From an early age, Ria Ramkissoon had been immersed in her family garment business based in El Dorado, Trinidad where she gained the understanding and the schematics of garment construction, design and production. Ramkissoon attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City to further develop her skills in both Accessory Design and Manufacturing Management. Armed with her clothing manufacturing background Ria found her way into the New York fashion industry by landing her first job at the prestigious fashion house of Halston. Influenced by her love of metal and colour, Ria's entrepreneurial spirit emerged, leading her to design RIA handbags. Ramkissoon's inspiration came from the cultures of industrial and lush Trinidad & Tobago and the ever evolving concrete jungle of New York City. Exotic skins, leather, suede, and canvas coupled with industrial inspired stainless steel mesh and other metals comprised of the RIA handbag collection. RIA has been carried at over 150 boutiques world wide including Harrods London, Barneys NY and Seibu in Japan. RIA is coveted by A-list celebrities, socialites and Fashion editors along with being featured in Womens Wear Daily, Lucky, Glamour, Teen Vogue, Essence, Wall Street Journal in addition to many others. She is currently working on her eponymous Handbag Collection as well as an exclusive Ready to Wear collection to be produced and launched in Trinidad &Tobago. She is also a founding partner at a Special event catering firm in Manhattan (which happens to be her second passion in life).
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self organised events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference Provides General Guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self - organized.* (subject to certain rules and regulations)
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