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Designer Neil Phillips has returned to the local clothing market with the brand The Pallet Stick. The menswear clothing brand was launched online on December 15.

Phillips said his clothing is targeted towards people living in tropical climates, as a lot of the clothing produced seems to be geared towards the North American market.

“I’ve always thought that we focus a lot on winter, summer, fall, etc., and we need to do something for people that live in the tropics. When I say tropical I don’t necessarily mean only T&T or the Caribbean. If you are someone who lives in Miami or Australia, you might even have a summer time in London that gets very hot, if you’re looking for that type of clothing that’s where I want to take us to. People always complain about the thick heavy material used to make suits so I want to bring things like suits using lighter materials to the market. These jackets are made for people in the temperate countries, Saville Row and these places are in London, so they make suits for those type of climates, so we could do thinner suits, thinner shirts, maybe we could play with some of the fabric, so really that is the idea here.”

His first line is a collection of men’s swim shorts which are produced locally. “I’m starting with shorts and could expand to shirts, light sweaters, socks, etc. I have a team that helps me make them, the fabric is internationally sourced and the production, sewing and cutting and all that are being done locally. I’m just really trying to get back out there and let people know that I am now actually going to be a clothing brand from the Caribbean and I am trying to service a market that I thought was under serviced.”

Currently the shorts sell for $350, and Phillips says he wants to keep his clothing as affordable as possible, although he realises he can’t compete with large-scale international manufacturers.
This is not Phillips’ first foray into the menswear market in T&T, as he previously owned a clothing store under the same name in St. Clair, which closed due to competition from online stores. He became interested in clothing as a business when he returned to T&T after studying at Morehouse College in Atlanta and encountered difficulty in finding stylish quality clothing for himself and other young men in T&T. “I decided to start importing male clothing to sell and eventually I opened a retail outlet in St. Clair called the pallet stick. I chose the name because I wanted to name my store something local that most people in T&T and in the Caribbean as a whole could relate to, and I wanted the name to signify a variety of colours, tastes and origins.

I’ve always had an interest in fashion and clothing since high school at St. Mary’s College, it’s just something that I feel I have an eye for, and I guess this store is evidence of that.”

While his store was in operation, Phillips discovered a love of tailoring and continued his education at the UWI School of Continuing Studies and through private tutoring. “Since I closed the store I thought it was a good idea for more people from Trinidad to do stuff. I feel like we have a lot of talent here, UTT and these other schools are producing a lot of talented people and instead of looking abroad all the time, we need to look at T&T and the Caribbean. I don’t know if it’s a mental block that we have but maybe if more quality products come out, maybe the mentality will change.”

Phillips said the local clothing market is growing rapidly and opening up to more designers and stores. “I think we’re at a time in the country where we really need to look at diversification. I know the government has identified the fashion and clothing industry as one such industry that can be developed.

Another reason why I decided to do pallet stick because we’re at the right time to start pushing this, I know that there’s a factory being constructed now that helps manufacturing for local designers so I think it is a right time. I feel like as people continue to do the right things and work hard I think we could go places. Trinidad is a very creative place and I feel we need to focus in more and believe in what we create.”
The Pallet Stick can be found on Facebook and Instagram pages for the brand, and interested persons can email thepalletstick@gmail.com for more information and to place orders.