IT’S hard to imagine running a full-blown fashion line on your own, much less when you’re just 23 years old. But young Guyanese continue to push the envelope and prove that they are capable of achieving great things, and Naomi Murray is high on this list.

Known by many as the “Prom Dress Queen” due to her signature designs dominating the local prom scene for the past two years, Naomi’s fashion line spans a much broader scope, and includes hair accessories, custom made bags, ready-to-wear clothing and formal wear for pageants, prom and other events.
But most impressive of all, every item within N. Murray Designs, as she calls it, is designed by, and hand made by Naomi herself.
Naomi started designing while in Sixth Form at Queen’s College. Though studying Natural Science and well on her way to preparing to begin a medical career, Naomi’s creative abilities continued to call to her. “I knew I was good at both things, so I decided to venture into fashion, because it was something that came naturally to me, so I worked toward developing my vision,” Naomi said.
So she started designing hair accessories, and later ventured into designing handbags and backpacks. Not long after, however, she added clothing to her portfolio, and the rest is history.

Apart from pageantry and prom, N. Murray Designs has been showcased at some fashion shows, including Suriname Fashion Week in 2015. But her business has grown so much, that she is now seeking to increase her visibility while working to establish an official location for her work.
“I currently work at home, and my marketing is strictly social media-based, but the main goal for my business this year is to participate in more pageants and fashion shows, and to find a central location to display my work,” she said.
But for someone who works on their own, from home, depending solely on social media, Naomi isn’t doing too badly. This year alone, she has already participated in the Miss Region Three Culture Pageant, designing gowns including the gown of the winning delegate, as well as the Miss St Joseph Pageant.
Moreover, with “Prom Season” quickly approaching, Naomi says that she already has 43 clients in line, while also working on dresses for delegates in this year’s Miss World Guyana, Miss Renaissance, and Miss Emancipation Pageants, so if you were thinking about booking her for an outfit for your event, the time to do so is now, since this is a lot of work for just one person to do.
Naomi says that even in a saturated marketplace, she is glad to see so many designers emerging, as there is more than enough room for all creative talents.

“A lot of persons see it as being competitive, but I don’t. The way I see it is that you can’t limit the number of persons in a certain profession, so I think everyone has to do things their way to create their brand and stand out in their own way,” she said.
“And if you can do that, people will notice your uniqueness wherever you are, and you will develop loyalty. And once that is done, you will always be able to stand out.” she added.
Beyond her many bookings, Naomi will also be part of the contingent representing Guyana at this year’s CARIFESTA in Barbados in August.