My first runway show

Last weekend was my first runway show where my accessories were being featured. With seasoned (some 20 year veterans) designers from Trinidad in Toronto for the Caribbean event called "Cuttin Style", the Liz Mannette Collection was under the bright lights for the first time.

Going to the fittings, the rehearsal and being backstage were all new experiences for me. And getting such great feedback and positive comments from the back stage staff and the models about my jewelry was also wonderful.

So what was it like. All the designers seemed quite organized, with their dresses and outfits all laid out, with the names of the models in the order of appearance. The makeup artist team was in one corner, and the hair stylist team in another corner. Some water over in one corner, and then Liz Mannette accessories laid out at another end, right before the models exited the dressing room. Although the plan was to see them all dressed and decide how to add the pieces, I could tell this good plan would not work. So while the models were getting dressed, while some were getting their make-up redone, or others were being fitted with head pieces, I made my way around the dressing room with earrings and pendants.

The Fashion Coordinator, a large funny guy by the name of Richard Young, was in charge, and suggested that one area be adorned with accessories for each line. So for the opening designer, Simply Garnet, who had interesting casual and elegant styles in black and white, I opted for earrings only. This was thrown off a bit by the two male models whose tunics cried out to be accented with our pendants. But in general the range of earrings was a good fit for Simply Garnet. Photos will be on the site soon.

Then with Robert Young of The Cloth, a friend for several years, the pendants and wrist pieces were used. The Cloth's production was different. He wanted fun, enthusiasm and playfullness on the runway. So the models wore ponytails and were asked to skip and dance along the runway. Good for him. Who says a fashion show has to be all dour faced models. (As Tyra Banks once said on her America's Next Top Model Show, look like your dog just died). Fortunately, Liz Mannette jewelry adorned happy faced models, which is a Caribbean runway style, I was told.

So the jewelry was worn with two of the designers. And I learned to always take the smallest sized pieces. The girls did have remarkably thin wrists!

Just before the end of the show, I was asked to greet and wave to the audience. So this, folks, was my first runway wave. Well, I didn't quite walk the full runway. I just walked to the front and did a wave while the sparkly MC told the audience a bit about the jewelry collection. So there it is. My first runway experience. Many lessons learned for the next time. Bring an assistant. Bring my own snacks (for outside the dressing room of course). Bring the smallest items for thin wrist models. Speak directly to designers in advance, and even look at sketches to see what the Collection is all about. And have my camera or iphone with me to take stills or short videos as the accessories are added.

Congrats to Classmate Obama

As so many others in America and around the world, I am really proud and inspired by the rise and accomplishments of my former Harvard Classmate Barack Obama (1991)as he becomes the Democratic Party's candidate for President of the United States.

Here's to his continued success.

Although we were classmates at Harvard, the most I remember of Obama was that he was quite smart and deliberate in his opinions and positions. But he certainly represents a milestone for people of color in the US.

Liz Mannette jewelry should soon be stylishly adorning Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama.

Preparing for Toronto

One of the main goals is to have a Liz Mannette presence wherever there is a large community of steelpan people. This is our intention because we always want to remain true to our roots, and we came out of the steelpan and steeldrums world.

So in keeping with this goal, we have been deliberately reaching out to the main steelband shows, at least in the United States for this year. We've been to Maine, West Virginia and soon we will be in Toronto, London, Tokyo and New York. This is certainly a lot of travel and a big stretch for a startup fashion company based in Trinidad and Tobago. But the steelpan pioneering spirit is within us at Liz Mannette so we have no hesitation about stepping out.

And it brings real satisfaction to see the faces of those who email us, or the pannists we may never have met, if not for our designs. In fact, it certainly reinforces to me the unifying nature of the steelpan. People from so many different groups, countries, ethnicities, languages, etc are all brought together by this instrument invented in Trinidad and Tobago.

So our next big step is into Toronto. We will have a unique display at the York University's conference on Carnival. I don't think there is another fashion company at a Carnival conference. So Liz Mannette Inc. will be the first.

But I specifically wanted to be at this conference because it will expose the Collection to a different audience of academics, artists and intellectuals- I hope.
It also forced us at Liz Mannette to think a bit more about the philosophy behind the Collection so that our display could be in sync with the theme of the conference. This was a bit of a challenge, but I knew that the reasons for starting the entire line were all part of the immigrant's need for belonging in a foreign land. And that was what this conference was about. So stay tuned for further news on our presence in Toronto at the York U Conference. And of course if you are in Toronto, do come over and say hello to us. We'd love to meet with you.