KRISTY RAMNARINE
Kristy.ramnarine@cnc3.co.tt
Anya Ayoung Chee is on a mission to empower women. The fashion designer, entrepreneur, activist and winner of Project Runway Season 9 plans on doing so through her company Anya Ayoung Chee Limited.
It is a challenge she has already undertaken with her most recent project–the release of the Adidas Forum Mid shoe from the Carnival collection which has been a success.
Ayoung Chee and the US-based School for Experiential Education in Design (SEED) in association with Pensole Footwear Design Academy collaborated on the latest Adidas line.
“What they do is train small cohorts of women of colour who reside in the US,” she explained.
“They train them in a way to help them understand the business of what the footwear industry requires from a design perspective. So they are learning how to develop footwear and apparel directly to the shelf.
“I think it is a very extraordinary model, and I was very privileged to support this particular collection as a consultant, a mentor, as an expert in the field of fashion as it pertains to Carnival in particular. That bridge has commercialised Carnival beyond the actual festival.
“In many ways, this has been a project that speaks to a lot of what I really care about–one is fashion, two is Carnival, three how does Carnival reach the world. But actually supporting young women and seeing how they get to graduate in a programme that is quite extraordinary because they graduate with employment.”
Ayoung Chee is excited about the Adidas project and the way it gained traction. The project has brought together island flavour and decades of Carnival heritage to create its theme.
“By the time I posted people were already getting theirs, they got shipping overnight,” she said.
“I’m still waiting on my pair, hoping to get them in time for Carnival,” she said on Thursday.
“It’s been extraordinary. I’ve been working on this project for 18 months and to finally be able to talk about it in this way is just exciting. What’s not being said yet is that one pair of shoes–the Forum Mids, they are one in a whole collection. It is very exciting to see something that is representing our culture in a commercialised way.”
The unique teal-coloured and gold metallic show was released on February 1 at a cost of US $160.
The Adidas slides from the collection were also made available; they cost US$70.
The slides and shoes are part of a larger line that also includes jewelry and clothes.
The rest of the Adidas line inspired by Trinidad-Carnival will be released throughout 2024.
Ayoung Chee is very passionate about her mentorship.
During her last project, Ayoung Chee said she ensured that the young ladies understood the origins of Carnival.
“That Carnival was born out of liberated and emancipated people who have fought for our Carnival. And a lot of times the commercialisation of Carnival actually removes a lot of that story. If you look at the tongue of the shoe you will see the year 1838 which is the year of emancipation.”
In 2008, Ayoung Chee competed in the Miss Universe pageant in Vietnam, during which she had the opportunity to design some of her wardrobe.
In 2009, she launched her first collection Pilar, named after her younger brother. After Winning Project Runway in 2011, she launched her eponymous womenswear line geared toward the resort wear market.
After dabbling with resort wear for a bit her focus is now on Spool–a women’s livelihood initiative facilitating economic independence that has leveraged the expertise of local industry leaders to develop contemporary fashion and carnival skills training programmes for women.
“We train women who are at risk to be able to produce for both fashion and Carnival industries,” she said.
“We have a very strong partnership with the Inter Development Bank.
“We train up to 63 women from both Venezuela and the local population, and we will start to train 100 women by April. And that body of women goes on to be employed, whether by us at Spool or by different businesses.”