The Cloth is one of the leading luxury fashion houses from the Caribbean, spearheaded by Trinidadian designer Robert Young and British anthropologist Sophie Bufton, with creative roots dating back to 1986.

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Robert Young, self-taught “under meh mudder house bottom,” sees himself not as a fashion designer but “an artist working with clothing.” His sculptural silhouettes and storytelling motifs draw on Carnival, African heritage, and spiritual traditions—his garments serve as a kind of pulpit for political, creative, and communal expression.

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His works have recently been exhibited at:

• Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C.

• Museum at FIT, New York

• Savvy Contemporary, Berlin

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Young’s activism is grounded in the legacy of his parents—both trade unionists and community organisers—and continues through his Vulgar Fraction mas band and Dotish Tours, which explore Trinidad and Tobago's creative, political, and spiritual culture.

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Sophie Bufton leads The Cloth’s sustainability and systems innovation. She has recently developed a two-locality supply chain for West Indian Sea Island Cotton—the finest and rarest cotton in the world, grown exclusively in the Caribbean. This model reduces carbon emissions, ensures traceability, and reconnects island economies with their heritage materials.

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In June 2025, The Cloth will exhibit in the TiDAL ShiFTS Gallery Exhibition for Ocean Literacy at the UN Ocean Conference, in partnership with Exclusive Cottons of the Caribbean and the Council on Sustainable Fashion & Design of Grenada. This participation underscores the brand’s commitment to sustainable fashion as both an ocean health and social justice issue for Small Island Developing States.

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The Cloth is, to date, the only Caribbean fashion brand selected by Afreximbank’s Creative African Nexus (CANEX) to present at TRANOÏ during both Paris and Tokyo Fashion Weeks.

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