Making his fashion designing dreams a reality

By Gibron Rahim

FASHION is an art form. Those who pursue it need to be passionate and determined to fulfil their dreams of being among the best in the world. Guyana is fortunate to have numerous talented fashion designers. Our designers display dedication and perseverance, combined with hard work. Among them is Jason Shurland.

On entering Jason’s studio, it is not difficult to be struck by the attention to detail that has gone into its design. It is decorated in shades of gold, a colour he told the Pepperpot Magazine he is partial to. Designing his studio has been one of the highlights of his career, he said. He noted that he spent the entire first half of this year on the project. Most of the beadwork and fittings for his designs is done in his studio while garment construction is done elsewhere. “This is one of the greatest things I have achieved because I’ve wanted my own space for a very long time.”

Trained and certified as a chef, Jason has five years of experience working at the United States Embassy in Georgetown. Afterwards, he worked freelance for a full year. “And now I’m trying to get fully into fashion, putting my mind to it,” he explained. He acknowledged that balancing both careers had been hectic with him having to reserve his weekends for designing. Presently, “Fashion is full-time right now, for this period of time that I’m in.” The fact that fashion has currently taken centre stage in his life does not mean that Jason has no love for his work as a chef, however. “I just love both, I can’t pick or choose which one.”

Jason’s love for fashion and design was present even back in his high school days. He recalled cutting and fixing his clothes the way he wanted them. Those early days gave him experience which he is still building on. He related, “I feel as though I still need more building, and there’s always room for more marketing and stuff into the industry to get your name more out there.”

Guyana’s unique culture can inspire and influence the work of our fashion designers. One of the distinctive features of Guyana’s fashion is hand beading. “I think we’re kind of unique when it comes to that area,” said Jason. He pointed out that there are many others besides him who do hand beading. He often creates custom-made, one-of-a-kind gowns for his clients. “We go through the whole process of what you actually like, what you actually want, the fit of it,” he related. “I know my clients individually.” This allows the resulting pieces to meet his clients’ needs and requirements.

Limited fabric choices is one of the challenges facing fashion designers in Guyana. Hand beading plays a role in mitigating this issue. “In order for your work to actually stand out we look and turn to hand beading,” Jason explained, “to get our work to be unique, to have a certain flair [and] to have a certain style.” In addition, most of the time Jason brings in the fabrics from overseas, allowing him to create truly unique pieces. He noted too that, since more designers have been coming on the scene and are shopping for fabrics, local fabric sellers have presently started bringing in a wide variety of laces, as well as solid fabrics and floral prints.

Even though Jason’s pieces are designed to meet his clients’ specifications, he still ensures that his distinctive style shines through. “You have to have that good one-on-one relationship with your client,” he pointed out, ensuring that there is clear and open communication. He said that clients most often come to him with just ideas of what they want. He uses those ideas as a base from which he builds the resulting designs.

Another of the challenges of working in fashion is the level of competitiveness that sometimes exists. Jason noted that the competition can be taken too far sometimes. “It’s not a competition between anybody, everybody speaks for themselves with their work,” he stated emphatically. It is up to the client, he said, to decide which designer they want to work with to meet their needs. “It’s not about being the best,” said Jason. “It’s about growing, building [and] giving quality work that could reach an international standard.” That is the way Jason looks at the matter. “I’m always looking for things to make my work better.” He added, “I think there’s a whole lot of room for everyone.”

Jason believes that there is always room for improvement. There are always opportunities to improve the quality of one’s work and improve its standard, he said. Remaining stuck at one standard all the time implies that the work being done lacks passion. “I [design] because I really love fashion, I have loved fashion since in high school,” Jason said firmly.

He noted that people around him have seen his growth as a designer from when he started to where he is currently. His work has labels and tags, in addition to his distinctive style.

Fashion can for a certainty be used to make a statement. Indeed, one of Jason’s first pieces was a swimsuit made out of coins that he made for Jamzone years ago. “Sonia Noel has always been bringing fashion forward and bringing a cause with it,” he said. He recalled one Guyana Fashion Week where breast cancer awareness was a theme. “[Fashion] really speaks a lot about yourself and your type of style.” He noted that he personally loves to dress uniquely. “I don’t really like to wear clothing that everybody has,” he elaborated. “I’m very unique and very outstanding, I’m not afraid to wear colours.”

It is important to dream and to work toward those dreams. “If you don’t dream there will never be a reality,” said Jason. He pointed out that being a fashion designer was once just a vision he had in his mind. He recalled that his friend, Meleesa Payne, was the one who encouraged him to take part in Guyana Fashion Week back in 2010.

“From that whole vision that I had, with a dream in my mind, that I want to be a fashion designer look where I’m at right now.” No matter the nature of the dream, he said, “At the end of the day you have to take it and make it a reality for yourself.” He added, “Once you have that drive and the position to go after what you actually want then you could have anything you want after that.”