HCIT students bring training to life through Canvas & Couture

ST ANN, Jamaica— Students of the HEART College of Innovation and Technology (HCIT) pursuing event coordinator level four certification successfully brought their training to life through Canvas & Couture — an evening where art meets fashion. Held on Saturday, September 19, at the Cardiff Hotel in Runaway Bay, St Ann, the student production team curated an elevated evening for approximately 25 guests, guiding patrons through an immersive fusion of art and fashion. The experience started with an intimate sip-and-paint session led by Student Instructor Nickoy Binnie. This was followed by an intriguing fashion show featuring stunning collections across resort wear, swimwear, formal wear, and avant-garde categories.

Model Georgia Brown showcases a stunning design in red created by Oshin Haye escorted by Nickoy Binnie.

The runway highlighted exceptional designs from Garmex Academy alumni and renowned local talent, including designer Romario Cornwall (The Clothing Manipulator), Monique Morgan Allen (Simply Majestic), Oshin Haye (Bellami) and Fashion Entrepreneur Stascha Smith (Stascha’s Closet). The diverse line-up of models featured international model Rich-Ann Vernon. Together, the showcase created a powerful platform for Jamaican fashion while allowing students to demonstrate flawless event coordination and guest management. More than an academic assignment, Canvas & Couture proved the power of cross-disciplinary collaboration. Under the guidance of course instructor Patrice Nephew, owner of EventsDownPat, the class leveraged their diverse professional backgrounds—spanning marketing, hospitality, hotel operations, and wedding planning.

Student Instructor Nickoy Binnie guides patrons through an immersive sip-and-paint session at Canvas & Couture.

This varied expertise allowed the team to sharpen existing skills, build new competencies, and navigate the demands of live execution, gaining vital experience tailored for Jamaica’s rapidly growing creative, hospitality, and events industries. “I am particularly proud of this cohort. They entered this course with different capabilities and perspectives, stuck through the program, and planned this entire event virtually without ever meeting physically,” noted Patrice Nephew, course instructor, HCIT, who oversaw student execution across marketing, décor, logistics, and technical production. “To see how they coordinated and organised themselves to stage a stellar event like Canvas & Couture shows exponential growth.”

Patron,Taneque Heslop, is captured completely immersed in completing her artwork during the interactive sip-and-paint segment of Canvas & Couture led by Student Instructor Nickoy Binnie.

Attendees also widely praised the event’s seamless execution and engaging atmosphere. One event professional in attendance highlighted the team's adaptability, stating, "I saw how the team pivoted... to this amazing end product. Any hiccups they had, certainly the guests did not see it. At the end of the day, they execute." Another guest added, "Everything was well put together and very organised. It was a new experience, but it was very fun, nice, and family-friendly." Behind the scenes, the event served as a major milestone for the students themselves. "It was the first time seeing each other face-to-face, but everybody just pulled together, jumped in, and did what needed to be done," said student team lead Farrah Hansel Murray. "We had our down moments, but we gelled instantly with no clashes because everyone knew we had a task to do. In the end, we pulled it off, and the event came through exactly how we envisioned it."

Patrons proudly display their hand-painted portraits during the interactive sip-and-paint segment led by Student Instructor Nickoy Binnie.

Reflecting on the students’ development under live pressure, Nephew added, “Risk management was something we discussed ad nauseam in training. On the day of the event, there were quite a few instances where they had to go into mitigation mode, and they were masterful. They got to feel exactly what a real event coordinator feels on execution day.” The evening beautifully brought together the artistic, creative, and technical elements developed throughout the programme. Following this successful execution, the students will move forward to complete their final programme assessments and review patron feedback to wrap up their certification.