By Jasmaine Payne
WHEN people experience Synesthesia, their bodies undergo a phenomenal reaction, whereby the stimulation of one of their senses, leads to the automatic, involuntary experience of another. It is estimated that ‘Synesthetes’ can achieve such feats as tasting colour, seeing scents or smelling sounds, and it is said that they make up four percent of the population, but local fashion designer Keisha Edwards intends to evoke the phenomenon of an all-inclusive Caribbean experience to everyone who encounters her newest line  from ShaSha Designs, Synesthesia.

Launched on June 17 at the Caribbean Style and Culture Awards and Fashion Showcase in Maryland, the collection comprises ready-to-wear resort pieces and is made up of a beautiful array of vibrant colours, delicate fabrics and artistic prints. The collection itself is quite unlike what you have come to expect from ShaSha Designs, which has, in its eight years of existence, become well known for its close-cut silhouettes and formal tone.

But much like the collection itself, this transition reveals just where Keisha is in her life at the moment. Currently studying for her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Fashion Design at the Caribbean Academy of Fashion in Trinidad and Tobago, which comes on the heels of her completion of a Certificate in Fabric Selection and Design Styles from Parsons School of Design, in New York, Keisha’s current work is testimony to the things she has since learned in her studies.

“When I think of the Caribbean,  there are so many colours that come to mind, so I wanted to visually give you a feel of the Caribbean through the colours and the silhouettes that I use in the collection,” Keisha told the Pepperpot Magazine in an interview. Her inspiration for the collection also came from a painting by Picasso, which she encountered during her Art History Class. And borrowing from his use of geometric shapes, Keisha used block prints of similar form on her clothing — another first for ShaSha. “So now you have me incorporating stuff that I would have learned from my colour design class and the different techniques I learnt in class on how to apply it,” she said.

But the transformation in her work can also be seen in her selection and use of fabrics — also learned in school. “Because of what I learned in textile identification about ethics, I used a lot of natural fabric… so I thought a lot about the fabrics I use, how harmful it would be; then also there wasn’t any exploitation of anyone in the process of creating this collection.  It is different. It is not something people are used to. It is very Caribbean, very cultural; it utilises a lot of light, natural fabrics, not too much of a tight silhouette; it is very flowy and feminine,” she said. But even though Synesthesia was new and different for her brand, it still remains uniquely ‘ShaSha’, and so, naturally, the collection has since been well received.

Going back to school

Despite her eight years of success, Keisha still saw it necessary to go back to school, as she believes that one’s ability to learn about one’s passion is infinite. In fact, this is Keisha’s second Degree, but given that it is teaching her about her craft, she is excited to see where it leads.

“Going to school has been an amazing journey for me because I’m learning so much. Before I left for school, everything that I knew about fashion designing would have been things that I taught myself or would have seen or researched. Now you are in an environment with the professionals, the people who are certified and they are teaching the expectations on an international level, so now I am learning so many different things,” she said.

She recalls that while completing a course at Parsons and later at the E.R. Burrowes School of Art, where she encountered a lecturer from the Caribbean Academy of Fashion, both helped to whet her appetite for furthering her studies in fashion, the need to go back to school full time stemmed from a simple conversation with her father,who asked her to provide details about fabric, and who reminded her that there is a science to everything. “Going to school has now helped me to understand that there is a science to fabric. Now I know that there are natural fabrics, synthetic fabrics and all these things go into a category of what is protein fibre; what is natural and all these different things and it has opened a whole new world for me and has made me look at fashion differently,” she said.

It is this wealth of knowledge which has, in turn, contributed to her craft that makes her encourage others to pursue education, or at the very least, some form of learning, regardless of where one is in his/her career.

“I think that if you are passionate about something, you would want to know everything about it. Technology is advancing, time is moving forward and in order to compete in any market, you must have knowledge and must find different ways of doing things. If you as a designer don’t seek knowledge or educate yourself about your field, then you will be left behind,” she said.  “I would definitely say you should seek as much knowledge as you can. Look to schooling as an option, it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can always learn something new.  There are people who are so knowledgeable, because of their experience, but whether or not you are going to school, just be a sponge, ask questions. If you see someone at a certain level and you want to get  there, ask them about what they did to get there, don’t always assume that persons won’t talk to you.  We all can improve, we all can be better.”

The future of ShaSha

Keisha won’t finish school for another three years, but the show must go on for ShaSha Designs. She assures that she will still be taking orders and that the critical element would be timing.

“I have a great marketing team and we have a plan on how to keep ShaSha Designs relevant… we have certain strategies to ensure there is visibility. I still have loyal clients. People are still talking about ShaSha Designs, so I think we are doing a good job in keeping the brand relevant in Guyana and via social media,” she said.

To aspiring designers and other artists, Keisha advises that they continually seek knowledge and believe in their dreams, even if the people closest to them believe that those dreams aren’t possible. She is personally grateful that she has been able to follow her own dreams, and now with the added opportunity to learn about her craft and improve her work, she is sure that this could only mean good things for the future of ShaSha Designs. “I am happy to have been in the business for so long and I still have clients from when I wasn’t even that great … but I have clients from since then that would have been loyal to the brand and they compliment me on my improvements and I myself can look at my work and see that I have come a far way,” she said.