caribbean fashion showroom Archives

Heart and Sole: Regional Footwear Makers Aim to Impress at UK’s ‘Autumn Fair’

Posted on September 1, 2022August 30, 2022 by Caribbean Export

Christmas is coming and retailers around the world are getting ready for the so-called ‘Golden Quarter’ between October and December when sales traditionally spike.

This is an important time for shops everywhere and usually involves an intense amount of preparation for the rush, which includes attending trade shows and finding products that purchasing agents hope their customers will love.

In the UK, one of the biggest retail tradeshows is held just before the busy festive season gets into full swing. ‘Autumn Fair’ is a four-day event in Birmingham from 4-7 September that is billed as “a vibrant hub where ideas flourish and community, connection, and collaboration thrive.”

Autumn Fair has four distinct buying destinations – Home, Gift, Moda (fashion) and Design & Source – where over 600 exhibitors are hoping to attract the attention of leading buyers and retailers scouting for exceptional and unusual products to ‘wow’ their customers.

The Caribbean Export Development Agency and the European Union are supporting 10 regional womenswear, jewellery, and shoe designers who are travelling to the UK to take part in this important industry event.

The attendees include three established footwear brands, Catori’s Barbados, FETE-ish from St Lucia, and Haiti’s SANDILOU.

Catori’s Barbados was started by husband-and-wife team, Carson and Twena Cumberbatch, and is named after their two daughters Cara and Tori.

Carson has been repairing shoes and bags for almost 30 years and opened his own heel bar and shoe repair shop in Barbados’ capital Bridgetown in 2003.

A few years later, when Carson needed a pair of sandals, he decided to design and handmake a pair from scratch, and from there his business model expanded to include bespoke shoes for men and women.

Since then, Carson has significantly advanced his repertoire and now also designs and crafts a full range of leather accessories including belts, purses, bags, wallets, passport holders, cell phone cases, and business portfolios.

Carson’s years of repairing shoes and bags have given him invaluable insight into what it takes to construct a product that will last, especially in the tropics, where the heat often causes inferior materials to quickly peel and fall apart.

He utilises hardwearing materials like burlap and denim to enhance longevity, with bamboo handles for the bags and stitched, brass ring details on the shoes.

Carson also credits additional training on shoe manufacturing and bag making which he underwent in Colombia, for improving his craft, and giving him the skills to make leather goods that are chic and classy with a Caribbean touch.

Fete-ish is a customised footwear company founded in 2019 by self-taught St Lucian entrepreneur Kayle Cassius.

Kayle started designing and making leather sandals as a side hustle but soon turned it into a fully-fledged business when interest in her made-to-order shoes steadily grew beyond just her close family and friends.

Fete-ish is different from mass produced or large-scale manufacturers because Kayle works collaboratively with her customers to design sandals that reflect their personality, colour preferences, and personal style.

She says her brand represents “uniqueness, individuality, beauty and strength”, and these values influence every pair of sandals she creates along with an “artsy and whimsical” feel which is 100% inspired by the charms of Caribbean life.

As a lover of shoes herself, Kayle is particularly proud of the fact that her shoes are built to last, and because of that, as well as her eye for every detail and willingness to please the customer, she has had many repeat orders.

Fete-ish has been featured in Elle Magazine, LIAT airline’s in-flight magazine Caribbean Beat, Tropical Traveller, and several other regional publications and Kayle plans to turn her brand into a global household name.

Sandilou is a passion project for Haitian businesswoman Sandra Russo. She started the business with her husband Fred in 2012, and currently works alongside a team of 10 artists to bring her designs to life.

Primarily focused on resort wear, soft furnishings, beach towels. and flip flops, Sandilou offers hand-painted products which express the unrestricted Caribbean ‘joie de vivre’ and love for everything colourful and exuberant.

All Sandilou’s designs start off as a sketch on a blank fabric like rayon, cotton, and linen, then the artist paints freehand using dyes, silkscreen, and paint directly onto the ‘canvas’ and the item takes shape naturally.

Every item is different depending on who painted it. Some artists prefer abstract or organic concepts, while others might use folk and traditional Haitian imagery for inspiration, and a local team of female seamstresses sometimes add appliques and embroidery.

Sandra explains: “We are not a fashion house with collections. We produce easy-wear, just like the Caribbean – we are happy and easy, we’re a lifestyle that’s a visual feast, effortless, with little stress and in no hurry to change what is comfortable.

“We still enjoy moments with nature, friends, family (close and extended) and have fun at carnival, where time has another rhythm and light makes everything beautiful.”

Caribbean Jewellery Designers Ready to Dazzle at Top UK Trade Fair

Posted on August 29, 2022August 30, 2022 by Caribbean Export

Four Caribbean jewellery designers will be taking their collections to Birmingham in September as they attend leading UK tradeshow ‘Autumn Fair’.

Jamaica’s Rêve Jewellery & Accessories, St Lucia’s Designs by Nadia, Trinidad and Tobago’s AYA STYLER, and Dominica’s Gisselle Mancebo Jewelry, are all exhibiting at the top retail event with the support of the Caribbean Export Development Agency and the European Union.

Autumn Fair will give these Caribbean creatives a chance to present their individual brand story, whilst interacting with major buyers and retailers from around the world who are looking for the next big thing in jewellery.

Rêve Jewellery & Accessories will be sharing its authentically unique, trailblazing, and contemporary line of couture jewellery, which merges elements of goldsmithing techniques and the legacy of craft.

Founded in 2006 by sibling entrepreneurs, Teasea and Duane Bennett, Rêve is an award-winning company based in Jamaica which offers ready-to-wear and custom-made jewellery.

Rêve’s flagship store, which opened in Kingston in 2009, is not only a place where you can find their revolutionary, handmade jewellery line, but also provides a bricks and mortar location for other Jamaican and regional accessories makers to sell their clothing, bags, and footwear.

Rêve’s co-founder Duane is a highly qualified and skilled goldsmith who is known as a trendsetter in his field. He is also currently a guest professor at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, where he is training the next generation of Caribbean jewellery designers.

Over the past decade, Rêve has built a reputation for excellence and developed a strong and trusted brand image, based on exceptional customer service. It is a registered and trademarked company (including industrial) and currently exports to the Caribbean, US, Canada, UK, Germany, and France.

Teasea and Duane are ambitious and aim to create a long-lasting legacy business. They plan to elevate Rêve into a globally recognised Caribbean jewellery brand that is known for high quality, bespoke, and original designs.

Caribbean jewellery designer Nadia Jabour will also be attending the Autumn Fair to highlight her brand ‘Designs by Nadia’. Originally from Guyana, Nadia began designing jewellery from her home in Canada in 2007 and continued producing her pieces after relocating to St Lucia in 2010.

Designs by Nadia offers one-of-a-kind necklaces, earrings, and bracelets, created from indigenous and naturally occurring material such as fish scales, seeds, wood, sea glass, stones, leather, and metals. Most of the material used in Nadia’s jewellery is sourced from islands around the region.

Nadia initially built her brand through hosting pop-up events around St Lucia and at local hotels. She also created a website to showcase her creations and grew her social media presence on Facebook and Instagram. Nadia’s jewellery has been sold to customers in Barbados, Trinidad, Guyana, Jamaica, Canada, the US, and the UK.

‘Designs by Nadia’ is available at Nadia’s shop (Island Mix) in St Lucia where buyers can also get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into her production process. Two local hotels also offer Nadia’s jewellery to international guests.

Nadia says her jewellery attracts a varied clientele who are looking for bold statement pieces to complement their outfits, as well as those who are fascinated by the uniqueness of the designs, and the material they are constructed from, especially the fish scale selection.

The AYA STYLER (aka AYA) accessories brand originates from Trinidad and Tobago. Aya designs and makes retail-ready earrings, necklaces, anklets, and bracelets from high quality materials such as cultured pearls, wood, shells, rose quartz, and jade.

AYA STYLER offer clients a timeless feel by fusing classic, vintage looks with international and island trends. The brand’s Caribbean influence can be seen throughout its product range in the textures and colours, as well as in its marketing and promotion material, which utilises paradisical imagery.

As a female-led business, AYA STYLER is focused on women’s empowerment and development. Its clientele includes women of all ages, but it is especially popular with fashion-loving millennials who are looking for jewellery that is uniquely flavoured with tropical undertones and suitable for every occasion.

The AYA STYLER brand is gradually evolving into the largest distributor of locally made fashion accessories in Trinidad and Tobago. It is a well-respected label that is known for its exceptional shopping experiences, affordable prices, and assortment of pieces.

Gisselle Mancebo Jewelry is a high-end Dominican brand established in 2007.

Gisselle trained as an industrial engineer before becoming a jewellery designer “out of passion and conviction”.

She adds: “Since I was little, I had a great admiration for the world of jewellery, crafts, and fashion, because my maternal grandmother Gisela would adorn my neck with beautiful pearl necklaces and semi-precious stone chokers. Ever since then I have been delirious about exotic, different, unique pieces.”

Gisselle started off making jewellery for family and friends, but as word spread and the orders kept coming in, she realised that her part-time hobby was really her lifelong calling.

Gisselle is driven by a desire to add Caribbean character to the commercialisation of high-quality jewellery pieces and to share a slice of Dominica with every one of her clients. Her brand embodies the art of exclusivity while fulfilling its main objective to lift its Caribbean roots to the highest level.

Every Gisselle Mancebo Jewelry item is born out of the wealth of natural resources in Dominica, utilising materials such as larimar, Dominican Amber, cow horn, and wood which gives customers a product line that is truly authentic as well as sustainable and environmentally responsible.

As Giselle’s brand has grown over the past 15 years, she has not lost her love for making showstopping earrings, necklaces and bracelets, or her determination to learn from the continuous cycle of experimenting, failing, and starting over to produce the most striking jewellery possible.

Caribbean Fashion Aims to Steal the Show at Leading UK Retail Trade Event

Posted on August 23, 2022August 26, 2022 by Caribbean Export

Bold, bright and beguiling! Caribbean fashion is as expressive as the region it comes from and just as captivating.

Designers can be found on every shore, from Anguilla through to Turks and Caicos, with many Caribbean creatives drawing influence from the vibrancy around them in the people, places, food, history, art, and culture that intwine to tell each island’s distinct story.

In September, four Caribbean womenswear designers, with the support of Caribbean Export and the European Union, will be given the chance to showcase their unique fashion perspective at the UK’s leading retail home, gift, and fashion marketplace – ‘Autumn Fair’.

Exhibiting at the Autumn Fair in Birmingham will give these regional fashion entrepreneurs the ideal platform to connect with influential UK, European, and international buyers and retailers who are scouting for products that stand out from the crowd.

Let’s meet the three designers who will be attending the Autumn Fair.

Theodore Elyette is a multi-award-winning designer from the Bahamas. He grew up in a creative household and started designing at just 13 years old after spending many days at his mother’s textile factory.

Theo’s brand ‘TE’ offers clothing with a free-flowing, island silhouette that is sophisticated, feminine, and modern.

Theo loves colour, texture, and print, and this comes through in his sought-after custom designs which have adorned several celebrities including British actress and singer Cynthia Erivo, Real Housewives of Atlanta stars Eva Marcille and Porsha Williams, and Destiny’s Child singer Michelle Williams.

Lauded as one of The Bahamas’ most celebrated and recognisable labels,
Theo has worked alongside some of the industry’s leading celebrity fashion stylists and has featured in Essence Magazine, Cosmopolitan Philippines, and Vogue Italia.

In 2018, Theo also made history when he became the first Bahamian designer to showcase his fashion at Buckingham Palace before a royal audience which included the Duchess of Cambridge.

Theo is a proud Bahamian and recently conceptualised a resort wear collection with local screen printer ‘Bahama Hand Prints’ which incorporates his love for his island’s joyful culture.

The retail line includes dresses, tops and trousers in floaty, comfortable fabrics, and an eye-catching blue and white print with seashells and sea turtles. All the fabric is printed using traditional methods at a factory in the Bahamas and handsewn by local people.

Kimon Baptiste-St. Rose is a self-taught Caribbean fashion designer from St Vincent and the Grenadines.

She started her award-winning line Kimmystic.Clo in 2007, when she was still working as a junior accountant. Kimon’s day job initially funded her passion but after she was made redundant in 2012, she decided to become a full-time fashion designer, and has not looked back since!

Kimon prides herself on producing custom and ready-to-wear clothing that is ‘functional, timeless, and versatile’ while exuding Caribbean chic.

Kimon’s clientele is as diverse as her inspiration, from a classy college graduate to a business professional, or a fashionable mother who is always on the go. The Kimmystic.Clo woman, Kimon says, is “comfortable in her skin and wants to be comfortable in her clothing”.

All Kimon’s designs are environmentally friendly and made from 100% cotton or 100% linen fabric. The brand is currently available to international customers online and regionally via a flagship store in St Vincent and a small network of retailers in Barbados, Saint Lucia, Antigua, Anguilla, and Jamaica.

Kimon believes her brand can become an international fashion powerhouse, but she wants to keep production facilities in St Vincent and the Grenadines to provide employment for the local population.

Loud by Afiya (also known as Loud) was officially started in 2012 by Trinidadian designer Afiya Bishop as a jewellery line before evolving into an online retail clothing brand.

Afiya always had an eye for fashion and studied Fashion Management at the University of Trinidad & Tobago. She also worked as a freelance stylist on commercial shoots and TV shows with local entertainers while maintaining her full-time role as a marketing executive.

Afiya’s clothing embraces bright colours and printed fabrics and consists of accessories, tops, pants, shorts, t-shirts, dresses, jumpers, rompers, and kaftans which are available at her boutique in Trinidad or via an e-commerce website for regional and international clients.

Appealing to the “modern-day superwoman”, Afiya describes Loud as a “female empowerment brand”, carefully crafted to make every client feel strong, confident, and fabulous, regardless of size or shape.

Afiya is always looking for new and exciting ways to build her brand including having a section in the Trinidad Carnival, pop-up shops in America, Jamaica, and Barbados, and launching an annual Afrobeats Brunch Event.

Loud’s social media presence is strongly established with over 27,000 combined followers on Facebook and Instagram. They are attracted to Afiya’s unapologetically Caribbean and African aesthetic which merges casual comfort with unmistakeable island elegance.