“I stand before you as a testimony that little small-town girls can have dreams and pursue them and make them a reality. I stand here beaming with pride, just as I felt when I presented on Caribbean fashion development, at the prestigious Ivy League Brown University, not only as passionate fashion practitioner but as a daughter of Guyanese soil and a true product of my nationality.” – Sonia Noel
When it came to Guyanese fashion, Sonia Noel stole the show at what was dubbed the ‘Grandeur’ Fashion event at the recently concluded Carifesta XI in Suriname.
Held at the Royal Torarica Hotel, Paramaribo, a lineup of fifteen hand-picked designers from
Suriname, Trinidad, St Lucia, Belize, Haiti and Guyana presented their designs to the cultural attachés, fashion cognoscenti, culture buffs and creative arts enthusiasts from around the region. The show presented the widest assortment of couture apparel from bedazzling accessories to bohemian bags, from architectural hats to avant-garde garments, from ethnic designers’ couture to exotic hand-painted textiles, but eyes were on Guyana as Noel brought it! Along with her collection, handbags by