By: Walter Greene

Trinidadian born fashion designer FRANCIS HENDY has always been keen on
color and prints for his men's wear collections. A veteran in the
fashion industry for some 30 years, Francis is still doing his
signature clash of colors and prints, as was revealed in his
Spring/summer men's wear collection show recently at the Time Warner
Center in New York and also in a mini presentation during African
Fashion Week in the Financial Center - Wall Street in New York City,
last week. I asked Francis about his longevity in the business and how
he sees the change of fashion trends over the years.

"There is no secret to staying in the game this long, This is what I
really love to do, this is me, it comes effortlessly for me to come up
with a collection like this. It takes me two weeks to come up with a
collection," said Francis. There was no set theme or sources of
inspiration that this designer touts about creating new and exciting
fashions. Francis, who learnt the fine art of tailoring as a kid in his
native Trinidad, brought that flair to New York where he attended
fashion school to fine tune his craft. He won several design awards
including the `Michael Award for Excellence In Men's Wear Design' and
remains a leading force in the fashion industry.

For spring/summer 2012 Francis did not have to look far to create his
colorful new collection. Stripes clashed with florescent prints on
brightly colored shirts, floral prints ran wild and flowed over in some
fitted trousers, colored suits came besides some in khaki, off white
and gray. Some finely tailored pants in prints are also among Francis'
slick collection. Bold colored jacket etched with white buttons and a
shimmery suit of cotton lurex ignited the catwalk.

"I think men are more open to color and fine European styling than
before," said Francis. "I see my collection as more of a stylized
version of modern men' swear. It's for the Jet setting, International
Playboy, who is chic and loves to travel. Fashion does change, but I've
been doing the same thing for years, I think men has just caught up
with my bold, colorful style. People are more accepting of bold colors
and prints for men. Over the years in this business, I keep growing and
learning. I would say the main thing I've learnt is to update my
styling and making a better pattern," revealed the designer.