T&T cultural activist, Canada-based Joan Pierre and T&T Heritage Group (TTHG) will stage Cuttin’ Style Fashion Show 2013 in Toronto, Canada, tomorrow to celebrate T&T’s Independence. The show is being held at the Delta Hotel, located at Toronto East, 2035 Kennedy Road, Scarborough.
The dust has barely settled after what many consider to be the best Toronto Carnival season in a decade. Revellers consumed the best food, music and entertainment Toronto had to offer. Now the garish excess of Carnival is about to make way for the freshest in couture style from the island that epitomises “refined taste and class,” throughout the Caribbean, T&T.
Contacting Pulse from Canada, Pierre disclosed that the initiative has been made possible through assistance from the ministries of Trade, Industry and Investment and Community Development and Culture, and the Tobago House of Assembly.
Pierre said: “We have Claudia Pegus, Zadd & Eastman and The Cloth (Robert Young), from Trinidad, and Delia Alleyne and Cassey Daniel from Tobago, along with the jewelry designer Diane Dennis.
“I pitched to the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games to produce a Caribbean fashion show at the time of the games and they accepted it, so this is just the warm-up to 2015.
Creative director of the show Richard Young is well versed in fashion; having produced fashion, beauty and arts-related events from the Bahamas in the Greater Antilles to Barbados in the Lesser Antilles to Guyana in the South Americas, with North-American stints in Miami, New York, Toronto and Montreal. He is also Robert’s brother.
Pegus operates a closed-door retail store, important to establishing her permanence to her target market.
Having been recognised as one of the top female-owned export companies in T&T, Pegus’ insightful use of strategic regional and international alliances has rewarded her with penetration and worldwide popularity she enjoys today.
This is a wonderful opportunity to experience another side of the Caribbean, the rare and most exquisite side of global fashion.
This is after all, Caribbean couture. A veteran event organiser and Caribbean fashion supporter, Pierre describes the event as, “the finest expression of Caribbean elegance.”
Co-ordinating committee member Gloria Small-Clarke, describes Cuttin’ Style as “an appropriate celebration of Trinidad and Tobago’s 51st Independence and the best in creativity and ingenuity that the twin-island nation has to offer.”
All the designers left on Caribbean Airlines yesterday.
The Island of Heat
New mas bandleader Glenroy Watson rolled out the red carpet to the media when he launched C2K14 presentation La Isla de Calor (The Island of Heat) in the courtyard of his Outside Woman restaurant, on Phillip Street, Port-of-Spain, last Sunday night.
Under the banner of Flirt, the band unveiled nine sections with attractive Spanish names: Atrevido (Daring); Subido de tonto (Risque); Ardiente (Fiery); Embromar (Tease); and, Picante (Spicy). Narration for the costume presentation was given by radio personality/soca artiste Super Jigga TC and Nalini.
Seen at the launch were Tuco chairman Lutalo “Brother Resistance” Masimba, party promoter Gerard Yorke and fashion expert Lystra Cudjoe. In addition to DJ Bruce Wayne, live performances were given by Bunji Garlin and his wife Faye-Ann Lyons and Cassi.
Setting the tone was Cassi with his Whistle and Horn done on the Soca Future Riddim, followed by Bunji singing Differentology and ending with the now very popular Carnival Tabanca. Before introducing Faye-Ann, he signalled his intention to perform this single right up to C2K14. Faye-Ann, in her short stint at the mic, paid tribute to Roy Cape All Stars singer Blaxx and her father SuperBlue.
After the presentation guests were served geera chicken, wings, fried fish and samosas upstairs in the air-conditioned restaurant.
The launch of Flirt takes the tally of similar events for Carnival 2014, inclusive of Just Friends, Passion, Fusion, Harts Int, Tribe, Bliss, Yuma, Dream Team and Paparazzi, to a dozen. From the looks of it more masquerade bands will parade in Port-of-Spain with several bands, including Legacy, D’ Krewe, Ronnie & Caro, Island People Mas and Trini Revellers, yet to present their portrayals.
The next mas band launch is scheduled for Sunday evening at Lions Cultural Centre, Port-of-Spain. It is the C2K14 presentation of Brian Chin’s Colorz Fuh So—Mount Olympus—from 6 pm. Colorz is the Medium Band of the Year winner this year.
With the NCC supposedly having a media conference scheduled for September 18, one can expect some fundamental changes to the existing Parade of the Bands route to facilitate the increased number of mas bands expected on the road. NCC chairman Allison Demas and her commissioners are keeping any plans for C2K14 very close to their chests.
King meets King
Billed as “the calypso event of the decade,” KINGmeetsKING will be headlined by past National Calypso Monarch and Independence Monarch Cro Cro (Weston Rawlins) and 2013 Road March champion and joint International Power Soca Monarch SuperBlue (Austin Lyons).
The show’s special guest is Scrunter.
To be held over two nights, at the Lord Kitchener Auditorium, National Academy for the Performing Arts (Napa), Port-of-Spain, the August 28 production has been sub-titled Bacchanal, while the August 29 show is appropriately called Red White & Black as it’s being staged two nights before T&T’s 51st anniversary of Independence.
One of calypso’s most controversial exponents, Cro Cro was crowned national monarch in 1988, 1990, 1996 and 2007.
He won the Independence monarch title on the nation’s 25th anniversary, in 1987.
SuperBlue, who has won the Road March on nine occasions, scored his first victory in 1980, singing Soca Baptist under the monicker of Blue Boy.
He has won the Soca Monarch title on seven occasions. Scrunter, known for most of his career as “the undisputed king of parang soca,” was the national monarch of 1982, singing The Will and Lick e Ting.
Both shows begin at 8.30 pm, and special guests include former national monarch Scrunter.
Musical accompaniment will be by Pelham Goddard & Roots.