Caribbean Fashionweek seeks the perfect balance

Caribbean Fashionweek (CFW) 2011 is here. The much-awaited signature event for Caribbean fashion, kicks off midweek with preliminary and opening activities to be followed at the weekend by a packed schedule of fashion shows, superstar concerts, after-parties, business meetings and workshops, as well as other fashion-industry developmental initiatives.

This year's renewal is special, as it marks the start of the second decade of CFW. Not only does CFW reach out to the world, but this year the world embraces CFW like never before. Designers, media and other participants will come (and have already started coming) from the most diverse group of countries in the history of the event. Countries represented this year include Italy, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Suriname, Belize, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Haiti, The Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St Lucia, The Bahamas and several others from the Caribbean and the wider world.

To celebrate CFW's second decade, organiser Pulse, has pulled all the stops and ramped up its latest innovation - themed nights for full-length concerts, a reflection of the growing world trend in which fashion and music go hand in hand.

Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Nikki Minaj are the latest group of music entertainers to appreciate the importance of fashion to their musical careers, as well as the fact that music and fashion are so closely joined that they could well be considered to be two sides of the same coin. But the fashionista craze has swept all before it. Almost every major artiste has a clothing line, stylists and a penchant for imaging, which is really just another name for personal style.

Music and fashion

The emergence of music at CFW started some years ago when acts like Melba Moore and Denise Williams popped up for cameo performances at opening night or during the runway shows. Later, it would be Kelly Rowland, Eve, Johnny Gill and Nia Long among others, who would stamp their class on the CFW catwalk with three-song cameo performances.

This year, things have moved more than a few notches. There is Jamaica Night on Friday with reggae and dancehall superstars Tanya Stephens and Mavado. Saturday, its Caribbean Night with the likes of 2011's soca double champion Machel Montano, who won the road march and the soca king titles with his hit song, Advantage, at Carnival this year. Sunday's final show, billed International Night, will feature R&B star Joe, as well as the king of the dancehall, Beenie Man.

Pulse must now skilfully blend this musical excitement with the fashion tour de force that CFW undoubtedly is. However, given the way Caribbean fashion has now been cemented into the soul of the brand, CFW can credibly highlight top-flight concerts as a legitimate part of its offering, without taking away from the essence of Caribbean style.

CFW is replete with innovations this year. Apart from the concerts, a much more significant business forum will be held on Sunday, as the event plays its usual role in regional fashion-industry development. A new thrust for West Indies Sea Island cotton will be a key part of this year's CFW, as Pulse joins forces with Spoerry 1866, millers of the Jamaica-grown product, and White Shirt, a new outfit set to invest in the premium cotton, in an effort to bring further economic activity to the sector and to add value and competitive advantage through this unique product.