Sacha Walters, Staff Reporter

Teen designer 'Didi' Beck (centre) is flanked by Nell Robinson (left) and Jaunel McKenzie at the Caribbean Fashion Week (CFW) show at the National Indoor Sports Centre, on June 15. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

A PERFECTLY dressed fashion bug bit Jeannie 'Didi' Beck early in life.

She retains that love for clothing at age 16. But unlike the average teenager, Beck's addiction to fashion inspired her not just to purchase the latest trends, but take a turn at designing.

"Sometimes, I get inspiration from movies, magazines, clothes on people I like, the vibe of the country, old towns. If I see something on somebody that I like, I might redesign it," said Beck.

Even the name 'Didi', she fashioned. Her parents tried to get her to say 'JiJi' as a shortening for Jeannie. "It didn't turn out that way," she said.

When it comes to her own outfits, if she can't buy it in a store, Beck designs it herself. All her creations are made by her dressmaker, Andrea.

This year, Beck made her second appearance at the Caribbean Fashion Week (CFW).

In this year's production, she showed three outfits alongside her mentor Jackie Cohen of Mutamba. She admits that studying for Caribbean Examination Council examinations (CXCs) hindered the number of outfits she was able to produce.

She does not see these achievements as unusual, nor does she look at designing as a job.

"Sometimes, I kinda realise that it is (unusual) when other people point it out to me," she said. "It's not like I've changed since the last time at Fashion Week. Everybody treats me the same. I'm just the same old Didi," she said.

And that same old Didi is also committed to doing well academically.

"I love to do good even if it's at something I hate. In the last year, I kinda became a bookworm, I didn't go out, except for special occasions," she said.

In the weeks leading up to CFW, Beck's anxiety mounted but on the night, it all disappeared.

Snag

"I changed my mind completely a week before the show about the look I wanted. So I was worried that I would hate my pieces," she said.

A snag almost left her without one outfit, just half an hour before the models were to hit the runway.

"I realised I'd left a big piece of one of my outfits. My mother and my cousin had to rush home to get it," she said. The show went on without any more glitches.

A graduate of Campion College, Beck will move on St Andrew School, a boarding institution in Florida, to further her studies.

At this stage, she's undecided whether fashion will be the only thing she does professionally, but it will definitely be part of her future.