Caribbean Style and Culture Awards boosting Caribbean talent internationally 
CARIBBEAN-AMERICAN Heritage Month is celebrated annually in the United States in the month of June, and every year, for the past eight years, one Guyanese with the help of a few core supporters, has ensured that Guyanese and Caribbean culture are not only showcased, but that artists in the Caribbean fashion industry are honoured for their hard work and contributions to the arts over the years.

This year, the Caribbean Style and Culture (CSC) Awards and Fashion Showcase honoured 12 fashion designers and models from around the Caribbean. For Guyana, local designer Ryan Berkeley was bestowed the Award of Excellence — Fashion innovation, while model, Natasha Harper received the Model of the year Award. Other awardees hailed from Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Today, the event is a grand affair which brings together hundreds of persons from the Caribbean in a week of events which celebrates the fashion industry, even as the wider Heritage Month activities are being hosted.
From the inception
In an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine, Cornel said that the desire to see Caribbean talent recognised started way back in 1986 while observing the Caribbean contestants who had participated in the Miss Universe Pageant. “I realised there was no outlet for them after that show. So I got together with a partner of mine, Michael Burnett, and we said we should do something by approaching these different embassies to see if we could come up with an idea to get some help from them to at least show and display the talent we have in the Caribbean in the arts industry, beginning with fashion. But we didn’t really get much help,” he said.

In 1992, Cornell and his partner decided to start the D.C. Caribbean Carnival on their own which featured Caribbean Contestants from past pageants. After hosting the Carnival in different forms over the years, Cornel said that they felt that it still was not enough. It was then that they decided to host a fashion show.

“In 2009, we brought in Roger Gary to ask him to help us to put together a showcase with the intent of highlighting Caribbean fashion designers and models. We didn’t always get them from the Caribbean, but we brought them from other parts of U.S. That’s when the event started to kick off,” he said.

That first year saw designers such as Michelle Cole, Patricia Coates and several other designers from throughout the Caribbean showcasing their work.  “Over the years, we have been highlighting the cream of the crop of Caribbean fashion designers. We then started giving awards to them in 2010. Then two years ago, we started to include awards for models,” he said.

Giving them a platform
Cornel said that over the years, he can attest that the participants of the CSC Awards and Fashion Showcase have benefitted in some way, following their attendance. He added that the event helps to provide them with a platform to not only showcase their work, but to network with potential clients and other partners.

But despite the growth of the event, the organiser expressed the wish to have more support from the embassies in order to help get the participants to attend the event by providing sponsorship or other means of assistance. “The only help I got over the years were from Barbados, The Bahamas and Guyana. But more help is needed. They should do more to push these events, invite persons to come and support and to network and expand their horizons – this is a good opportunity to do that. If they help to promote the event, Caribbean American Heritage Month could be a bigger, better supported event. It could invite tourism and investment,” he said.

Guyana Embassy support
Cornel added, however, that he is grateful to those embassies that did provide support. This year, he stated that the Guyana Embassy in Washington D.C. was tremendous in its support. Last year, the embassy hosted the CSC designers and models as part of Guyana’s 50th Anniversary celebrations. This year however, the newly appointed Ambassador, Dr. Riyad Insanally, hosted the event as a special courtesy, having seen its potential.

“I highly commend the Guyana Ambassador for the commitment he has shown. Embassies need to support the designers and models in their origin countries. They can help a great deal, that is why we put them on the platform to use it as a means of getting that support in the future,” he said.

Ambassador Insanally, in turn, stated what an honour it was to host the event and to aid in the celebrations of Caribbean American Heritage Month. The ambassador, whose tenure started in September, last year, said that the event is all the more special because it takes place during heritage month. “So we are not just showcasing Guyana, we are joining in a celebration of Caribbean-American heritage and trying to highlight the contribution  that the Caribbean-American diaspora is making  to American culture and life in general,” he said.

Though it was his first time witnessing the event, the ambassador was pleased to be part of it as the event also serves to show that Guyana itself is playing a role in advancing Caribbean-American Heritage Month. “We see it as an opportunity to build the image of Guyana and the Caribbean in Washington DC,” he said.

The ambassador said that during his tenure, he would aim to provide support for similar events, stating that the embassy has already been part of hosting some events that have the same aim.

As for the CSC Awards and Fashion Showcase, it is Cornel’s hope that the event can grow and begin to travel to various states across the U.S., particularly in areas where there is a large Caribbean diaspora, so that there can be cultural explosion, so that the talent within the Caribbean can be appreciated by a larger audience.