Donna Ramsammy-James bids farewell to the big stage
FOR more than 18 years, renowned fashion designer Donna Ramsammy-James has wowed audiences with her rich, culturally infused designs that have hit the runway year after year at her annual fashion show. And now, as this fashion icon prepares to host her final runway showcase next Sunday at the Herdmanston Lodge, Queenstown, Ramsammy-James is certain that her audience will be blown away by ‘My Heart Beats in Africa’- a display of almost 150 pieces that will incorporate the “softness of Asia, the depth of Africa and the colour of the Caribbean”.

In an exclusive interview with the Pepperpot Magazine, Ramsammy-James hinted that this collection is quite unlike her others, in that it is the first showcase that was conceptualised around an exquisite collection of jewellery that she had accumulated during a recent trip to East Africa. “Even though I lived in East Africa for 14 years, it was a reawakening of my love for that continent and the beauty in nature and naturalness that they have and as a result. I bought in markets all over East Africa bits of authentic jewellery that’s all been made with love,” she said. Before she knew it, Ramsammy-James had accumulated quite the collection, and it immediately became her inspiration. “I looked at it and said, ‘well obviously this is my new line’ so the line is called ‘My Heart beats in Africa’ because it really does for several reasons – just the beauty of the place,” she said.

After returning to Guyana, the seasoned designer set out to sketching and planning her 2018 line to match perfectly with the authentic pieces of art that she had purchased. “I also invested heavily in a lot of handmade fabric which I brought back with me as well, so between the jewellery and the natural fabric I decided this was it and so I put the jewellery down and designed around the jewellery and that’s what you will see come Sunday, 29,” she said.

Added to her rich cultural flair, Ramsammy-James has been known to incorporate a vibrant soundtrack that matches perfectly with the tone of her designs. As such, this year will incorporate myriad genres of African music which she has managed to collect throughout her travels.
“We go from South Africa to Central Africa to East Africa and when I had all my music together it suddenly dawned on me that I haven’t touched North Africa and North Africa … so we put in a haunting piece from Morocco (North Africa). And now we are covering all four sections of the continent,” she said.

THE FINAL YEAR
But it is said that all good things must come to an end, and, touching on why she chose to have her final fashion showcase this year, Ramsammy-James said that a combination of factors influenced her decision. “It is because of four main reasons; one-the aging process. I’m not as young as I was 20 years ago and putting a collection together of this magnitude…is a lot of work,” she said. The designer added that the event is also quite expensive and is usually undertaken with just the help of family rather than sponsors. Other reasons that contributed to her decisions include her wish to spend more time in Europe with her grandson, as well as the fact that many of the Shape models, who have become like family, are now grown and fully employed which has made rehearsals- which are crucial for the models to learn this designer’s signature choreographed routines- increasingly difficult.

“So the combination of the four reasons makes it very, very difficult for me to do a collection because this takes months and months of work and months and months of designing,” she said. But loyal customers need not fear because this is not the end for Donna Ramsammy-James. It just means that she has scaled down, some. “I have decided, I will have collections every year but much, much smaller and less intense where I don’t need as many models.I don’t need to be doing choreography; I don’t need to be rehearsing for months before; I don’t need to be expending money on labour, paints and fabrics for 140 pieces. [Instead] I could do 30 pieces,” she said.

THE SHAPE JOURNEY
Upon reflection, Ramsammy-James admits that her journey to grow her line has been exciting, frustrating and emotional, but she has gotten some priceless memories to take with her.“Some of the highlights have been working with young people and seeing those young people develop into model citizens of Guyana. Some other highlights have been taking the show on the road. We’ve toured Barbados, Jamaica, Florida, London, Kenya, we have been to many, many places with this show and seeing people’s reactions and hearing ‘I didn’t know Guyana did anything of this standard’ was very fulfilling,” she said.

She admitted, though, that there have been some disappointing times, among which includes the animosity among local designers. “I haven’t been able to put designers together in Guyana. There is too much backbiting… It’s been a hope that the younger batch of designers in Guyana can get their act together,” she said. “There’s been too much backbiting and too much folly and too many things that are not pleasant. The creditability of some of the designers is questionable but I must say just in May this year I worked with three younger designers and it was a joy. It was great so I have great hope for the future of designing and designers in Guyana because we have a lot of talent.”

SHAPE FAMILY
Ramsammy-James says that while she will miss the shows, she will still be close to her models; all of whom have become part of what she calls the “Shape Family”. “We have a family of Shapers through the years of about 60 people, male and female and it’s so nice to see them. Some of the first group of people live in other countries now but they always stay in touch…they will always say: ‘Aunty Donna wherever we go people always think we are a cut above the rest’,” she said.

However, it is her ability to influence their lives positively that she is most grateful for. “I think mentoring is a very important part of why are born and why we’ve been given talent,” she said. She recalled being invited to a recent event hosted by the Bishop’s Old Student Association (Tri-State Chapter in New York)to do a presentation on etiquette and small business and recalled being able to provide young students with worthwhile advice.

“It was amazing, the spaces that they had and the things that kids were crying out for mentoring – the areas that we in our age growing up in the 50s and 60s in Guyana took for granted because there were things we learned at home and there were things we learned at school. Obviously there are big vacuums now that children do not know on basic things that any person should know about, so I think if each artist over 40 – whether music, dance, drama, fashion, culinary skills, should take two or three young people and mentor them and teach them all the things that have been lost along the way that we need as global young people, we will be representing Guyana in various areas and these are bits of information that we need to know,” she said.

As with previous years, part of the proceeds from next week’s fashion show will go toward a non-governmental organisation. This year,the Guyana Relief Council has been chosen to receive that donation.
As she prepares to close the curtains on her annual fashion show, Ramsammy-James describes it as a “hell of a journey” but admits that she has enjoyed every aspect of it- the ups and the downs.