September 27, 2018, BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – For sixteen fashion designers and design trainers in Barbados, the dream of being global industry leaders is a little closer to becoming a reality. They recently completed a workshop led by international fashion consultant and creative director, Avis Charles. The event, which took place at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology, took the participants through the fundamentals of design, developing their unique selling point, and the business techniques needed to be successful in the fashion industry.

The workshop took place from September 10 to 24, and was part of a Train-the-Trainers Programme in Fashion Design and Business Management Project, funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and executed by the Barbados Investment Development Corporation (BIDC). In addition to learning how to create a cost and pricing system; better understand trends in fabrics, colours and shapes; and marketing and brand creation, participants were also asked to design and showcase an individual piece.

“What we wanted to be able to achieve at the end of this thing is individuality. So even though you have eight designers in a room, they all have their unique selling point, and know exactly how they are going to market,” said Charles. Participants agreed that the knowledge gained in the workshop was valuable. For fashion designer Rosita Hunte, the focus on the business aspect of the fashion industry was particularly useful.(CDB)…[+]