Designing for Women

By 
Novia McDonald-Whyte

Claudia Pegus is seated in the second row in the ballroom of the Hilton Hotel, quite inconspicuous, clad in form-fitting jeans and stripe sweater. Kitten heel pumps and a trendy oversize bag add dash to the understated look of a woman in her early fifties—25 of them devoted to the business of fashion. 

She speaks with the cool authority of a woman who has threaded many a needle and directed many a fashion model down the runway. Indeed she has been one of the biggest names in regional fashion for close to two decades. A Trinidadian by birth, she left her homeland in 1983 to further develop her design skills in Europe. She lived in Barcelonia, Spain and Bavaria in Germany. Her return to the region came in 1997 when she launched her Claudia Pegus Frederick Street (CPFS) store and line. Now she has a presence in the United States (California, Miami, New York, and Washington), Europe (Germany, London and Switzerland) and throughout the Caribbean in the upscale boutiques of Saint Barts, Mustique, Barbados and Martinique. 

Aside from her constructive criticisms, Pegus is happy to be part of the second staging of Caribbean Fashionweek. If truth be told, the event marked a triumphant return for the petite designer who caused a major stir at the first Caribbean Fashionweek with her amazing haute couture collection. She was back this year with more. Her inspiration this time around came from the "unique qualities of the Jamaican woman." Pegus has created "inclusive" haute couture. 

"I would like them to see opulence, and innocence and a woman in her twenties. Indeed even younger... a virgin, perhaps, in search of the exquisite—the desire to unearth the rawness within the youthfulness."

As the curtains closed on another Caribbean Fashionweek, Pegus emerged as a force to be reckoned with. Her Moulin Rouge-inspired bustle gown embellished with silk chiffon, feather boa neckline and antique lace, transported us back to a time when romance, sonnets and courtship were de rigueur. 

"The African in me," Pegus says, "has facilitated this line. In particular, this flesh-colored gown with exposure without real exposure.There's emphasis on the bust,and on the bottom. Let's call it Claudia Pegus pays tribute to the derriere shall we?" 

The trio in black chiffon is an accidental creation. Created for clients in Martinique who needed a mix of formal and funk. The result is trousers, not only with slits, but also with attitude, seductiveness and an appeal to the youth. The chiffon tops are fun. Wear them belted, or with ruffles. 

Since Fashionweek, Claudia Pegus has redirected her creative energies. She has closed her junior shop in Trinidad and moved more towards couture a la Karl Lagerfeld—her mentor!