Vanda Allicock-Calistro weaves Indigenous Fashion into our closets

By Ravena Gildharie

WHEN we think of ‘indigenous fashion’, it is habitually conceptualised as loin cloth for men and aprons for women made of either cotton, tibisiri fibre or beads. We would often see

this traditional wear only during Indigenous Heritage celebrations, and other cultural events. However, local designer Vanda Allicock-Calistro is on a style mission to create a line of indigenous-inspired yet modern clothing, affordable and ideal for everyday wear.

Originally of Surama, North Rupununi, Allicock-Calistro is the sixth offspring of Sydney Allicock, Guyana’s Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs. She is married, a mother of two children and currently resides in Georgetown. She made her ‘Designs by Vanda’ debut less than a year ago during Guyana Fashion Week in November 2016, under the guidance of Guyanese fashion icon, Sonia Noel. Since then, the indigenous-inspired designs have invoked great interest and are gaining much popularity across all cultures. Just two weeks into Indigenous Heritage Month 2017, and Allicock-Calistro has already sold out all of the pieces she created to market during this season.

“I didn’t have enough to meet demands,” she told the Pepperpot Magazine. Currently, she is working on a special design for all 10 contestants of the upcoming national Indigenous

Heritage Pageant. The fashion designer uses art and her creative ability to infuse her rich indigenous culture and beliefs into all of her creations.

She produces shirts for men, dresses, tops, pants and skirts for women as well as traditional indigenous costumes. Most of her creations are white and brown cotton fabric that boasts paintings or embroidery of various animals, objects, symbols and other characteristics that indigenous people can identify with including petroglyphs which are markings of ancient natives.

In between attending to her family’s needs, she spends time drafting on paper, various designs and fashion ideas. She engages her 24-year-old nephew, Nigel Butler, who is a skilled artist, to paint on the fabric and later utilises a local seamstress to bring her creations to reality.

“I believe there is a great need for Amerindian fashion,” she said, highlighting that “the Africans have theirs and so do the East Indians, so why shouldn’t we have our own too?”
According to Allicock-Calistro, Indigenous people are still associated with styles that their ancestors would have worn centuries ago but have since faded. To her, there is need for modernised clothing that can still depict indigenous culture, customs and traditions. Though she experimented with the use of beads, she realised that these were not suited for everyday wear and not preferred by customers.

Proud of her Indigenous identity and culture, Allicock-Calistro hails from a community and family recognised for promoting and maintaining native traditions. She hails from the prominent Surama Culture Group, which creatively represents Makushi heritage. Her husband is a band member of the famous local Calibro, created by Guyana’s first Indigenous calypsonian, Neville Calistro, better known as ‘Mighty Chief’. The two met in Annai when Calibro performed at a cultural event 11 years ago.

As a child, the designer spent her early years in Surama and only temporarily relocated to Georgetown during her teen years to attend secondary school. She subsequently returned to the Rupununi and taught for about one year at a local school in Fairview Village until she took a job as an assistant researcher at Iwokrama Wetlands Project. After working for three to four years, she got married and had her first child.

EXPERIMENT IN FASHION
While a housewife and stay-at-home mom, Allicock-Calistro started utilising her deceased sister’s sewing instruments.
“My older sister did sewing, embroidery and knitting and when she was alive she tried to teach me, but I never liked it and I wasn’t interested. But after she died, I took her needles and I started knitting. At first, I did pony holders,” the designer said.

Around the same time, her nephew, Nigel, wanted to enroll at the E.R. Burrowes School of Art, but he hadn’t enough funds. Allicock-Calistro came up with an idea to create a line of clothing featuring indigenous fabric-painting done by Nigel. Her first designs were men’s shirts with paintings of various birds found in the rainforest of Guyana and native symbols and lines.

With a chuckle, the designer said that her father was her first customer, and he purchased most of her designs. He then encouraged her to expand her endeavours based on people’s response when he wore the clothing. This led her to Guyana Fashion Week and stemming from the success there, the indigenous designer was subsequently selected as part of a group of fashion designers to showcase in Suriname. Again, her creations took the market by storm paving the way for the designer to improve and extend her creativity.

She produces about five to six pieces each week mainly based on orders from customers. Some of her buyers include non-Guyanese, as people from Antigua and Suriname have also taken a liking to her designs.
She currently operates out of her home and utilises exhibitions, fashion shows and other public events to market her pieces. She has showcased at the Women in Business Expo and several charity fashion shows.

“I believe that as an individual, you must be proud of who you are and then you can be able to find ways and means to showcase your culture. I think that many Amerindians today are ashamed of their identity and don’t want to embrace their culture. For me, I am proud of who I am and of my beliefs,” Allicock-Calistro emphasised.