JLC Productions has announced the upcoming launch of CAFE (Caribbean American Fashion Exchange) on June 5 during Caribbean Week in New York City, at the Wyndham New Yorker’s Crystal Ballroom, 481 Eighth Ave. in Manhattan.
Janice Lawrence-Clarke, CAFE founder and CEO says the evening launch and reception, called CAFE@CTOF “promises to be a garden of visual delight with fashions on display from Caribbean Americans who continue to make significant contributions to the landscape of fashion and style, and décor by celebrity event specialists, Collin & Kelly Abraham of Pollen Nation Events,” Lawrence-Clarke told Caribbean Life.
CAFE is a unique fashion-marketing concept initiated for Caribbean and Caribbean-American fashion and accessory designers, Lawrence-Clarke says and adds that she is working with the Harlem US Export Assistance Center/US Commercial Service to create a survey aid that would assess a designer’s export-ability and export-readiness. In order to participate, interested designers must complete an online survey.
The CAFE program seeks to bridge the gap between the Caribbean and the United States fashion industries by providing an avenue for these designers to take their businesses to the next level through presentation and sales opportunities. The first presentation of CAFE designers is slated for June 2015 in New York.
The partnership of the Caribbean Tourism Organization Foundation and JLC Productions for the launch of the Caribbean American Fashion Exchange™ acknowledges JLCPR’s awareness of the CTO’s Strategy for Sustainable Tourism and support of the Caribbean’s optimal use of natural, cultural, social, and financial resources for national development on an equitable and self-sustaining basis.
“CAFE provides a vehicle for the region’s creative industries to engage the North American market, while providing a window display into its awaiting vibrant culture,” Lawrence-Clarke said.
Proceeds from the evening’s gala “will benefit the mission of the CTO Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation, formed exclusively for charitable and educational purposes,” a JLC Productions release states. “The foundation aims to support individuals interested in pursuing studies in the area of tourism, hospitality, and language training, who demonstrate high levels of academic achievement and leadership skills, and who express a strong interest in making a contribution to the sustainable development of Caribbean tourism,” it added.
