Edella Allen has been accepted to the first cohort of the online OECS Fashion Design Programme which will run from February 11th to September 18th 2019.
Allen, a member of the Young Entrepreneur Association of Montserrat, is the owner of Classics Boutique, which already has a regional and international market for the sale of custom made outfits and fashion designs.
A total of 20 designers from around the OECS will participate in the programme, which is set to be delivered by Trinidad and Tobago based company Uppoint Inc.
The training will include:
- access to the Uppoint platform for a seven month period;
- four webinars with groups of five designers;
- a follow-up one-on-one session with each designer; and
- a design competition for the top ten brands – with support towards facilitating the development and sale of one sale-ready sample from each of the ten brands.
Participants will be provided with a broad range of support to include target market profile, collection conceptualisation, trend forecasting, collection title/inspirational words, mood-board/inspiration board sketches/technical flats, fabrication/sourcing, manufacturing/production and timelines/completion, buyer and brand matching/B2B and sales facilitation.
This programme coordinated by the OECS Competitive Business Unit is the latest in a series of events targeting the sub-sector since 2015 under the 10th European Development Fund.
The opportunity was promoted by MATHLE and the Youth and Sports Development Programme.
Lyston Skerritt, Coordinator of the Youth and Sports Development Programme stated, “ We are proud of Ms Allen and our continued success in recent regional opportunities. It shows Montserrat has the skills and talent to participate at the highest level.
When asked about the opportunity, Ms Allen stated, “ From this programme I would like to tap into a regional and international market and expand the success of the company.”
In this programme, the CBU is targeting emerging as well as export-ready companies involved in the design and production of apparel and accessories in OECS Member States.
At the end of the intervention, the CBU hopes to help further strengthen the fashion and design value chain in the OECS and provide designers with an avenue for increased exposure of their various products and services.
