

So, Robert, you asked, and I will tell...

In a word, the collection was 'Refreshing!' Refreshing, as in the 09 collection gave a fresh take on The Classic Cloth Look - opaque brights, cottons, fabric applique, cavernous silhouettes - and with the set having a refined, and on-trend finish.

We can all depend on The Cloth to give us a 'Carnival-esque' patterned shirt, or a cool, folksy circle skirt, and appliqued, sleevless shift dresses. But we don't expect the team to break out timely Dhotis & Harem pants in the lightest of cottons, paired with tres-chic, ruched-sleeved blouses, that hang off the shoulder, ever so perfectly!

Seen above, it's just the kind of ensemble I'd wear for weekend brunch at Cafe Reggio or for casual knocking-about through the Village - fitting as a full look, and fabulous as separate pieces. Refreshing, indeed!

With this showing, The Cloth has hit upon a nice medium, where the designs are clearly influenced by the easy style of the region; PR for the design team indicated that reference points came from the resourcefulness of Cubans in the face of Embargo, and by a sense of eco-responsibility.

But unlike most of the past Cloth collections, I can easily see these designs hanging in the windows of Barney's Co Op on Wooster, or selling on Net-a-Porter.com, where they'd undoubetedly appeal to a larger, international audience, as well as the die-hard local fans.

The only thing that didn't quite hang well with the entire set, were the cross-body messenger bags that most of the models carried. By itself, the bags are quite fine, but with the styled looks on the runway, they seemed just a tad too much, and obstructed the view of the designs. See what I'm talking about here.

So, dear Robert, just tell me when and where I can buy those pants (in teal or orange, please) and you'd have made my day, my Friday, and my weekend!

L.M.N. Harris.

N.B. Image courtesy CF Style.