Dougla entices fashion lovers

“That most beautiful song resounds in my mind and my pores raise as I echo its words...
‘here every creed and race find an equal place...’ I smile every time. I can’t help myself. It’s what we’re known for...a mix of races and cultures joined in a land of favour which produced the sweetness of Dougla. Really, it’s a Trini ting! Like a doubles with slight pepper and a red solo!” Pegus said of the Dougla concept.

The master designer cleverly used a lot of embossed chiffon, leather on silk chiffon, two-face metallic (sequinned) fabric, embossed mesh and feathers, as well as stretched velvet, striped leather on silk and silk cotton shirts for her new collection. She said most of the base of each piece was made from silk chiffon. The production was directed by Coco Velvet International’s Christopher Nathan, with styling by Keziah Lendor. Pegus also credited brand manager Hayden Roberts for the creation of the image for the collection. She said he had been fine tuning and steering the image of the brand for several years.

Of the collection itself she told Newsday, “Fabulous! Fabulous! It’s all about my inspiration as to where I think we should be going in terms of fashion,” a sentiment that was echoed by Sharon Rowley. “The collection is of the highest quality as usual of Claudia. “Claudia has lived up to what she had done in the past and we continue to expect the best from her and she delivers.” However, one young man was a little disappointed there were not enough pieces for men, especially as he found the women’s designs so “fantastic”.

In response Pegus said: “My fabric took two weeks to get to Trinidad and I had to take night to make day.

The selection was a preview of a collection, therefore the bigger part of the male collection will be in Tobago.

So the men should not feel disappointed.” Dougla, the continuation, will be unveiled to the general public at Tobago Fashion Coda on April 27, at the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort.

Before the preview collection was unveiled, Pegus gave a background on the inspiration for her collection. She said: “At a Mehndi night in 2016 I encountered the Dougla. A black Trini sister marrying a white Canadian under Hindu rites and given away by an Indian brother.

Like a rare bird, the Dougla captured my imagination, haunting my creativity, teasing me on the ‘what next’ watch. “Dougla kept me awake at night until the concept birthed in runway expression.”She continued: “The Dougla is not a model.

Dougla is a person with style and attitude.

Dougla is a shopper.

The Dougla buys, wears my designs and transforms my concept into a personalised style. “Dougla is a Trini, a pelau of cultures, music, every creed and race; and at CP Designs we embrace our culture and offer you an explosion of notable creatives, a kaleidoscope of colours, a showcase of our red, white and black- and all that these colours can become.” The Dougla, she said, symbolises a pepper pot, a Caribbean thing.