Whoops of excitement reverberate around the humid National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston, Jamaica, as the women in the crowd jump out of their seats, waving their arms and screaming. Their excitement has nothing to do with sport, however. A succession of male models have just swaggered down the catwalk trying to out pose each other, and the one who pauses to shake his dreadlocks and rip open his shirt creates the biggest tremor of hysteria. Welcome to Sunday night at Caribbean Fashion Week.

Featuring designers from throughout the Caribbean, and several guests from overseas, the annual CFW is now in its seventh year. Paris, Milan, New York and London might still be the fashion world’s big four, but it’s now de rigueur for almost every country from Brazil to the Ukraine to Kazakhstan (yes, really) to have one or more fashion weeks.

Those in Sao Paulo, Sydney, Tokyo, and Moscow are some of the more creatively exciting fledgling events, with Sao Paulo and Sydney proving a strong commercial success. The Caribbean fashion industry might only generate an estimated US $400 million (£203m) annually, (UK womenswear sales alone are in excess of £21 billion) but their fashion week is growing. And as Andrew Tucker, talent scout for The British Fashion Council observes, such an event is, ‘important in promoting a country’s fashion identity, both domestically and internationally, and can be a good source of revenue for the industry.’

Just as London’s fashion identity is quirky, and Milan’s glamorous and commercial, so Caribbean Fashion Week is quintessentially, well, Caribbean. The atmosphere is carnivalesque and - without wishing to suggest that the tagline of the Lilt advert is a definitive cultural resource - the clothes reflect the area’s ‘totally tropical taste.’

Swimwear and occasion-wear dominate, the colours are as vibrant as the inside of a butterfly house, and instead of fashionista hauteur there are charmingly unsophisticated interludes. ‘Would the owner of a double parked Toyota please go to the car park,’ intones Kingsley Cooper, chairman of Jamaican model agency Pulse, and co-founder of CFW, who provides the evening’s commentary, Wizard of Oz-like, from behind the backstage curtain.

Hair products sponsor Luster even sent models down the catwalk lovingly caressing pots of straightener and wax before tossing them into the crowd. Tickets are available to the public and during the earlier shows it’s a free-for-all in the front row. For the more prestigious events on Saturday and Sunday night, however, the best seats in the house are reserved for movers and shakers such as the Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley, press, such as Sherry Dixon from She Caribbean, buyers, designers, ladies who lunch and, I am told in conspiratorial tones, rich men’s mistresses.

‘No large bags in the front row,’ chides the announcer, pinpointing a fundamental sartorial difference between the Caribbean shows and those in the major fashion capitals, where oversized ‘it’ bags probably outnumber people. There isn’t a designer tote to be seen, or for that matter, wood soled wedges, high-waisted jeans or smocks. The look amongst Kingston’s smart set, is repeatedly described as ‘casual elegance,’ which seems to translate as colourful, figure-hugging jersey or cotton print dresses with high heels and slim trousers with fitted tops. Body-con might be back for A/W in the UK, but in Jamaica it seems it never went away. On the catwalk the emphasis is on showing off the body, in long crocheted dresses - think Julien MacDonald on Bacardi, hip-hop influenced swimwear from Antoinette Olivia and The Mushroom, and fitted satin minidresses. The ‘Caribbean Supermodels,’ such as Gaye McDonald and Shevolee Bell, winner of the last Caribbean Model search competition are improbably proportioned, being naturally skinny with impressive curves. Size Zero isn’t an issue here although there were mumblings amongst local journalists that fuller figured Caribbean women should be represented in accordance with the Jamaican spirit of inclusiveness.

Just as the clothes show off the model’s curvaceous figures, they also bring out their natural exuberance. Tropical colour is a big theme; Sherry Dixon of She Caribbean Magazine says it is ‘always exciting for a Caribbean person not to just see brown and black. Our designers put so many colours and textures together and make the fusion work.’ Not all the designers pull off the approach, but one that does is Nigerian designer Deola Sagoe whose bright mini dresses combined figure hugging bodices with voluminous sleeves and ribbon and lace embellishment. Jamaican-born London Fashion Week designer Jessica Ogden and Bob Marley’s daughter Cedella Marley have showed in previous years, but this year the big name (relatively speaking) is Birmingham-born Gavin Douglas, who won Fashion Fringe in 2006. Inspired by his Jamaican roots, and stocked on Yoox.com, Douglas describes the event as ‘an excellent initiative for Caribbean designers to get their work seen. After all, I got press from it, and it’s set to get bigger.’

Douglas’s couture-feel swagged silk skirts, draped trousers with military buttons, and peacock feather coat, bring a level of technical skill and imagination to CFW rivalled only by Deola Sagoe. Filmy maxi dresses, especially those by Trinidad designer Peter Elias, and wide linen trousers are perfect for fashion parties at the Strawberry Hill resort overlooking Kingston, but the Caribbean fashion industry needs more investment if it’s to develop its native talent. The Deputy Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley called for ‘greater government assistance to fund areas such as training and marketing,’ adding that creative industries such as fashion are critical in the new Caribbean economy. Pulse chairman Kingsley Cooper said that the event was closer to the kind of international recognition the region was are looking for, but that greater support was needed to move it to the next level. Two key factors that would offer an immediate boost would be attracting more key buyers, particularly from resorts, and focusing on the area’s strengths: high-end designs with vibrant fabrics, small production runs, and ethical products, such as the Barbadan boutique jewellery label Luna Designs, which creates bold necklaces made from large, coloured seeds. In an era of big brand, chain store, and mass trend fatigue, Caribbean designers can offer something refreshingly unique.

Spot the difference

London Fashion Week:L Models Lily Cole and Erin O’Connor.

Caribbean Fashion Week: Model Shevolee Bell, whose sassy strut makes Naomi Campbell’s famous walk look like an awkward shuffle.

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