PILAR by Anya Ayoung Chee

It's been quite awhile since a Caribbean designer's debut has caused a fashionable stir, so when there's a bit of a to-do around a new collection, I can't help but perk up to see if the attention is justified.In the case of Pilar, it indeed is. I've talked before about how impressed I am by the cohesiveness and freshness of the ethnic-inspired collection that debuted at this year's Fashion Week Trinidad & Tobago. But I'm even more impressed by the grace and focus of it's creator, the reigning Ms. T&T, Anya Ayoung-Chee.You would think that someone that's as fairly well-known as Ayoung Chee is, would be all over the place touting the line at the drop of a hat. Or that she'd be all over the line shots and lookbooks, vamping it up and pushing her project. However, with this collection, the actual pieces are the stars, and a new face to the Caribbean fashion scene - Model Janice Jackson - gets a chance to shine in the shots.Even the images released from the collection thus far, reveal a careful, stylized planning and forethought; the fact that Pilar has what I imagine are shots from a lookbook, at a time when the average Caribbean 'top' designer barely even has a proper website or presspack? This is a great sign of things to come. (Au Courant)