Kavelle Anglin-Christie, Staff Reporter
Designer Yolanda Bennett. - JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
LIKE MANY fashion designers, Yolanda Bennett was inspired by a family member who dabbled in dressmaking.
Bennett, 27, says she got her basic skills from her mother. "I got to see how she used the machine and things like that," she said.
That was only the beginning, as in 1997 she left her home parish St. Elizabeth for Kingston and attended the University of Technology for two years, earning a certificate in Textile and Clothing: "From there, I decided to set up my own business," she said.
Bennett makes her journey sound easy, but when pressed she says that is far from the case. "This takes a lot of hard work. If your heart is not in it then it won't work. Some people get into it for the money, but no matter what, you do better work when your heart is into it," she says.
NOTABLE SHOWS
Since Bennett entered the business six years ago, her designs have been featured on many notable shows. These include Mecca of Style, Fashion Block, Faces of the Caribbean, Avante Garde and CVM Faces of Summer. Preparing for an event is a tremendous strain, and still Bennett finds time to cater to her clients.
"I mainly do to order ... I work from home, which is in the Molynes Road area. I get a lot of references from fabric stores like Pablo's, Pings and those kinds of places. I have a wide range of clientele - lawyers, managers and just about everybody. I have designs for people in the office, church and the party type kind of people," she says.
PLANS TO EXPAND
At present Bennett only designs for females, but says she is planning to expand in the near future. "It's basically sheer elegance. It's just clean cut and that sort of stuff," she described her designs.
The young designer says there is nothing she loves more than designing and she would never give up having her own clothing line.
"You get to run your own show. It can be very hectic, but at the same time you are very relaxed because you get to call the shots and do what you want, when you want."
"... It's also fun. Just being able to meet so many people at the fashion shows, both inside and out of the industry, can be fun. Another thing is that people get to see your stuff on the runway and you get to see the level of appreciation people have for it," she said.
But surely, there are disadvantages? "What, apart from it being extremely tiresome?" she laughed. "You have people breathing down your neck and you also have the dishonest customers ... I guess the disadvantages that I am dealing with now can be fixed and they are not things that I have no control over.
"My aim is to be known on the international market. Hopefully, through hard work and determination, I'll get there," Bennett said.
