Anya Ayoung-Chee

Creative Director at TogetherWI, The Anya Ayoung Chee Foundation cANYAval, Exhibit A

My experience and deep interests:

• Campaigning & Advocacy

• Design

• Entrepreneurship

• Fashion

I am based in: St Clair, Port-of-Spain

Other projects and organizations include: Together WI and cANYAval

I am a Caribbean designer from Trinidad & Tobago. I studied graphic design at Central Saint Martins & Parsons The New School for Design. In 2008, I represented Trinidad & Tobago in the Miss Universe Pageant in 2008. A year later, I launched my own women’s fashion label PILAR and a lingerie line named Anya de Rogue. I was also the winner of Season 9 of the TV show ‘Project Runway’

In 2012, I was appointed Tourism Ambassador of Trinidad and Tobago and visited many parts of the world as a spokesperson for this jewel of the Caribbean. I have positioned myself as a major player in Trinidad’s Carnival industry and 2015 will be my fourth year designing, hosting events, producing fashion shows and launching products curated for this cultural phenomenon.

I am working on several projects at the moment. My 2016 Carnival costume design portfolio includes TRIBE Carnival,  my exclusive section - Xantico -designed by ANYA x JP Richardson and The Lost Tribe, a hybrid of TRIBE Carnival. I am Co-Creative Director for this band and the costume I designed for this concept is AVA. I also curated Exhibit A, a showroom for young local designers to retail their collections. Exhibit A will be host to the cANYAval pop-up shop and will host event-based shopping targeted towards the influx of tourists that flock Trinidad leading up to Carnival.

I set up an online Monday-wear and Carnival-gear boutique, featuring an all-local selections of designers called cANYAval. This shop will take on a physical space in the form of a pop-up at Exhibit A for the weeks leading up to Carnival. My most recent initiative is HOME, which is a co-working space based in Trinidad geared towards creative professionals. HOME houses a co-working space, virtual office spaces, a Cafe staffed with young chefs trained at the culinary institute in Trinidad, Exhibit A venue space and a growing community of creative professionals working independently and in collaboration with one another.