The local fashion industry will get a further boost next month as a New York-based industry expert will facilitate a one-day workshop on trends, marketing and exports of fashion products. The Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI), as part of its fourth consecutive National Services Week celebrations (Monday to Saturday), will host a one-day Fashion 101 Workshop at the La Boucan Room, Hilton Trinidad, Port-of-Spain, next Wednesday, from 8.30 am to 5 pm. This is being done in collaboration with the Fashion Association of T&T, a member of the TTCSI. Minster of Trade and Industry Stephen Cadiz will present the feature address.
The TTCSI, having been established to promote the growth and development of the services sector and the export of services from T&T, views the creative industries as one of the sectors that could contribute to economic diversification as it has the potential for wealth creation through the exploration of the creativity, skills and talent of its constituents. The TTCSI will be hosting fashion industry veteran Mercedes Gonzales, director of the Global Purchasing Companies, to facilitate the Fashion 101. Mercedes has been a buyer in the garment industry since 1988. Her passion for the industry started when she was 14-years-old and, in the last 20 years, Mercedes has worked with some of the most important names in the fashion industry. She has helped to open or restructure hundreds of stores in the United States and abroad, including the inaugural Sears store in Panama.
Regularly featured in industry publications, such as Women’s Wear Daily, Mercedes also teaches workshops on successful retailing at industry trade shows such as MAGIC and WSA. She is invited around the world from Chile to China to speak to retailers and manufacturers on entering the US market. Noted as an industry expert and a self-proclaimed Walmart expert, Gonzales has hands-on experience in every facet of the industry, from manufacturing to marketing. She has also written numerous articles for trade magazines such as Focus on Shoes, Fashion Manuscript and Intima. Gonzales has also appeared on Fine Living Television playing herself as the industry maven.
More info
• For further information, please contact the TTCSI Secretariat at
622-9229 or visit our Web site at www.ttcsi.org
The objectives of the session are to:
—Enhance the knowledge of participants regarding new opportunities in designing, promoting and distributing fashion apparels and designs to foreign markets;
—Allow for participants to have a greater understanding of the requirements to access the EU markets.
—Increase participant's knowledge on trends in the fashion industry.
