PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Haiti has long been renowned for its brightly colored paintings, metalwork handicrafts and wide-ranging styles of music while its fashion industry has lagged behind.
This is in large part because Haitian fashion consists mainly of clothing exported from Florida, otherwise known as "pepe," an industry that began in the 1960s and left many tailors unemployed.
But a number of local designers, and a handful of foreigners, are hoping to revive the Caribbean nation's fashion industry as they organized "Haiti Fashion Week," a three-day emporium for showing off its latest styles. The European Union donated 100,000 euros to sponsor the event, said Barbara Prezeau Stephenson, a Haitian artist and EU representative.