Pulse Investments Ltd released its list of 21 Caribbean master designers as part of its preparations for Caribbean Fashionweek (CFW) 2009, set for Kingston, June 10-15. These designers are expected to be at the forefront of regional fashion industry development. Some are members of the Caribbean Fashion Industry Forum (CAFIF), formed last June at CFW. CAFIF is the region's industry business association, geared to the development of fashion in the Caribbean. Formally incorporated earlier this year, CAFIF is a not-for-profit organisation with its directors drawn from the Caribbean.

Designers

The listing of the region's master designers reads like a who's who of Caribbean fashion. Last June, the first two, Meiling and Claudia Pegus, both from Trinidad, were recognised. The full list is completed by Nefertari Caddle, Simon Foster and Pauline Bellamy of Barbados; Jessica Ogden and Gavin Douglas, British designers of Jamaican parentage; Atelier Dore (Judith and Hank Uiterloo), Suriname; Sandra Kennedy, Uzuri (Karl Williams and Mark McDermoth), Barry Moncrieffe, Catch A Fire (Cedella Marley), Mutamba (Amber Cohen and Mutabaruka), Earl 'Biggy' Turner, The Mushroom (Brigid and Jason Lawson), Bridget Brown and Bill Edwards of Jamaica; Denis Davaed of Guadeloupe; Calvin Southwell of Antigua; Heather Jones of Trinidad; Joy Bryce, an Atlanta-based Jamaican designer and Francis Hendy, a New York-based Trinidadian designer.

The designers named are internationally acclaimed for their extraordinary design skills, as well as technical competence and consistent production quality over many years. The master designer designation is a symbol of outstanding achievement in fashion and will continue to be awarded to designers who achieve extraordinary levels of accomplishment for which the current recipients are well known.

Working with CAFIF, the designers are expected to lead the charge for the development of an industry in need of extensive and consistent support throughout the region. With an emphasis on quality, efficiency, business generation and profit, the new fashion industry in the Caribbean will emerge as organised, committed and united in a quest for greater professionalism and an increased market share inside and outside the region.

Objectives

These are among the objectives of CAFIF, established by unanimous acclamation at CFW 2008 where a wide cross-section of some of the most important public and private sector interests in the regional industry passed the Declaration of Kingston, recognising both challenges and potential solutions to perennial problems that have affected Caribbean fashion.

CAFIF has attracted substantial support for its efforts at the wider regional and international levels, with both the Association of Caribbean States and the European Union endorsing its objectives. The Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA) has been a friend to CAFIF and has expressed strong support for its development as an industry association.