-says LGBTQ+ fashion designer

By Cindy Parkinson
WHILE being a fashion designer in any part of the world comes with its fair share of challenges, one who is a member of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) community often times encounter more obstacles.

One such person is Nash Narine, who, before his success in the fashion world, had to jump many hurdles.
He and his sister were raised by a single-parent mother on a farm in Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice, with their grandparents and extended family.

As Nash progressed in school, his grandfather recognised that he was doing very well in his academics and “pushed” the idea of him becoming a lawyer and joining the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO).
After joining the group, Nash became the president of the Bush Lot PYO group.

Despite his newfound responsibilities with the youth group, his grandfather’s wish was always on his mind. He felt pressured and believed that his grandfather was using him to fulfill an ambition he failed to achieve.
Nash wanted to become a journalist and, unknowingly to his grandfather, he went ahead and applied online to study journalism in England. However, that was put on hold when he discovered his passion for fashion.

Nash comes from a family of seamstresses, including his mother, his aunt and now deceased grandmother. Having a keen eye and a love for fashion and unique designs were not surprising to him.
“I remembered seeing a lot of people wearing the same outfit, which I didn’t like, so I went home and made dresses for my sister’s dolls. I will take pieces of fabric that my mother wouldn’t use, put the doll on it and cut out the shape because I didn’t know how to cut free-handedly and I will sew it with the needle and thread by hand,” he told the BUZZ.

An emotional Nash explained how hard life was for his mother. Apart from being a seamstress, she also planted vegetables which he and his sister “walked down the road and sold.”
He said: “We did that before we went to school and when we came home from school. I was the only one in the extended family that was doing well in school and I was determined to do something to make my family proud and bring relief to our financial situation.”

With that in mind, Nash studied diligently and wrote seven Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects.
Though he did well, his grandmother knew he could have gotten better grades and she paid for him to rewrite Mathematics and English at a private institution.

He did get better grades at the second sitting and was asked by the principal of that school to teach the summer classes. He was then retained for an additional six months.
It seemed that all was going well in Nash’s life; he knew that that wasn’t his passion. By then, he had gotten better at stitching on the machine, but cutting was still a challenge for him.
His mother did the cutting for him and he started to sew his own clothing.

Wherever he went, he was noticed and complimented on his unique outfits, which made him happy.
One of his neighbours and her husband did trade from Barbados to Guyana, and after seeing some of Nash’s designs, decided to take him to the Caribbean Island with the intention of introducing him to other designers. Unfortunately, this did not go as planned.

After spending nine months in Barbados, Nash returned to Guyana feeling down and frustrated.
Some family friends came together and took him to the Bahamas to give him an opportunity to study fashion and to give him a “break” in life. He did not waste that opportunity.

When he returned to Guyana, he settled in Georgetown, and before long he had a clientele.
He had no choice but to learn to cut his own designs after his mother had surgery and was unable to help him.

“She told me that she wouldn’t be here always and you have to learn to do it. I went home that night and started to cut the designs on newspaper and today my mom and aunt will come and ask for my advice on cutting. I enjoy sewing gowns and cocktail dresses, bridesmaid dresses, wedding dresses…I can proudly say now that I can sew about 16 fishtail dresses in one day depending on the details,” he said.

“I can safely say that I am now happy and living out my dream as a fashion designer, but I also remember being ‘tired of running’ from myself, my family and society,” Nash added.

FEAR OF REJECTION
He told the Buzz that coming from an extended family that was strict, religious and had a narrow-minded perception of life, “I feared being judged and I struggled with expressing myself and my sexuality. As much as they didn’t say anything to me, I knew that being gay wasn’t accepted.”

He said that from a very young age, he had girlfriends, but felt that something was wrong with him.
“I didn’t have anyone to talk to, not even in Barbados, but when I went to the Bahamas, that is when I saw that it wasn’t anything that was wrong with me. I just felt different than some males and for the first time, I actually felt normal. I didn’t have to pretend, I just felt free, but on the other hand, I was also trying to fight the feeling because I knew my family and society wouldn’t accept me and that scared me,” he added.

The fashion designer finally built up the courage to have the conversation with his mother. She was not surprised by his revelation and she offered her support.
“As long as you are happy, that is all that matters,” Nash recalled his mother saying.

Nash is now confident and comfortable in his “own skin.”
Having faced all the challenges and turmoil in his life, nothing bothers him anymore.

“I may have gotten hurt and have faced a lot in life, but I got back up and I have learnt some very good lessons about life,” he said.
In conclusion, he said, “One advice that I will give to the young people of Guyana who want to become designers or anything else in life, is that nothing is impossible. As long as there is life, there is hope. When you set your mind on something, work hard towards it, you will achieve it and do not let the hardships of life keep you down. ”

Anyone who is interested in Nash’s designs can contact him on (592) 686-5400 or visit his store – Burning Desire Designs- at 113-115 Merriman’s Mall, directly across from Bonny’s Marketing Complex.
He can also be reached on his Facebook Pages, Burning Desire and Nash Desire, and on Instagram at @TheDesireWithADIP and @BurningDesireDesigns.