Fashion photographer Nigel Barker returned to Cayman to be a guest host for Cayman InStyle Fashion Week, on 18-21 April, featuring some 100 local and international models and talent.
The television personality, author, filmmaker and former model is no stranger to the islands, as he has visited Cayman with his wife and children over the years. “It’s always wonderful to return to Cayman,” Barker, 52, told the Compass during a sit-down interview on Friday morning.
“From the moment you land, you get out of the airport, you smell the air, it’s beautiful and sunny. I left New York and it was freezing and raining… so wonderful to be back, also be here for Cayman Fashion Week.”
He also spoke highly of the people he is working with in Cayman.
“The people are great, it’s a sense of glee in all the people I’m working with, from the make-up artists, the hairstylists, people like Alva [Page] who’s teaching them to walk the runway,” he said.
Barker also pointed to Caymanian designer Norma Ebanks, founder of Cayman InStyle Fashion Week. “[Her] enthusiasm for the fashion industry, the fact that she’s opening a modelling agency, she’s got a magazine, all the things she’s doing to revitalise the industry… I think is so important and I think it makes me excited.”
Barker, who last presented in Cayman at a 2015 fashion show, said he’s noticed how the treatment of fashion has changed.
“Whereas it used to be a one-night affair or one day, now it’s already a three-day… four-day affair, which shows there’s a capacity for that… What was one big fashion show is now a swimsuit show, a kids show, an adult show, a gala… there’s a lot more interest and there’s more material to work with.”
A destination for fashion
Barker said he was “impressed” with the fashion industry on island.
“The infrastructure is growing… sometimes people think that perhaps if you’re in the islands and outside of a major fashion hub, that you wouldn’t have the things you would need, but when you see that you’ve got talent, photographers, equipment, designers and great clothing, you’ve the location, weather, you bring that all together, it means… you’ve got all the pieces to get it right.”
Barker said Cayman isn’t just a place for beautiful people, “but also a destination for fashion shoots, so photographers and magazines should come and shoot here… and [you] will encourage photographers from New York, London, Italy and Paris… creating economic stimulus to the area itself.”
‘Knowledge is power’
The former ‘America’s Next Top Model’ judge, who started in the fashion industry at age 15, said his experiences have taught him to understand and appreciate “the struggle”.
“Knowledge is power and the more you learn, the more you know, the more you can have control over your career, the more you can make smart decisions, and the more you are able to actually really bring to this industry.”
With over 30 years in the business, Barker said he’s seen the industry change “dramatically”, recalling when he was a young model in New York, he was one of 10 men in his agency.
“There were probably only about 40 or 50 male models who really worked internationally in the world, which I was one of them, and now you’d find 500 male models in New York City, so the industry has exploded… and shows like ‘America’s Next Top Model’ helped make that happen.”
He noted that the industry has “changed dramatically”, with many opportunities for people to achieve success, but also more competition.
“It’s always going to be a tough industry, but to be at the top of any game, it takes hard work, perseverance, and it takes an element of luck,” he said.
But, he added, “You’ve got to have faith in yourself, try not to listen too much to the naysayers, and the haters and the trolls, because those people will always be there even when you do a good job… at the end of the day, [you] have to be your own critic, know you’re worth it and if you don’t give yourself a chance, then other people won’t hand it to you… you have to grab the horse by the reins and say, ‘I’m going to do this and I’m going to have a good go at it’.”
Related Videos
