Local fashion icon Sonia Noel has added makin’ style, a magazine, to her long list of accomplishments.
The magazine is Caribbean themed and the inaugural issue features Sonia on the cover and articles about the Barbados Music Awards, Sonia, former Miss Universe, Trinidadian Wendy Fitzwilliam, the Pegasus Hotel, Suriname’s new year celebration, fashion, makeup, domestic violence, Guyana’s tourism, local food and designers. It targets Guyana, the Caribbean and its Diaspora.
The 80-page glossy, which is being sold at $1,000 in Guyana will be printed quarterly by F&H Printing Establishment.
The magazine is available at the Community Pharmacy, Grove, East Bank Demerara; German’s Restaurant, Georgetown; Williams Supermarket, Bartica and other stores nationwide.
According to Sonia, who is the magazine’s publisher, the objective of makin’ style is to nourish people and have them know that our diversified life is important to our culture; she describes it as a never-ending fight that needs our support.
At an event to officially launch the product at Herdmanston Lodge last week, Sonia expressed that as a little girl growing up, selling pastries on the streets of Bartica, she would have never dreamt of this day.
“I believe in myself. I believe in God. When you have that love for anything, any challenges you face can be overcome; you can make it happen,” she said.
“I am very proud for your support and very proud to be a Caribbean girl [and] makin’ style is definitely going to be a brand around the region and touching our Diaspora far out around the world.”
MC for the evening, Negla Brandis, called Sonia a woman ahead of her time, who has made a name for herself around the Caribbean.
President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Clinton Urling described the magazine as a cost effective, smart way to showcase Guyana and the Caribbean at large.
He expressed that the Guyana fashion and textile industry represents an estimated $2 billion in sales, though unfortunately these figures mainly account for imports. He called on Sonia and others in the industry to join the GCCI and invest further in Guyana.
Creative Director and Editor of makin’ style Richard Young who is a well-known associate of Sonia’s said he believes Caribbean people are fashionable by nature and it is something that warrants celebration. It’s no longer ‘Be Fierce, Be Vogue’, it’s now ‘Be Caribbean,’ he said, adding, “That is being real… We need to be ourselves…” He noted that the magazine was not a crossover to European or United States expression but true Caribbean at its heart and if the magazine sticks to that purpose it will never die.
The evening was dually special for Sonia as she launched her First Resort Collection, featuring leisure, casual and beach wear.
Also in attendance were representatives of the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), Yog Mahadeo, Franchise holder of the Miss Guyana-Universe pageant and government official Odinga Lumumba, and representatives from the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that makin’ style will soon be launched in New York, Atlanta, French Guiana and around the Caribbean region.
