"A Cut Above: Designers Debut"

(Senior Thesis Design Collections from the BFA-Fashion Design Class of 2012)

2nd Annual Designer Critic Awards

(Third year students in collaboration with Meiling, Zadd&Eastman, and Shaun Griffith-Perez)

The art and business of fashion give form and function to clothing- a basic human need- imbuing it with meaning through the evolving language of style. In 2008, UTT launched the first tertiary level fashion design programme in the Caribbean region. It was based on the philosophy that the development of a student's individual creativity should always be supported by a strong foundation of techniques and informed thinking. Four years ago, more than 100 hopeful individuals applied to this programme. Only 35 were retained for the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design and 35 for the Diploma programme (out of which 16 went on to pursue their four-year degree). Now in 2012, 38 students (nearly 60% of those entering CAFD in 2008) have completed this grueling course of study and will make history as the nation's first graduating class of designers trained to compete on an international scale. To mark the event, UTT is proud to announce the first senior thesis show, appropriately entitled, "A Cut Above: Designers Debut," to be held at the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) Restaurant on Saturday, June 23, 2012.

Over the last four years, these brave men and women were provided with the very foundation of art and design studies, through courses including, Colour & Design, Life Drawing, Art History, Critical Thinking and Computer Graphics. From there, they were taught skills needed in the typical professional atelier such as:  pattern drafting, draping, fashion drawing, textile design, design research, composition and conceptual design. Their third year confronted them with the Designer Critic project where a theme was assigned, spearheaded and critiqued by an outside fashion professional.  Visiting critics helped them to understand design requirements and limitations of the marketplace along with challenges faced in the business of style. Rounding out their studies during the three years of specialisation were electives in Handbag and (sustainable) Jewelry Design, Foreign Language, Marketing courses, and of course, Entrepreneurship. In their fourth and final year of study, each person was given free rein to explore the depths of their heritage and cultural aesthetics and the outer limits of their imagination as they pushed the boundaries to create the, "Thesis Collection"; a group of six looks entirely conceived, researched and realised by each graduating fashion design student.

The first part of the show, however, is devoted to the Designer Critic Awards Presentation, produced by CAFD's third-level students. An important "rite of passage", this four-part project provides the student with insight into the analytical process of bringing a concept to finished garment from the point of view of a professional designer. This year will feature themes from:

• Meiling: The Gingerbread House. (Inspired by the Colonial Architecture of old Trinidad)
• Zadd & Eastman: Urban Chic (Urban, chic, modern and fashion forward)
• Shaun Griffith-Perez: Caribbean Dance: The Culture, Art of Movement

Trinidad and Tobago is set to take its place amongst the other fashion capitals of the world as the newest centre for cutting edge style through the work of UTT's Caribbean Academy of Fashion and Design (CAFD).

"A Cut Above: Designers Debut" and "Designer Critic Awards Presentation"
National Academy of Performing Arts Hotel Restaurants
Port-of-Spain,
Saturday, June 23, 2012.
Cocktails 7:00 p.m. - Showtime 8:00 p.m.
Tickets are available for TT$ 100.00 - $150.00

Please contact the following persons for further information:
Ms. Laverne Holder or Ms. Ayanna Lynch 
John S. Donaldson Port-of-Spain… the Creativity Campus
Caribbean Academy of Fashion and Design (CAFD)
Suite 306
Wrightson Road,
Port- of- Spain
Phone: 223-4888 ext. 26434/26439
Email: fashion@utt.edu.tt