By Iana Seales
Sharda Eligon came close to walking out of the FACTS 2 designer competition because she had no idea how to sew, but a few episodes and one hot gown later, she is the toast of local fashion circles.
The 14-year-old went through the entire competition without winning a segment until the final, where she exploded with a collection of chic designs that the judges simply could not have ignored. Her rise to the top came after she did what she described as, “going back to the drawing board and finally getting serious about winning this thing”.
Her riveting designs that say, “Do you dare wear me”, belie her age, and so does her shrewdness. With a bold sense of fashion and a creative mind that habitually works with a theme no matter what she is designing, Sharda is a breath of fresh air.
Give her a piece of plain white cloth to cut and she will but not without explaining that the white means purity and that there is detail in the cut, which signifies strength or something closely related. And while she is humble and takes criticism in her stride, watch out for her reaction if you misinterpret her design.
The blue gothic number she designed for the final of FACTS 2 set tongues wagging but largely drew bewildered stares. As it turned out, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), which sponsored the category, gave it the thumbs up over the other pieces, so why the confused stares?
Sharda, in an interview with The Scene this week, simply summed it up as art and the typical reaction to anything abstract. She said it was an abstract piece that was open to any interpretation so people could have varying views about it. She was just happy GT&T gave it the top prize.
The hot swimsuit she designed for the final was also adjudged the best swimwear at the final and according to her, it was a simple design. She decided to go simple sensing that her competitors would have gone out all out.
She recalled being in a confused state on the night of the final, and so flustered that everything the judges said to her just floated over her head. All she could hear were the screams in the audience. When her name was called as the winner, she said, it took a moment to sink in then she celebrated but the real feeling of triumph came days after. Sharda even thought designer, Afia Bob had won the competition since the crowd seemed to have favoured her designs more.
“I was home when it hit me that I had won so I just started shouting and screaming, yes, yes, you won, you won,” Sharda told The Scene.
She said it was a long journey from the first day of competition to the finale at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on July 17. Sharda recalled that after she was selected she nearly walked out of the competition when it was revealed that they had to do their own sewing; something she was unable to do then.
But with a little encouragement she stuck around. Then as the segments wrapped up one after another and she failed to win any, she again felt dejected. After she made the final cut she drew up a timetable and worked with it keeping at the back of her head the whole time that if she did not pull everything together, the competition was hers to lose.
Second time around
Sharda revealed that she was in the FACTS 1 competition when she was just 12 years old and though she did not win it, she designed a Carib outfit that proved to be a stunner so she walked away with a prize. She was too young to be in the competition then but designer Michelle Cole-Rose bent the rules to accommodate her.
She said Michelle had spotted her at her mother’s office one day and urged her to enter unaware that she was still so young. She walked away from that experience with confidence and a greater passion for designing.
Sharda was in art class at school when she was handed an application form for FACTS 2 which she happily accepted. And even before filling out the form and sending it in, Sharda set out in search of cloth to sew a “killer” green gown for the competition.
“I was confident I would be in so I went looking for my material in advance,” she said with a laugh.
That ‘killer’ green dress turned out to be the hot gown she showcased at the finals and got good reviews.
She said designing has always been in her blood and recalled that she had her first real assignment when she was just six years old. Then she had helped design her dress for the mother and daughter pageant in 1999. She said the FACTS 2 competition was tremendous in that it allowed her to grow as a designer and also gave her an opportunity to put her designs out there. She initially had doubts about the reality part of the show but warmed up to it eventually.
Sharda said Michelle and her husband Trevor Rose are onto something really great and that they have opened so many doors for young designers.
Though she loves designing it will only be a part-time career for her since she intends to be an astrogeologist. She loves science and come September she will be pursuing subjects in the science stream at her school, The Bishops High.
She also hopes to write 15 subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examination, which is not far off for her. Sharda rationalizes that if she capably handled 15 subjects in Third Form then she certainly can continue all the way to the examinations.
Sharda named her mother Debbie Delph as her biggest motivator and dearest friend. She said her mother kept her confidence level up throughout the competition.
She asked to advise persons her age saying that if they only trust their parents and, “allow them to be their biggest motivators then everything will turn out right”.
(ianaseales@yahoo.com)