WITH Emancipation Day quickly approaching, 23-year-old Deborah Kehinde is putting her passion for fashion to good use. The Nigeria-born designer, who has been living in Guyana for the past three-and-a half years while studying medicine at the Texila American University, is poised to launch her collection,

Odunuyo, on August 13.
The collection will be part of her existing line, Rhodadoxa, which was launched in 2014, and will feature a wide range of clothing designed with exquisite African prints handpicked from her homeland, Nigeria.
“The vision I have for my line is that I want to make sure that everyone — not just Africans or people of African descent, but other races — will also be able to have African print in their wardrobe,” Deborah said.
The line is suited to everyday wear, and will allow persons to move past just using the prints for formal occasions. “In Nigeria,” Deborah said, “African prints are worn everywhere; it is not just for special occasions.
“Also, there are people of all different races who wear it, and it is not seen as a problem.”
As a young girl back home in Nigeria, she said, she would use black garbage bags and make interesting pieces of attire by cutting them up and stitching them together.
“I was about seven years old,” she said. “When I would take it to school, my friends told me how much they liked it, but I never took sewing up, because I wanted to

be a doctor, so I pushed it aside.”
It was only later on in her travels to Europe, when she would visit retail stores and see the high-end designs that her interest peaked once again.
While here in Guyana, Deborah admits that she is aware that many persons request African prints to wear on special occasions, which spurred the inspiration for her new collection.
Moreover, as she will be choosing fabrics from Nigeria, she is sure that the pieces in her collection will be well received, as they will be different from those on the local market.
Though her collection will be launched mid-August, persons who wish to wear their stylish African print outfits in time for Emancipation can find her on Facebook as Dara Kehinde, or can contact her on 652-1833.