Caribbean fashion designers Zadd & Eastman showcase their creativity and cutting edge styles in Toronto
September 1, 2023
Great minds think alike.
While attending a fashion show that Omzad Khan presented garments, designer Nigel Eastman noticed an outfit similar to one he made for his mother was on display on the runway.
Right away, he recognized they had a few things in common.
“We were fashion-forward and modern and we cared about what fabric does and what makes models look stylish,” said 55-year-old Eastman who was in the city for African Fashion Week Toronto (AFWT). “There was no doubt we were on the same level.”
In 2000, the duo collaborated to create Zadd & Eastman that is one of the Caribbean’s leading fashion labels.
They have styled Grammy Award winning group Destiny Child and several Trinidad & Tobago Queens and won many awards.
Eastman was the first Caribbean designer to present at AFWT.
“Being invited, you come as a Caribbean person who is going to show what we have to offer which is a stylish fashionable woman,” he said. “I pay serious attention to what I do with our fabrics, cuts, style level and presentation. For me, the runaway is very serious and sacred space and if you are going to present something on it, it has to be top notch.”
While happy to attend, Eastman was a bit disappointed at some of the designs.
“The thought process should be how we make this concept of Africa glorious and beautiful in practical garments,” he said. “In addition to beauty, the design must have a tinge of Afrocentric history. I suggest quality over quantity. That has to be taken seriously. Are we going to take African people seriously when we saw some of the things that were presented? There were good designers who presented while there were others who should not be there. They are in the wrong place. It is like me showing up in church with a swimsuit. That in not for church and a long gown is not for the beach. If you are presenting something about Africa, it must be beautiful and turn heads.”
What is the state of the Caribbean fashion industry?
Statista Market Insights project it will grow by 9.98 per cent in the next four years, resulting in a market volume of US$2.59 billion in 2027.
In 2001, Jamaican Kingsley Cooper launched Caribbean Fashion Week that displayed the work of dozens of designers from the region and North America.
“We are not in a bad place,” said Eastman who is a visual arts teacher at Holy Name Convent in Point Fortin and a design concept lecturer at the University of Trinidad & Tobago. “For a decade, Caribbean Fashion Week was a beautiful experience with the international fashion industry recognizing our region as one unit. There is the Caribbean School of Fashion in Port-of-Spain where I lecture and where people from the islands attend and there is a new production line that has just emerged.”
Stacey Coke modelled at the Cuttin’ Style show at Laz Authentic Cuisine (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Growing up in Point Fortin during the oil boom, Eastman’s mother was the housekeeper for the Petroleum Company of Trinidad & Tobago Limited (Petrotrin) Manager General.
Nadine Els (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
After leaving high school at age 16, she pursued hairdressing in Harlem, New York.
Giselle Donawa (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“My mom never sewed, but she had an impeccable taste,” said Eastman. “So too did my maternal Bajan grandfather who resided in New York. He threw a Big Sweet 16 birthday party for his daughter at the Waldorf-Astoria. I think my parents and grandparents had a lot to do with who I am.”
Nigel Eastman & Joan Pierre (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
With support from the Trinidad & Tobago Consulate in Toronto and exporTT, Zadd & Eastman colourful designs were displayed at a ‘Cuttin’ Style’ fashion show curated by Joan Pierre.
Models Sam Meldrum (l), Domanique Grant, Nadine Els, Giselle Donawa, Sharon Hinds & Stacey Coke (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
The event took place at Laz Authentic Cuisine in Markham.
Domanique Grant (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“They are a brand that has become synonymous with cutting edge Caribbean fashion,” said Pierre who produced two fashion shows for the Pan Am 2015 Games held across the Greater Golden Horseshoe. “They are in the realm of the fashion elite, bringing to the Caribbean a delightful fusion of traditional and contemporary techniques. One can still however see a strong African influence in their use of colour and fabrics.
Sharon Hinds (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“Being of different racial origins, South Asian and African, their artistic relationship is able to bring out the best of both cultures through their interpretation of the multi-ethnic melting pot that is Trinidad & Tobago. They have created a new age runway couture distinctive for their one-of-a-kind ready-to-wear hand painted pieces that are reflective of who we are as a people.”
Sam Meldrum (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Nicole Waldron was the Master of Ceremony.
MC Nicole Waldron strutting her stuff on the runway (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
