The air was filled with expectancy when guests entered More Vino on Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook, on Tuesday evening, for the launch of Calvin French on the Avenue...Every Place has an Avenue. Definitely a milestone in the chequered career of photographer/model, now author, the 200-page, glossy publication was produced by Justin Howard Joseph.
The launch was attended by several distinguished people of government, the fashion industry and media, including Minister in the Ministry of National Security Donna Cox, John Wallis, Meiling, Peter Elias, Alyson Hennessy, David Lewis, Rosemary Hezekiah and Lisa Sargeant. French, a contributing photographer for the T&T Guardian's WomanWise, has defined his book as "a photographic ode to the always bustling Ariapita Avenue.
Born in T&T, French migrated to Canada at the age of 14, and worked in the fashion industry for a number of years before moving to Milan, Italy, to continue his modelling career. He subsequently took up photography after moving to New York working with magazines like GQ, Details, LuomoVogue, and Gentlemen's Options prior to returning home to T&T.
In an interview on the weekend, he told WomanWise: "Hanging out there (on the Avenue) reminds me of being away from home, in another place. It is something about there that reminds me of Monte Carlo. Every place has an Avenue!" The coffee table book features photographs collected by French over the last ten years, features Carnival on the Avenue and local models and celebrities wearing locally-made clothing at some of the area's popular nightspots.�The book is on sale at Nigel Khan bookstores nation-wide.