Dare to Dream

Chin Wing is a fourth form student at Providence Girls High School, and John Bilboa, ELSA’s director and president of Top Model TT jury plans to place her at agencies in New York and Europe when she completes her CXC examinations. Guevara completed his exams in June and is all set to take on the fashion world. He is being prepped to fly to London for casting calls for London, Paris and Milan Fall/Winter fashion weeks in February 2016.

”I just knew that we had a special group of teenagers when we launched the workshop on June 5 at NALIS,” head of Coco Velvet International Fashion Management, Christopher Nathan, tells WMN, “so I wasted no time in contacting Elite to invite John to sit as president of the Top Model TT jury. He agreed that once he was able to identify international talent ELSA would award a contract. As it turned out we received two modeling contracts.

“What sets Coco Velvet models apart is their exotic look as a result of their mixed ethnicity and polished sophistication which we develop at the training workshop. Naomi’s parents are a mixture of Chinese, African and East Indian heritage, while Ricardo’s Amerindian, Chinese and African heritage resulted in his hazel green eyes, pale complexion and mop of Cupid-like, golden curls.”

Top Model Trinidad and Tobago 2015 Print category winners are Seige Lander and Nicquan Asson. People’s Choice winners are Felicia Ramoutar and Adam Gibson.

The Coco Velvet International Fashion Workshop is held annually during the July/August vacation for secondary school students who are interested in pursuing careers in the fashion industry. Participation is free for those candidates who make it through the rigorous selection process.

This year the Ministry of Education invited Coco Velvet to facilitate Careers in the Fashion Industry presentations at their Dare to Dream National District Careers Fair, which rolled throughout TT. Over 38,000 students were exposed to a variety of exciting career options. Three hundred and forty registered for the CVI Fashion Workshop, and after the interview process, 100 made it to the training sessions at the NALIS headquarters in Port-of-Spain.

Sharon Imbert, retired Permanent Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister led a team of training professionals who prepared the workshop participants for the world of work in the creative sector. At the workshop graduation ceremony at Queen’s Hall on August 26, 14-year-old Neisha Hall emerged winner of the Best Performer Award for Excellence in Fashion Styling and Visual Merchandising workshop. Nathan is certain that she has the natural ability to guarantee a long successful career in fashion design or styling.