Three emerging local designers were included in an exhibition, Waves: Rethink, as part of the London Fashion Week 2013. The exhibition was mounted at the T&T High Commission in the UK from February 18-21.
The designers–Mark Eastman, Lisa See Tai and Darcel de Vlugt–were chosen through juried applications by the Fashion Association of T&T (FATT), which was a part sponsor of the event.
In a telephone interview with the T&T Guardian, T&THC cultural officer Renuka Koninger explained that the British Council invited numerous embassies in London to participate in the International Fashion Showcase 2013 as part of London Fashion Week.
Invited participants were asked to showcase up-and-coming designers from their countries. T&T is one of 27 countries to be included. People attending London Fashion Week received an International Showcase guide listing all the exhibitions and presentations in it.
To be considered for the showcase, each designer must have produced at least two collections and could not have been in business for more than four years. The launch on Monday included a catwalk presentation and the mounted pieces in the exhibition changed daily.
FATT board member Sharleen Chin, one of the organisers, said the exhibition will serve as a holistic learning experience for the designers. In addition to showcasing their work, the designers attended Fashion Week events, participated in workshops, viewed exhibitions from other emerging international designers as well as had their collections critiqued.
Designers also participated in a daily "meet the designers" segment where viewers interacted with them. Chin added that the programme was a good opportunity for young designers.
"It was very important that we got designers who have not broken international barriers and for them coming to London at this time and during Fashion Week will certainly get them noticed," said Chin.
Waves: ReThink was also sponsored by UTT and the T&T Coalition of Services Industries.
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About the designers
�2 Mark Eastman is a 2012 graduate of the UTT Caribbean Academy of Fashion Design (CAFD). He is currently working with Robert Young of The Cloth as a technical design assistant. His work was most recently featured in a full-page spread in the magazine 6 Carlos Street.
�2 A graduate of the London College of Fashion, Darcel de Vlugt is the winner of the 2009 Next Generation Designer Award from the Islands of the World Fashion Week in Nassau, Bahamas. De Vlugt also works as an editor for the magazine CF Style. Her third collection was released in May 2012 and also showcased at Islands of the World Fashion Week.
�2 Lisa See Tai is a 2012 graduate of the UTT CAFD. Last year, she received the CAFD Designer Critique Award. See Tai was also the co-designer of the Anya Ayoung Chee's 2011 spring/summer collection and works as a CAFD instructor. Her latest collection was showcased in the 2012 Style Spirit Weekend.