New Generation Clothing switches things up

ONE hot sunny day while young Joel Waldron was preparing to do his laundry, he accidentally sprinkled some bleach on his favourite black t-shirt, thus damaging it, or so he thought. At the time, Joel was unemployed and, knowing that clothes did not come along easily, Joel took a moment to pause. Using his artistic discernment, the spoiled jersey now looked fashionable and Joel took the gamble of wearing it.

“I wore the jersey and a guy saw it and said that it looks good so I went home back and decided to try the same thing because I wasn’t working, but it didn’t come out exactly as the first one. So I tried it on another jersey and this time I did the design into the shape of a Batman and I wore it and a guy saw it and bought the jersey off of me. I had to go home back with my vest,” Joel said.

That was the start of the now popular ‘New Generation Clothing’ Line that has revolutionised the fashion industry in Linden and, by extension, Guyana. The line consists of custom-made clothing for the ‘new generation’. It is unique and has a local twist to it that cannot be found anywhere else. With the use of bleach, acid, fabric paint and vinyl, Joel creates unique designs on clothing for children, men and women, young and old. He also does customised clothing for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings or any special occasion.

Joel started advertising his talent via social media and as his clientele grew, so did his business. “I always wanted to get my own business, first persons use to bring their t-shirts to me and I would do the design, but now I provide everything, so now you just tell me what you want and I do the work,” the young and upcoming designer said.

Joel now operates his very own shop located in the Wismar Market where he custom designs not only clothing, but hats, bags, cups, plates and other items. “I am very proud of myself, I now have my own registered business. I had to spend a lot, first when I started I only used my hands, but I have invested in machines and other stuff to give my clients better quality,” he said.

It has been close to two years since ‘New Generation Clothing’ has emerged and since then, the line has already made it to a fashion show and can be seen being worn by local artistes and their dancers in their music videos. Joel even sponsored several artistes at this year’s Soca Monarch Competition in an effort to get his clothing line out there. He also revealed that 68 per cent of his customers are from Linden since he has an aggressive social media campaign.

In his employ contractually are 15 models and one permanent staff. Knowing that only a while back he was struggling to find a job and now he can employ persons is a great achievement in his eyes. In the next five years, Joel said, “I want New Generation Clothing to not only be a shop but a company; a brand that can be identified anywhere and will soon go international.”

The young designer is encouraging youths to take the baton of entrepreneurship as it is one of the main gateways to independence and financial stability. “Stop waiting for things to happen for you, get up and hit the road, be whomever you want to be, follow your dream and don’t settle for less,” he said.