When Complexd’s Chief Sub-Editor, Darcel de Vlugt revealed she was awarded the opportunity to showcase her designs during London Fashion Week. We let out a simultaneous sigh of relief – fi·nal·ly!

When we graduated from London College of Fashion during the summer of 2008, the emerging recession threatened our introduction into the creative industry as emerging talent. If we wanted recognition, we knew we had to invest in ourselves, thus making the decision to dig into our shallow pockets and travel to the premier showcase of Island of the World Fashion Week in Bahamas.

It allowed Darcel to debut her collection and launch her label Van der Vlugt and gave me an introduction into the world of freelance journalism. In a discussion in our hotel room – the night before our coming-of-industry-age, we stopped calling ourselves graduates and decided to start introducing ourselves as working professionals.

Then in 2009 came Darcel’s Next Generation Designer Award on the same platform she debuted and the launch of Complexd Magazine in 2010. Fast forward to 2013, we both got to step back on the same soil we met to introduce her collection to a British crowd at Trinidad & Tobago International Fashion Showcase.

The event that reunited us was titled Waves: Re-Think, facilitated by the Fashion Association of Trinidad and Tobago (FATT) and primarily sponsored by University of Trinidad & Tobago (UTT). The invitation alone brought back floods of memories featuring a black leather corset with a gathered stitch bust, one of my first made-to-measure Van der Vlugt designs.

In a salon style reception, carefully selected pieces by emerging designers Lisa See Tai, Mark Eastman and Darcel, sashayed through the audience that lined the banquet room of the Trinidad and Tobago High Commission.

What was even sweeter about the experience was the collective gasp as Darcel’s show stopping three-tiered dress sat perfectly on the body of Trinidadian model Michelene Auguste. When Michelene was introduced to us in the Bahamas, she was a shy, young, blossoming talent who has now been snapped up quickly by international modelling agencies in New York, London and Paris.

The moral of the story – it feels greater to be apart of someone’s journey as well as them being apart of yours.

We stole a moment away from the hustle and bustle of the London Fashion Week schedule to experience emerging talents from around the world at the International Fashion Showcase.  First stop was Waves: Re-think hosted by twin islands Trinidad and Tobago, showcasing the works of three innovative designers, Darcel de Vlugt, Lisa See Tai and Mark Eastman. 

With her sensual, structurally sound, opulent pieces Darcel de Vlugt is most definitely one to watch – to sum up her designs in three words – luxury, elegance and glamour. 

Lisa See Tai winner of the University of Trinidad & Tobago’s Designers Critique Award combined the vibrancy of traditional African prints with fresh, cool Caribbean chic. I could envision young women in London rocking her designs this summer so when I asked what her plans for future were she gushed enthusiastically, ‘This has been a fantastic experience, I never thought I’d be showing in London so soon, but you have to dream big and you get there eventually. I am already thinking about my next collection, that’s the thing about creative minds, they never stop ticking. I can’t wait to go fabric shopping around London tomorrow’. 

Mark Eastman’s classic cuts, with peep-show midriffs and bold beaded jewellery turned classically tailored pieces of the past, to the present. I was also drawn to Mark’s personal sense of style which seemed to draw inspiration from vintage Caribbean imagery of smartly dressed West-Indian men. Mark definitely appeared to be drawn to old school style reinvented for modern women. 

Photographs by Frederique Rapier

Firstly I would like to say a big thank you to all the readers who wished me a Happy Birthday and loved my Complexd cupcakes as much as I did.

For the last four years, I’ve been having a peaceful party with my mind, body and soul to celebrate the day I was born. I gave up the hassle of organising groups of friends in exchange for some much needed me time. Don’t get me wrong, I have many Birthday memories with friends that I cherish, but nothing is more memorable than the sound of mesmerising Spa music sending you to sleep, along with the rhythmic motion of a masseuses hands.

This year, I decided to spend my Birthday at K West Hotel & Spa and to my amusement, ended up sharing a high powered Hydrotherapy pool with British actor Sid Owen, better known to us Brits as ‘Rickyyy’.

The modern entrance which was hoisted over rows of Georgian houses offered a sign of relief for me and my friend trying to escape the bitter cold. On our tour of K Spa’s pristine facilities we nodded our thawed heads swiftly when shown their -15 degrees Snow Paradise room – the first of it’s kind in London. Not wanting to waste anymore time, we unwrapped countless layers and stripped down to our bikinis.

We washed away the harsh winter under the surge of the experience showers, braved the powerful bubbles of the Hydrotherapy pool, acting as a deep tissue massage, releasing the tension in our bodies. We sweat out all the impurities in the Sauna. Exfoliated our feet in the foot baths and finished with a full body exfoliation in the intimate changing room showers. This was only the beginning; I haven’t even touched on our treatments yet.

K Spa boasts a unique range of treatments and facilities, which helped in making my final decision about what my body needed, and what it really wanted was sleep! First up was my 20-minute Dry Floatation experience – the equivalent of six hours sleep. Wrapped in a comforting water bed, I was levitated to weightlessness, allowing me to float to sleep. I woke up feeling unaware of my surroundings as you do when your awoken from a train coma on a tiring commute home (best sleep of your life!). After a back, neck and shoulder massage, my pleasant therapist lead me into the relaxation room, complete with headphones playing tranquil music to encourage you to remain in a peaceful state of mind.

Winter Blues (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is something I never took very seriously until my sleeping patterns became disrupted and I realised I was walked around London with an upside down smile. So after my deep relaxation, I opted for a boost of energy in the Sun Meadow room – a form of light therapy that helps to rejuvenate the body.

To finish what had already been an amazing Spa experience, my therapist Sheila recommended I try the Siberian Petal Facial. A treatment found in no other Spa that combats winter blues by re-hydrating dry skin using exclusive Russie Blanche products.

After a deep cleanse, gentle exfoliation infused with a delightful coconut scent and a cooling mask to close and tighten the pores. I was treated to a scalp; neck, shoulder and hand massage using Banïya De-Stress essential oil, slipping me into a sedated state. Ex Storm model Julia Lemigova, was inspired by traditional Russian Baniya therapies when she created Russie Blanche and to my delight the oil used by Sheila is a secret Russian remedy used to protect the skin from severe winters.

All in all, I’m a year older and I’ve never felt more ready for the harsh winter ahead.  I highly recommend K West Spa as the best place to help your mind, body and soul work in unison if you are struggling to cope with the current climate.

www.k-west.co.uk