The 11-year Journey, Caribbean Fashionweek enjoys amazing growth

Eleven years ago, when Pulse first staged Caribbean Fashionweek (CFW), there were very few extended fashion events in the world, other than the major collections of Paris, London, New York and Milan.

The unlikely idea that the Caribbean could host a fashionweek back then was one that fascinated the BBC, prompting them to call Jamaica in order to interview the organisers. They wanted their worldwide listenership to understand the thinking behind what was then a bold move by a region without a major international fashion tradition.

A few years later, British Vogue would point to Caribbean Fashionweek as an important new trend in world fashion.

CFW will be held this year at the National Indoor Sports Centre, June 8-13.

Phenomenal

Today, fashion weeks dot the global landscape from Delhi to Sydney, Johannesburg to Toronto and many cities in between. The phenomenal growth in this arena is mirrored by the growth of Caribbean Fashionweek itself, which now enjoys the distinction of being emulated, imitated and copied, not only across the Caribbean, but also the wider world, in places where the word "Caribbean" or "Jamaican" resonates.

CFW was first held in a corner of the ballroom of the Hilton Kingston hotel in 2001, the first year of the new millennium. Surrounded by an exhibition hall populated by a number of booths featuring the work of regional designers, the first CFW runway played host to collections from St Lucia, Barbados, Trinidad, New York, the United States, the United Kingdom, Jamaica and Guyana. The event quickly outgrew the Hilton ballroom and was moved to the slightly larger space in The Jamaica Pegasus hotel. That lasted only a year, before it was again moved to the National Indoor Sports Centre in the National Stadium Complex at Independence Park.

By 2007, an event that first catered to a modest audience of a few hundred was now attracting thousands of fashionistas, including major players and celebrities, from Jamaica, the wider Caribbean and the international community. Pulse's own models and supermodels contributed to the CFW cachet, with their Condé Nast magazine covers and editorials, top campaigns and catwalk appearances at the majors adding to the international credibility of the event.

The CFW press book, which chronicled the extensive media notices that the event generated regionally and internationally had to be abandoned after a few years, and taken online, as too much paper was now required to reproduce the book, given how widely publicised the event had become. Hundreds of media houses were now coming to CFW each year, including such notables as The Associated Press, Marie Claire, The New York Times, The Independent, Women's Wear Daily, Fashion TV (City TV Toronto), Fashion TV Paris, The BBC, Vogue, Vanity Fair and a host of others.

Pulse's own Ready for CFW and Caribbean Fashion Weekly TV series took the event to every corner of the Caribbean as well as to selected markets in the US, the UK, South America and Africa.

Business was always highlighted at CFW, and in fact, is the whole purpose of the event. Special buyer days, workshops, business forums and the development of a Caribbean Fashion Industry Association (CAFIA), mandated to see out the best interests of the regional fashion industry, were implemented over the years.

A pet project of CAFIA, West Indies Sea Island Cotton, will see a new focus this year as Spoerry 1866, traditional millers of the fabric in Switzerland will show a collection, outside of Europe for the first time, at CFW this year.

With the addition of entertainment to the CFW product, interest increased further as Pulse wove live music into the fabric of fashion. Stars such as Kelly Rowland, Eve, Tessanne Chynn, Tami Chin, Nia Long, Johnny Gill and, in earlier years, Melba Moore and Denise Williams, all performed or hosted the event.

But the entertainment quotient of CFW did not end there. After parties, wrap parties and opening night celebrations, all contributed to the fun, trendy experience that was so much a part of CFW.

This year, Pulse intends to take live entertainment to yet another stage with full concert performances immediately after the fashion shows each night. The themed performances will see Tanya Stephens and Mavado perform on Jamaica Night, Friday, June 10; Machel Montano, David Rudder and Fab Five will perform on Caribbean Night, Saturday, June 11; followed by International Night with Joe and Beenie Man on Sunday, June 12.

These various initiatives, the far-sighted pioneering vision, as well as the constant reinvention of the event, have been the main planks in a strategy that has fuelled phenomenal growth and success over the years. Organisers Pulse, anticipate that this year's event will be the biggest and the best ever.