Biography: Jessel Brizan

 
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A native of The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Jessel Brizan is an experienced founder, educator and fashion professional with a demonstrated history in the apparel and fashion industry.

Jessel possesses over fifteen years experience in fashion with international experience in New York having worked at Federated Merchandising Group (Macy’s Merchandising Group), and Solo Licensing Corporation, a licensee for Betsey Johnson and Spalding.

An alumnus of American International College (AIC), Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, Jessel graduated at the top of his class (2002) with a 4.0 GPA earning summa cum laude and Valedictorian honours along with a bachelor’s degree in communication and minors in marketing and sociology.

Following a Summer 2000 internship as a staffwriter with the Union-News / Sunday Republican, Jessel was the recipient of a Non-Sustaining Scholarship from the National Association of Black Journalists, and the Mary A. Gardner Scholarship from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

He would continue to serve as a staffwriter for The Yellow Jacket, AIC’s student-run newspaper, moving up as executive editor, and ultimately taking over the helm as editor-in-chief his senior year.

At AIC, Jessel garnered several awards including The McGown Award, the institution’s highest honour, Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, ALANAI Honor Society Pinnacle Award, and Alpha Chi National College Honor Scholarship Society. In 2012, AIC would bestow him with their inaugural Co-Curricular Hall of Fame Award.

While there he acquired his first taste in retail fashion as an employee of Gap Inc. having worked as a sales associate at both The Gap and Old Navy.

It was at AIC that Jessel nurtured his passion for working with disadvantaged children serving as a member of the Partner’s Program where he helped mentor and tutor elementary school children.

“As an entrepreneur Jessel helped transform the fashion sector in Trinidad and Tobago”
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His formal education in fashion would begin at the world renowned Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York where following a 2003 Summer course in Design Room Techniques he matriculated in the Menswear Design program that Fall.

While at FIT Jessel gained key exposures in fashion design and production, management and merchandising as an intern at both Macy’s Merchandising Group and Solo Licensing Corporation.

Shortly after returning to his homeland in 2004, he rejoined the corporate world serving as Corporate Communications Manager at telecommunications startup Laqtel Ltd.

In 2007, he submitted a proposal to offer computer-aided fashion design at the newly formed Caribbean Academy of Fashion and Design (CAFD) at The University of Trinidad and Tobago.

Jessel’s tutelage as an educator would begin at CAFD where from its inception in 2008 he helped establish the programme having provided instruction for the Diploma in Fashion Management, Diploma in Fashion Design, and Bachelor’s in Fashion Design programmes.

During his ten-year tenure at CAFD, Jessel developed the curriculum, syllabi, lesson plans, and administered the course materials for nine different courses including Basic Computing: Office Applications, Basic Computing: Graphic Applications, Digital Workshop: Photoshop, Digital Workshop: Illustrator, Technical Illustration I, Technical Illustration II, Graphic Applications for Fashion Marketers, Fashion Presentations, and Portfolio Development.

As an entrepreneur Jessel helped transform the fashion sector in Trinidad and Tobago.

Founded in 2006 as a fashion design and merchandising company, Jessel Brizan Design Group Ltd. (JBDG) is the first local fashion design company to establish an ecommerce platform, and sell, fulfill and ship its merchandise globally. The company registered its first online sale on March 3, 2011 having shipped to Brooklyn, New York, USA.

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“Through his business ventures Jessel promotes the philosophy and concept - Philanthropy Through Fashion”

Jessel played a major role in helping to establish the first fashion co-operative in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean region serving as the inaugural Vice President of The Fashion Exchange Co-operative Society Limited. Along with creating the name and logo, he oversaw the development of the bye laws and business plan as a member of the steering committee that guided the Co-operative through its registration and eventual launch in May 2013.

Subsequently in 2013, Jessel founded Blue Basin Department Stores Ltd. (Blue Basin) with a mission to provide an omnichannel retail platform that connects Caribbean designers and artisans with their customers locally, regionally and internationally. Blue Basin launched in August 2014 with its annex at the Cruise Ship Complex, Port of Spain, Trinidad setting another precedent as the first local brick and mortar retail concept devoted to Caribbean fashion and design.

For his contributions to local fashion, Jessel was featured in the Fashion & Beauty section of MACO People Trinidad Magazine, Issue 3 2016, in the article titled ‘Jessel Brizan - A Caribbean Fashion Revolutionary Emerges.’

In April 2017, Jessel was approached by The Trinidad and Tobago Fashion Company Limited (FashionTT) to propose and facilitate workshops for their Business of Fashion workshop series hosted that July. He subsequently developed and conducted workshops on Floor-ready Merchandising and Preparing for the Buyers Meeting presented to fashion industry stakeholders. FashionTT subsequently enlisted his insight in January 2019 as a committee member for their Global Value Chain Evaluation Committee to appraise proposals for their Value Chain Investment Programme Consultancy.

As an invitee at the April 2018 “Stakeholder Meeting to Identify Standards for the Fashion Industry” hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards in collaboration with FashionTT and Ministry of Trade and Industry, he contributed key focal areas for the prioritization of standards including enforcement of labelling and childrenswear standards, and disposal of harmful materials in the screenprinting industry.

Jessel was later approached to develop and facilitate workshops as part of the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA) Fashion and Contemporary Design Accelerator held from May 6 – 16, 2019 at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, John S. Donaldson Campus, Port of Spain, Trinidad. Via his workshops in Technical Package Development and the Business Model he had the privilege of helping to train and develop twenty designers from the Caribbean region including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Suriname, Tortola, and Trinidad and Tobago.

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Additionally, Jessel has provided insight in the business of fashion to several established local designers including Meiling and Ecliff Elie, as well as providing key business exposures to a diverse cross section of business entities, colleagues and former students.

Through his business ventures Jessel promotes the concept and philosophy - “Philanthropy through fashion” - dedicated to cultivating a culture of giving in all aspects of life and business. He supports this commitment through charitable giving, sponsorships, and community involvement. In line with his personal giving philosophy, his philanthropic efforts include active volunteerism with at-risk youth.

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