Style Spirit Fashion Weekend, hosted by magazine and online
movement Trinidad LookBook, was held from the 7th-9th
December 2012 at The Warehouse, Champs Fleurs in Trinidad & Tobago. With
the two-year absence of Trinidad and Tobago Fashion Week, Trinidad LookBook Magazine
stepped in to fill the void. The weekend included presentations by designers,
an accessories trunk show, seminars by notables in beauty and blogging,
networking opportunities and after parties. We really liked the idea of a
full-fledged fashion weekend that would not only showcase the designers’ work but
also allow them to network with each other and others in the fashion industry
both locally and internationally.
Designer Island decided to check out Style Spirit and purchased
weekend passes that allowed us to attend both fashion shows, after parties and
talk shops/chat rooms. The entire event was marketed principally through word
of mouth and via social media - chiefly Facebook and Twitter. There’s a funny
thing about social media. While we hear constantly that it is the cheapest and
most effective way to reach a targeted audience, there’s always the risk of
reaching no more than your own narrow circle of friends and their networks. The
result can be the appearance of mass support but smaller numbers than expected
at the actual event.
While we fully intended to make it to all the events, the
hectic period proved to be a bit too much for our already busy schedules. While
we missed the sessions done by Adam Cooper, Head of Strategy at AbovegroupOgilvy and Misa Hylton, US, stylist and fashion maven due to poorly chosen
times (one at midday on a weekday and the other at 9:00am on a Saturday), we
were thrilled to catch Trini born Patrice Grell-Yursik of Afrobella.com, natural hair
beauty blogger and ‘godmother of brown beauty blogging’.
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| Tanya and Ayanna of Designer Island with Patrice of Afrobella |
Her session was held at Medulla Art Gallery and started at
3:00PM on Thursday afternoon, an inconvenient time that should perhaps be
reconsidered for future events to allow more people to participate. Titled ‘The
Beauty of Interaction’, Patrice talked about her journey to developing her
award- winning blog, the challenges of trying to start Afrobella while holding
down a day job at a Miami newspaper and building a brand that is so much linked
to her own personality and struggles with beauty and body image. While there
was a small turnout, due possibly to the challenge we mentioned above with
social media marketing and the time selected, the intimate gathering allowed
for many questions to be asked and stories to be shared. We particularly loved
that nearby storeowners, event planners and designers participating in Style
Spirit weekend were able to attend making the session one that allowed for
valuable networking. Patrice of Afrobella was candid, honest and inspirational and
shared tangible strategies for internationalizing your brand. Entrepreneurs
that were able to make it were certainly better for having attended. This was a
critical part of the fashion weekend and we really wished that the scheduling
and advertising had been better thought out to ensure that more people were
able to attend what we understand were all inspiring sessions.
The next day began with an all day Accessories Trunk Sale
also held at Medulla Art Gallery. This was a well-organized event that featured
a variety of local artisans and jewelers including CLASP by Sabrina Bolai, KokoKaribi Designs, Rachael Rochford Jewelry, Vyombo Designs, Sandalias Apparel and others. We
picked up some really lovely pieces and are excited for the future of these
local designers. The vibrant art market culture that has been developing the
Trinidad & Tobago in recent years centered in Port of Spain has created a
new market for local artisans that we’re interested in seeing develop further.
That evening was the first runway show! The Style Spirit
team made an inspired choice by hosting the event out of Port of Spain at an
industrial warehouse. The inconvenience of parking on the street and walking a
bit to the event was offset by the presence of security guards who assisted
with parking and gave helpful directions. The interior of the Warehouse
featured high ceilings with steel beams, bare concrete walls and concrete
flooring. The simple décor made the runway the central feature of the venue and
made the fashion the full focus of the evening. High above the runway we could
observe the bustle of the models getting makeup done and being prepared to head
down to the runway. While this may not have been an intentional part of the
design of the show, it made for an interesting feature. The wings were created
with white blinds lit from behind that would allow the audience to see the
silhouettes of the models before they actually hit the runway. Overall, the
lighting choices could have been better in order to allow for a darkened venue
with lighting focused on the runway to create a more dramatic effect. However,
we loved the understated style of the venue that left the focus on the clothes
and the interaction of the people that went there to support the designers. We
loved that the space was local and gritty, and imperfect with no attempt to
cover it’s imperfections with potted plants, ugly satin draping and balloons.
We complement the team on its ability to preserve the integrity of the space
and to create something real.
The first night featured designers Lisa See Tai, Pink
Lemonade, The Art of Wear, Wadada Movement, The 1ndividual Aesthetic,
Indieswim, Favala, J. Angelique and Chandra Maharaj Swimwear. There was a
fairly good turnout on the first day with people seeming genuinely excited to
see the new wave of Trinidad fashion designers. The show suffered a bit from
the late start and the slow pace at which the models moved down the runway,
with each model waiting almost until the former existed the stage before
entering. While this allowed full focus to be on each garment, it affected the
overall pace of the show. The high quality of some of the designers attempted
to make up for these technical hiccups. Check out our iPhone photos of all the
collections and let us know your favourites.
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| Wadada Movement |
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| Wadada Movement |
One of our favourites for the night was the
1950’s inspired collection by the The Art of Wear which featured Mad Men era
dress shapes in African print fabric. Her dresses featured great silhouettes
for curvy figures with a modern twist on classic lines.
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| The Art of Wear |
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| The Art of Wear |
We also enjoyed The 1ndividual Aesthetics’s Collection of t-shirt designs with their fun, edgy styling and youthful
presentation.
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| The 1ndividual Aesthetic |
Chandra Maharaj’s swimwear was one of the more standout
collections of the night owing to her impeccable styling and well-constructed
swimwear.
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| Chandra Maharaj |
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| Van der Vlught |
By day 2 some of the technical hiccups were ironed out and the show ran much more smoothly. The designers - Van der Vlught, Fashion Dandy, Liilah, A-Lan Swimwear, 36 EDR, Rhion Romany, Loud by Afiya, Kimya Glasgow and Hak Gwai took it up a notch and the show opened with the beautiful evening wear collection by Van der Vlught whose elegant lines and beautiful fabrics contrasted sharply with the gritty, industrial surroundings.
There were outstanding pieces by 36EDR, Rhion and Loud by Afiya that showed definite promise that will develop with greater attention to construction. The other standout collection for the night was Hak Gwai by Lori Antoinette. Hak Gwai accomplished a rare feat – pieces that looked wearable and would work with a variety of body types but were also theatrical showstoppers on a runway, complemented by beautiful accessories. We loved Hak Gwai so much that Tanya Marie rocked a Hak Gwai original to a Christmas event. Check it out!
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| Loud by Afiya |
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| 36 EDR |
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| 36 EDR |
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| Rhion Romany |
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| Hak Gwai |
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| Hak Gwai |
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| Hak Gwai |
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| Hak Gwai |
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| Hak Gwai |
One of the things that stood out for us was the incredible
energy that pervaded both nights. You could see it on the faces of the models
and the designers as they walked the runway to receive applause with their
collections. You could see it on the faces the organizers at the end of each
night. We spoke to one of the models after the event that shared our view. She
said she had been modeling since she was 14 years old and had worked with many
more established local designers but this show was special to her because of
the obvious youthful energy and fresh exuberance that she found incredibly
exciting. If this event can keep that energy, learn from its shortcomings and
continue to support its designers, we think we can look forward to great things
in the future.
Overall we think Style Spirit was an incredible learning
experience for the team and for the designers who showed. More importantly, we
applaud the courage it took to host such a large-scale event on a small budget
with the weight of the expectation of the local fashion industry on their
shoulders. Aside from the technical hiccups and the lost opportunity to have
larger audiences at the chat rooms, we thought this was a good first run. Two
things stood out for us: the talent of some of our new and upcoming local
designers and the lack of more established local designers and industry professionals
in attendance. Perhaps there were scheduling problems but it would have made a
strong statement to have this new venture supported by the organizers of the
original fashion week and to have young designers supported by more established
ones.
Style Spirit is already hard at work on its second run to be
held next year from May 31st to June 2nd 2013. We look
forward to seeing the event grow and the designers develop their aesthetic and
technical competence.
