Archive for Interviews
August 10, 2010 at 8:23 am · Filed under Interviews, News, Pictures - Events
We here at CFSTYLE.com have noted an increasing interest in the plus size market within the last few year.
Our research has shown that world wide the Plus size fashion market is valued at approximately 47 million USD by a recent Forbes article. In the Caribbean the plus size market has a sizable market share and thus needs to be developed.
The Divas Plus Cartel, better known as The Sophisticated Divas Plus was formed in August 2009, the first of its kind to hit the Caribbean. The founder, Ms. Kimberly Marshall, 27, wanted an outlet that would target and cater to plus-sized women in our society, giving them a voice, a medium for expression and a way for them to achieve size acceptance. This organisation advocates and promotes positivity, upliftment, empowerment and support of extra curvaceous women, helping them strive for excellence in today’s society and ultimately encourage positive self-image, health awareness and a spirit of sharing. Read the rest of this entry »
April 23, 2010 at 6:15 am · Filed under Interviews, News
Cfstyle.com has been able to secure an exclusive interview with Caribbean Fashion Week 2010 team. Set to take place from 10 – 13th in Jamaica this event is a staple in Caribbean Fashion. 
Kingsley Cooper Pulse CEO will be honored this weekend at Caribbean Fashion Rocks in Jamaica
Interview here:
1. Tell us about the history of Caribbean Fashion week and your company’s involvement?
Established by Pulse Investments Ltd in 2001, Caribbean Fashionweek (CFW) is region’s largest, best produced, most recognized and internationally respected fashion event. It is organized and produced by Pulse Investments Ltd, an innovative entertainment company with over 30 years in the business of fashion, music and entertainment with the active participation and support of national and regional developmental organizations and sponsors.
Now celebrating its 10thyear, the idea for CFW was borne out of the desire to celebrate and promote our talented regional designers, models and fashion industry workers with the agenda to boost their visibility on the international stage. Its prominence and success has brought the region’s fashion industries together and has been the catalyst for fashion industry development in the Caribbean.
A truly pioneering event, CFW features the Caribbean’s best designers within the region, internationally famous (non-Caribbean) designers from around the world (Africa, Europe, North and South America, Central America and Asia) as well as world famous supermodels, celebrities etc.
The event has grown exponentially over time with each year considerably better than the one before. It holds standard to some of the major fashion weeks in the world and has attracted internationally recognized fashion and independent media including Vogue (UK, Fashion TV Paris, Associated Press, Black Entertainment Television (BET TV, Women’s Entertainment (WE TV),The New York Times, BBC Caribbean among others.
2) When and where will fashion week be held this year?
CFW will be celebrated June 8-14, 2010 with nightly shows to be held on 10th-13th at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston, Jamaica. In addition to the nightly shows, persons can attend various additional CFW related activities including daily business forums, press conferences and nightly after parties. An official schedule will be uploaded to our website www.caribbeanfashionweek.com later this month.
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January 25, 2010 at 7:00 am · Filed under Interviews
Pulse Investment Ltd the Jamaican firm responsible for the careers of many thriving Caribbean International models and hosts of Caribbean fashion week staged the first Caribbean Model Search Full figure reality contest and Cindy Lyons emerged as the winner.
CFSTYLE.com talks to Ms. Lyons below
1. Tell us about yourself. Who is Cindy Lyons?
I am a down to earth individual who gets along with just about everyone. I believe it is very important to have goals and to do anything to achieve them while staying morally grounded. Equality is an important thing to me. I hate to see anyone ill-treated. You should never behave as if you are better than or less than anyone else. I love to sing, listen to music, go to the movies, go out with friends or just curl up by myself and read a book or watch TV. I also enjoy cliff jumping at Rick’s Cafe and I am willing to try ALMOST anything at least once. Afterall, you only have one life to live, so experience it and enjoy it to the fullest.
2. What modelling experiences have you had in the past?
Approximately 10 years ago, while living in Westmoreland, a friend of mine sent some pictures of me to Pulse. They called me to come to auditions they were having in Montego Bay, but I decided to enter the the “Miss Westmoreland Fashion Model Competition” instead. Although I placed second, I didn’t pursue modelling any further. The experience was most certainly interesting, but before the CMS Plus Competition, I never had any formal training, walking classes, etc.
3. Why did you decide to enter this reality competition?
I’ve always had a great interest in modelling, singing and acting, but for one reason or another Inever actively pursued either of them. However, some of my favourite shows, such as “America’s next Top Model” and “Make me a Supermodel” always sparked that little feeling of “shoulda, woulda, coulda”. Being a “fuller figured” lady now, my interest in modeling as a career objective, was placed on hold. When I was told about the Pulse CMS Plus competition, I was elated. It was another chance for me to achieve a goal that I thought had eluded me. It would afford me the opportunity to become a model that embraces and cherishes her curves and redefine the stereotype of what a model should typically look like.
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November 30, 2009 at 7:01 am · Filed under Interviews, News
1. Who is Darcel de Vlugt?
Darcel de Vlugt is a native of Trinidad and Tobago who, for a number of reasons, was raised in Israel, Syria, and Cyprus for the majority of her childhood. She is as much in touch with her Caribbean roots as she is with the ways and cultures of the Middle East and the Mediterranean and tries to find inspiration in her various life experiences to get the most out of them. She currently resides in London, where she studies at the pretigious London College of Fashion and graduated in 2008, but now works from her home where she makes custom semi-couture designs for runway, editorial, and individual clientele.
2. What inspired you to get into fashion?
I was firmly involved in modern and contemporary dance for over fifteen years and was hoping to follow a career path in dance, but a back injury in volleyball made it difficult to continue on a professional level and so I turned to my love of art and realised that I was good at sewing and handling fabrics, so it developed into something I really wanted to study further. Because of my skin condition Vitiligo, I was always also figuring out stylish ways to cover up my face or wear clothes that would distract from my skin, so style was always quite important to me.
3. Describe your journey into fashion?
I did an eight-month private sewing weekend course to learn the basics of pattern-making during my final year of high school before heading to the London College of Fashion where I embarked on the Foundation Course for Art and Design. I was offered an early intake interview to get into the BA course and following that, was given a position on the BA(Hons) Fashion Design Technology for Womenswear. During my third year I completed my graduate collection and also made my own magazine as part of a styling and image-making project, where I used my other skills such as airbrushing and styling and coming up with concepts for various photoshoots. Just before graduation, my cousin in the Caribbean told me about Islands Fashion Week and suggested I apply but I was reluctant as I had minimal experience making a collection, but I did apply just to see if I would be accepted and then in August 2008 got news that I was accepted to show my first runway collection in Nassau. The rest is history!
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November 9, 2009 at 9:43 am · Filed under Fashion 101, Interviews
While in the departure lounge awaiting our respective flights back home after the ACF Fashion Weekend October 23rd – 25th, CFStyle and SVG designer Kimya Glasgow got to talking. Here are some of the highlights of that conversation.
“I was trained in Barbados, where I had one instructor from FIT and one from the London College of Fashion, so I got trained in both the US and English methods of measuring. The English believe in being able to reconstruct a person’s body using their measurements. Women always tell me “I don’t want my waist so tight eh”. I have your measurements. I will make an outfit whether loose or fitted. I can compensate and adjust my pattern to suit.
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We here at CFSTYLE.com have noted an increasing interest in the plus size market within the last few year.
