Teenagers interested in the fashion industry will have the opportunity to learn the basics this August vacation, as Emphasis Trinidad partners with Jamilia Alexander and Jessel Brizan to host the Fashion Fun!damentals Summer Camp at the MIC Building, located on Borde Street, Port of Spain.

Camp founder and coordinator, Alexander is a graduate of the Caribbean Academy of Fashion and Design's Fashion management programme and Brizan is a lecturer at the Caribbean Academy of Fashion and Design, UTT. Supported by the Fashion Industry Development Committee (FIDC), this camp will run from August 21 to 25 from 9 am to 4 pm and is one of a few developmental initiatives designed to help expand the local fashion industry.

"Fashion Fun!damentals summer camp is a fun, interactive and exciting introduction to the fashion industry." Alexander explained. "We want to introduce students to both the fashion design and fashion management aspects of the industry, as both are necessary for its development. Of course, these young people are on vacation from school right now, so we wanted to make it a fun-filled learning experience and will use a host of visual tools and practical exercises to stimulate interaction and interest."

The Fashion Fun!damentals camp will seek to present careers in the fashion industry as an option to students, by educating them about the job opportunities, while also providing fundamental fashion design and fashion management education in a fun-filled, age appropriate learning environment.

"You would notice that we keep stressing on the fun part," reiterated Alexander, "because it's a short programme — just five days, but during that time we want students to enjoy an experience that they'll never forget. So it's not just a bunch of people stuck in a room taking notes — it'll be very interactive and hands-on with sessions like an Introduction to Fashion Sketching and Drawing, First Steps to Fashion Styling, Introduction to Visual Merchandising, Creating Patterns on Fabric, Jewelry Design — Using What You Can Find, as well as an Introduction to Photoshop and to Illustrator.

"This is an opportunity to educate our youth about the fashion industry, so that they understand the big picture and realise that fashion isn't just about the catwalk, bright lights, cameras and glamour, but it is a multifaceted industry with real and varied career possibilities.

"The glamour comes after many late nights and through discipline, hard work and dedication to a career in fashion. We believe that this information should be presented to our youth at a time when they are contemplating courses of study for CXC or CAPE, so that the foundation and the understanding is instilled before they have to make those life-defining choices."

Open to youth between the ages 13-17, the Fashion Fun!damentals camp aims to educate students about the reality of the industry and develop the human resource at the secondary education level.

At present, fashion education in secondary schools is limited to clothing and textiles and interested students also rely on television and the Internet to give them a glimpse into the industry.

Agencies such as the Fashion Industry Development Committee (FIDC) and InvestTT are creating opportunities for current fashion stakeholders and The Caribbean Academy of Fashion and Design (CAFD) at UTT has been educating students at a tertiary education level. This camp will also highlight the programmes available.

"As a fashion-forward brand of Trinidad and Tobago," said Emphasis Trinidad director, Arnold Best, "we are happy to offer our support to this initiative because we recognise the intrinsic value to the future of our fashion industry.

"Even as we advocate for all citizens to 'Wear Local' during this month and prepare to celebrate our fiftieth anniversary of Independence, its great to see that we are putting things in place to have a brighter future as well."

Official venue sponsor for the Fashion Fun!damentals camp, The Metal Industries Company (MIC) offers vocational programmes in dress making and tailoring, as well as full programmes in jewelry design and can provide career and learning opportunities between secondary school education and the CAFD.

The Fashion Fun!damentals camp will seek to provide practical steps to take students from secondary to tertiary-level fashion education.

The cost of this camp is $350 and includes daily snacks, a camp T-shirt and materials.

The closing ceremony and presentations will take place on Saturday August 25. For more information, please call 487-8400/729-3233 or e-mail: jamiliaalexander@gmail.com.