‘Bring Back Our Culture’, Jason Shurland’s latest collection which debuted at the launch of Guyana Fashion Week last month at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, was well accepted and widely seen as one of the better lines.
In keeping with the name of his line, Jason went with mostly tie-dye.
“This is the first time I did a tie dyed collection,” he said, “and I wanted it to speak to young people; who we are as Guyanese; a people of beautiful colours, culture, different body shapes and skin tones. My collection speaks to every woman who wants to stand out but represent her country. Growing up I watched designer after designer create tie-dyed clothing but young people would not wear it. I decided to give birth to this lost style so that young people would want to wear it. The collection is vibrant, sexy and stylish but has a lot of meaning as I gave life to a lost culture.”
He also shared how nerve-wracking it was for him. “Being the fourth designer on stage my nerves were kicking in and I did not know how my collection would be received by the audience. I dressed every model to fit my collection and added Indian jewellery to bring [the theme to life]. The time came for my collection to hit the stage and as my first [model] went on; I was backstage and all I heard was loud applause. They didn’t just applaud for just the first piece but the entire collection. When I unleashed the final outfit; it was worn by a Miss Guyana World 2016 contestant Treasure James. She worked every bit of the garment. I then made my appearance on stage as the designer for the collection and to my amazement the crowd was happy to see such a stylish designer on stage in one of [his] own designs.”
Jason decided to greet the audience after the fashion show and he said many of them dubbed the collection to be the best they had seen for the night. According to Jason he was approached by another designer who also participated in the show and admitted that it was a very good collection but nothing made him more elated than when famous local designer Derek Moore said, ‘Best collection of the night Jason; I love it.’
“This was not only a night for me but for all other young designers who launched their lines as well Keisha Edwards, Sharon Gittens, Sidney Francisco and Marcie DeSantos among them. My journey continues as a designer making a bigger name for myself and marketing my brand as I create more exquisite designs,” Jason said.
Also among his models was former Miss Global International Guyana 2015 and Miss Guyana Jamzone 2013 Alicia Bess.
