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By Laura Dowrich-Phillips |
A former stylist for BET's 106 and Park show, Davy is now the director of the BK Style Foundation, an organisation whose purpose, he said, is to support and nurture the fashion industry in Brooklyn.
Earlier this month, the foundation held it's first event towards that aim, the Brooklyn Fashion Weekend.
Held at the Tobacco Warehouse in Dumbo, Brooklyn, the BK fashion event, drew scepticism from critics who, the New York Times said, "predicted dourly that the runways would feature cobwebby updates of 70s macramé shawls, or urban-influenced do-rags, or the pride of Williamsburg, Carhartt jackets."
The collections on display during the three-day event, defied expectations, said the report.
The show featured designs by 19 upcoming designers, among them Trinidad-born designer Simon Duncan, Tonga native Lopeti Etu, former model Zulema Griffin of the hit reality show Project Runway, and Nina Valenti.
"We were lamenting the (lack of) opportunity for Brooklyn-based designers. There is so much talent here, there was not a forum for Brooklyn designers like there is in Manhattan so we decided 'Why don't we do it?'" said Cybele Sandy, cofounder of the BK Style Foundation.
Sandy, a public relations specialist who is also from Trinidad, met Davy through Renée Cummings, a mutual friend.
"Planning started almost three years ago. The BK Borough president, Marky Markowitz, was one of our biggest supporters. A lot of people weren't seeing what we were seeing and it was hard to get sponsors and designers, but we managed to pull it off," Sandy said.
Sandy said the month of May was specifically chosen because they wanted a time when everyone could focus on them. Hereinafter, she said, the event will be seasonal.
"The whole idea is to align ourselves with fashion week in New York. We want to be the next fashion destination after Paris, Milan and New York," Davy told WomanWise.
Apart from showcasing local Brooklyn talent, the fashion weekend, Davy said, was also meant to put the spotlight on the foundation. Their work is about giving back to the community, he said, by helping those aspiring to a career in the fashion industry to realise their dreams.
"I have a clear vision, being in business for a number of years, of what these kids need. Everything they have to do, they have to go to Manhattan. We have great designers and models that are the backbone of New York fashion," he said.
Davy also revealed that the BK Style Foundation plans to train 30 to 50 students a year in design, open a store to sell the clothing and establish a museum.
Despite his focus on Brooklyn, Davy, who is originally from Tunapuna, has not forgotten Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean.
He said they have a lot of plans for T&T and intends to do a cream of the crop model search similar to Tyra Banks' The Next Top Model show, across the Caribbean.
"We want to find the best models and designers and bring them up to international level," he said.