Fashion UTT style

All manner of themes, colour schemes, dresses, pants, skirts, blouses and even wedding outfits graced the runway last Friday during the official showcase and competition, as supportive family members and friends cheered, screamed and applauded for their favourite designs.

Established designers and fashion industry stakeholders such as Claudia Pegus, Diane Hunt, Noorulain Agha-Ganga and Charu Lochan Dass were also in the audience looking on as the next generation of fashionistas made their debut following months of intense training and instruction.

After attending the CAFD final thesis presentation, she said, “I am confident that the future of fashion design in Trinidad and Tobago is bright. I was especially excited by the diversity in interpretation of the mandatory themes; a testament to the strong, distinct perspectives of the various designers. I was further impressed by the high quality of production of the pieces shown. In fact, many attendees were interested in purchasing pieces on the spot. All of these elements signal the continued “raising of the bar” that we have seen in recent years. CreativeTT looks forward to supporting these designers as they take their talent and skills into the business and export realms.”

The theme for UTT Fashion Week 2015 was “Metamorphosis - Transforming the Face of Caribbean Fashion”. At this event, the graduating students of the CAFD prepare for the final exhibitions of their academic careers. This year’s UTT Fashion Week took place from June 1 to 7 and comprised a series of week-long events showcasing the development of all the creative and technical skills of the entire fashion academy.

On the final night of UTT Fashion Week 2015, five year-three fashion students participated in the third Junior Designer Critic Fashion Show and 19 final-year students completed their four-year BA (Hons) Degree in Fashion Design with the Final Senior Thesis Show.

Founded in 2008, the CAFD was initiated on the philosophy that the development of a student’s individual creativity should always be supported by a strong foundation of techniques and informed thinking. The goal of the CAFD at UTT is to educate and train aspiring designers and managers in the art and business of fashion with an eye toward developing a Caribbean fashion industry.

For the fourth time in 2015, the CAFD presented the work from final-year BFA students’ “Thesis Collections.” This was a representation or collection of each student’s design philosophy as they created capsule collections of six garments from a basic concept to the completion. The “Student of the Year” award (voted on by the programme professionals) was presented.

The Diploma in Fashion Management students were also issued the challenge of creating a fashion magazine layout incorporating innovation, styling creativity and brand attractiveness. These student’s visual layouts were displayed throughout the show via digital projection on display.

The CAFD Designer Critic Show is a collaborative academic exercise between CAFD’s third-year BFA in Fashion Design students and TT’s leading fashion designers. The collaborating designers are responsible for setting a project and then lending their expertise and help to a group of students. The most successful student designer of each group received the Designer’s namesake Award. The 2015 collaborating Designers were Sean Griffith Perez and Robert Young of The Cloth.