A FEW changes are coming for this weekend’s staging of Caribbean Fashion Week (CFW) at the National Indoor Sports Centre.

One of the major shifts is that the number of public fashion shows has been reduced to two — Saturday and Sunday nights — from the previous three.

The event’s organiser, Kingsley Cooper of modelling agency Pulse, says they have added The Black Tie Fashion Gala which will celebrate the best of Caribbean style. He noted that in previous years the Friday night was “relatively weak”.

“Everything else remains in place, including Friday morning’s press conference, the business forum on Saturday, the concert performances to end the shows and the after-parties,” said Cooper.

He is adamant that CFW has lived up to the support it offers emerging designers. According to Cooper, CFW 2014 will again see the Emerging Designers showcase on both Saturday and Sunday.

The Emerging Designers competition, sponsored by DHL, the Emerging Designer Award, adjudicated and presented by British and Vogue CFW designer Gavin Douglas, as well as workshops and a business forum geared at enhancing capacity for designers, are also part of the package.

Cooper is quick to remind designers of their role in moving their brand forward.

“Of course it is up to designers, even more so than CFW. Each design label is its own business, so while CFW provides marketing and development, it is up to designers to fund and organise their businesses, as well as to produce and sell,” he said.

CFW continues to mix fashion with music. Singer Maxi Priest tops the bill on Sunday; Major Lazer’s Jillionaire, Color Festival’s Kyle deSouza, as well as RDX and Tony Matterhorn, are scheduled to perform on Saturday.

There will also be performances by Ishawna and Denyque.

Among the designers anticipated this year is Cedella Marley, whose collection, called Marley, is inspired by her father, reggae superstar Bob Marley.