Yolande Gyles, Freelance Writer
A model wears a design from 'The Cloth' in the last day of the recently concluded Caribbean Fashionweek.- WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
FOR ROBERT Young, one of the 45 designers on show at last week's CFW, the event means much more to him than just being exposed to new markets.
"I like the fact that it's a place where I can work on a collection, see other people's collections, and meet other designers. I get to network and then there is the fact that you work with a stylist and international based models. These things are not always available when you put on a collection at home," he said.
Young, designer of 'The Cloth', a popular men and women's clothing line from Trinidad and Tobago, was taking part in CFW for the fourth time, thus making him a veteran of the five-year-old annual event. Hence he got to show his line on the final night at the National Indoor Sports Centre, Arthur Wint Drive, St. Andrew.
Unlike last year's collection, where he paid tribute to Haiti and the East Indian culture, this time he showcased a line that had a very personal inspiration.
"I dubbed the collection 'A Jean Coloured Life' after an aunt who just recently died and she liked green, so there was a lot of green. And then there was a lot of black and black to me signifies a form of birth black is mother nature," said Young.
This year's collection was also not without its challenges. Due to a right hand which was encased in a cast, he had to
design his line very differently. "This injury happened three weeks ago and so I literally had to write the collection instead of sketch it. And I tried to get a designer I had worked with in the past to help me, but she only did one piece. Luckily, the people I worked with understood what I wanted," he said.
The Cloth line uses only natural fibres, primarily cotton, because the designer has a strong dislike for man-made fibres. "Polyester will last long after the earth has died," he joked. "I don't like that, I prefer biodegradable materials."
A designer with almost 20 years in the business, he is changing how he approaches it.
"The fact is we are Caribbean people working in an environment where things are more expensive, so instead of having a whole work room with people sewing, which is very costly, what I plan to do is look around and if I find a person who is very good at jackets I use them to do jackets, and so on. We have to look at this thing differently if we plan to survive," said Young.
And while his designs may have been removed from the Sports Centre, there is still an opportunity to get a peek at www.thecloth.net.
