FASHION TALK

ANYA AYOUNG CHEE: Brave New Fashion World

Trinidadian fashion designer, and social entrepreneur Ayna Ayoung Chee had the Caribbean cheering when she won Project Runway in 2011. Since then she has been starting small businesses, and venturing into more purpose driven projects. On June 25th she was one of the panelists at the Carib Biz Network Momentum 2022 Business and Culture Expo. Anya was one of the industry professionals speaking on strategies for building Caribbean small business opportunities.  Anya has also been in web 3 technology and NFT’s. We were able to chat with Anya about her work before the start  the panel: Walk Like A Champion: The Cost To Be Ah Boss.

POSH: Hi Anya, lets start with the Project win in 2011, that must have gotten a huge reaction in Trinidad yes?

ANYA:  Oh my God, not only Trinidad but the whole region. Just incredibly supportive is the wrong word it felt like I was representing something much bigger than myself. It was incredibly overwhelming. People who said they never even thought they could become a designer became a designer people who didn’t know they had this inner desire to be part of the industry not even in fashion but creativity in general I get messages up til today. It’s been 11 years and still people tell me how inspired they were to go after their dream whatever that dream was.

POSH: How has you work evolved since then?

ANYA: It’s been quite a journey since then. For a few years after Project Runway I took the traditional fashion route I had my clothing line that was primarily resort wear. Then I opened a co-working space HOME)  with a boutique representing all the Caribbean designers across the region, and a variety of other brands. It was a venue, it was also a cafe, and we were incubating young creative talents.

 POSH: how did this influence the direction if your work in the industry?

ANYA: I started a foundation called Together Wi. I became very involved in activism and raising awareness about socialist views in the Caribbean; that was around 2016.  That was an amazing experience I got to know what it felt like to do more purpose driven work.

POSH: How did you fuse your fashion for activism with your work in fashion?

ANYA: I knew that was the direction I wanted to go in but I wanted to do it in my own field. So eight now I’ve developed a Woman’s Livelihood Initiative that’s supporting women in both Trinidad and Venezuelan migrants teaching women how to sew for carnival, and for fashion.

POSH: How have the emerging new web technology influenced your work?

ANYA: I also have a clothing line called WYLD FLWR which is festival wear. It’s evolved a lot over the pandemic into being a digital fashion brand. More recently I’ve been very involved in web 3 technology. We’re sort of all in with the Meta-verse fashion arena and bringing more and more designers into that space. That’s directly connected to the Livelihood Initiative

POSH: What motivated your participation in the Momentum 2022 event?

ANYA: I’m here today at Momentum because I also co founded an entity called Nudge Caribbean that is a MSMEs; micro small, and medium support business network with Massy, which is a very large company in the Caribbean. That’s the mainstay of my work at the moment supporting entrepreneurs

POSH: How important are partnerships of this kind to the work you are doing in the region?

ANYA: Over 12 years of being an entrepreneur myself, starting many small businesses; I know the struggle of trying to bring a company to life.  We have quite a lot of resources in the Caribbean that not necessarily being directed in the right ways.

So I’m very lucky to be working with a great partner as Massy.

*Posh Magazine extends our thanks to Anya for making time for this interview

Websites: http://www.anyaayoungchee.com | http://www.wyldflwr.com | http://www.nudgecaribbean.com | http://www.togetherwi.org | http://www.islnd.io

Byron Lars FW SS22

NYFW is back, and this season saw  a unique presentation that combined fashion, and movement. StylePointe is an annual event that brings together designers and choreographers for a presentation of fashion, and dance. This season featured a collection by veteran designer Byron Lars. During the presentation members of professional dancers perform new choreographic works while wearing pieces from the collections. The collection was presented on on September 7th, at Dixon Place on New York City’s Lower East Side.

The presentation featured pieces from his fall 2021 collection, accessorized by designer Sheila Gray with pieces from her Collection. The Collection is part of his new venture called “In Earnest”.

BOT: Byron, how long have you been designing, and have you always lived in NY?

Byron : Ive been designing for over 30 years, I’m originally from California but I’ve lived n New York all my adult life. We just started this new iteration “In Earnest”. It was started with my former assistant over the pandemic,  now we’re business partners.

BOT: This is a unique way to present a collection, how did this collaboration come about?

Byron: Stylepointe  contacted us, and it seemed to make perfect sense to me. I think clothes you can dance in are clothes you can live in. If you can have that kind of movement, and freedom of movement,then that’s probably clothes that should be in the world. If you don’t have it then you  probably need to rethink some things. It was like a litmus test for the clothes.

BOT: What are some of the things that inspire you as a designer?

Byron: What inspires me the most is the customer that wears the clothes. Women inspire me, and how they wear the clothes. It’s about the lives they’re living, and that I’m making clothes that speak to them. Clothes that really facilitate their best life.

BOT: What are some of the style choices you’ve seen women make that inspire you?

Byron: Too many ways to capture here. some that I can mention are game changing. Like when a woman wears a dress as a layering piece. The dress may come with a slip under it, I love when they just ditch the slip and put it with a pair of jeans. When they make precious things less precious, and integrate the high with low which is just modern language now.

BOT: So what would you suggest to someone who is interested in the fashion industry

Byron: I would suggest, if it’s at all possible, getting employment in the industry. It’s kind of like learning on somebody else’s dime. You can never prepare for it until you are actually in it. They would be well advised to get at least a glimpse behind the velvet rope by getting a job in it. It would help just to learn the nuts and bolts of it all

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NYFW FW20 LIUSAL – Season V – Love. Is. Universal. Strive. Achieve. Longevity

LiuSal Stephens presented his season V collection at 323 Broadway on February 10, during NYFW. The day after his show the space became the venue for the brands pop up shop. Below are the designers thoughts about his line, and the inspiration for his season V collection.

FB : How long have you been designing?

LS: I’ve been designing for nine years, and I’ve been doing the brand LiusSal for the last 4 years. What everybody got to experience at the show was my season five.

FB: What were some of the influences/inspirations that led to this collection?

LS : It was really just between myself and my art director and everyone else who helped us make this come together. His name is; Matt. We’ve been working on putting this together for the last six months. The collection is really based on my past season. Everyone is like E.T.s and everyone is futuristic. Everybody looks at us like we’re not part of this world. I kind of based it off of that. If you came to the show that’s kind of who everybody is. that’s a part of my community.

FB : So who would you sum up what this season was about for you?

LS : So this season was just about showing everything, and making it more relatable to the masses. So that it’s not just  one person that can enjoy it. It’s so that  everybody could enjoy it in some way for or fashion. Also it’s about recycling items and re-purposing. Everything is multi functional, showing how things can be versatile, and used in different ways.

FB: Obviously vibrant color is a big part of your aesthetic, how much does that influence the brand overall?

LS : That’s one thing with the brand we’re bold, youthful, and vibrant so if you saw my first model. His name is Charles all Blue. He’s been with the brand for a while now. He’s in his eighties at least. That’s who he is, he came to the show, and we dressed him but if you look at him and is personality  he’s bold, he’s youthful, and he’s vibrant

* for more info on LiuSal visit: Season V — LiuSal NYC

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NEGRIS LEBRUM FW2020 – SUNSET COLLECTION

Travis Hamilton’s mission is to create designs that convey a woman’s inner beauty and confidence.

FB: Hi Travis, so what’s this collection all about?

TH : The inspiration for the collection was some circumstances, and some things that had taken place. The name of it is “Sunset Collection” So I guess it’s like riding off into something new. A sort of new perspective that I just carried that over into the color.
FB : What did you like the most about working on this collection

TH : It was mainly just the colors, playing around with something that was different. It was more bold, and loud. It has more shimmer to it, and a few of the dresses are more form fitting. These are things that I haven’t done, and now I’m on to the next collection. I’m like, 25 percent into spring right now. So I’m willing to do some more to get out on a limb more, and get away from being as safe.

FB : As you expand the brand, have you noticed a difference in the reactions to your designs from those in your home state of Texas.

TH : It’s been interesting, I get more traction outside of Texas, outside of Houston, and in other countries. In places like Mexico city, Croatia, Canada, and Israel. The brand is talking to people. I have a certain perspective of the collection but it seems like it says something totally different from what I want it to say but it’s speaking to people.

FB: How do you find the models that walk in your shows?

TH : Iv’e been very fortunate EMG agency has been very good to me. They always send out good models, and they have excellent models. I’ve also been fortunate to work with some talented girls. They have passed up some good shows to come work with me because they like the energy.

FB : Are there any materials or fabrics you haven’t worked with yet but would like to?

TH : I’d like to work with feathers, and Spring/summer is coming up so I have  some ideas for feathers. It’s about taking something more high end couture-ish, and making it ore ready to wear. So feathers are on the table
FB : Lots of emerging designers are challenged by a lack of resources in certain regions of the country and overseas. What can they do to overcome these limitations?

TH : The hardest thing is thinking of the ideas. If they have the ideas which is the vision, that’s 90 percent. The other 10 percent is effort. It’s free stuff like; picking up the phone, researching. Getting on the internet to find out who is doing x, y, and z. If it’s something that they need, and it’s not in their area; they find out who actually provides that service. Then connect with that individual.

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HAKAN AKKAYA : from Turkey with fashion

Turkish Designer Hakan Akkaya brought his collection to NYFW on February 8th. The collection was presented at Pier 59 and featured the designers take on the Amish aesthetic. In addition to his show there were two group shows featuring Turkish designers during NYFW. Turkish designers are making their presence felt in the industry, and Hakan Akkaya is all for it.

FB :So what was the inspiration for your collection this season?
H : Amish, like Punk Amish

FB : How did you come up with that?
H: I don’t know (laughs)

FB : In addition to your  show there are two group shows with Turkish designers this season. Is this because of a greater interest in showing at NYFW?

H : No one finds their country to be enough. I think this is because the designers live with no borders.

FB: So what is the fashion scene like in Turkey?

H : Fashion is a really important part of the life in Turkey. People are very interested, open to learn and diffuse the information.

FB : So how does Istanbul compare to other cities with regards to fashion?

H :Istanbul is like New York actually. It’s very similar, and very cosmopolitan.

FB : What would you say are some of your primary inspirations as a Turkish designer?

H : There are a lot of different elements live together in Istanbul. I would say diversity, there is amazing diversity in Turkey.