-will soon open showroom with ready-to-wear outfits

WHAT’S the worst thing that can possibly happen to you? Turning up at an event in the exact dress as someone else is most likely at the top of the list.

Esther Samuels-Cheong, a passionate Guyanese fashion designer, knows this all too well since she experienced this some years ago at a wedding. But as bad as that day was, it proved to be just the right stimulus for her to finally get up and pursue what she knew she really loved – sewing and designing.

The 29-year-old has watched and learned from her mom who is a seamstress and has been sewing and designing her own clothing since the age of 15. It was at age 21, though, that she began doing it professionally.

She equally loved being a hair stylist and would manage both her salon – Esther’s Royalty Looks – and sewing. When the salon business got to be very demanding, Esther sadly had to leave sewing behind, but not for very long.

“When that business had reached the mark, I decided to create a team to sew so that I would only need to do the designing. Until then, creating a solid team helped me to venture back into fashion,” she recently told the Buzz.

This smart move by Esther worked out well and she was able to launch Royalty Designs on July 10.

“The feedback from the Guyanese public has been amazing and our brand has grown over the past few months. I am elated that the Guyanese public would have seen the brand for what it is – royalty — and would have seen the quality of work, creativity, and talent that is within it,” she said.

Thanks to such appreciation, Royalty Designs was nominated for its first award which it won at the recently held Orange the Runway show.

“It was just a short time and people recognised the brand. It was an amazing feeling; very fulfilling to live my childhood dream,” she added.

Reflecting on how it all got started, she shared: “I was always a last-minute person and my mom told me that if I wanted a dress the day before an event, I needed to go on the machine and learn to sew.” So, she began by using the machine to alter her clothes.

“I used to take her fabric and cut them out and go on YouTube and learn. Or I used to get an old top, put it on the cloth and cut it out. I wasted so much of her fabric,” Esther laughed, “But it all turned out for the better because Royalty Designs is doing great.”

Seeing someone else in the same dress she was wearing was another thing that propelled her desire for fashion designing.

“When I was younger, I went to a wedding and purchased a dress from a popular store in town and myself and someone else had on the exact dress and I stood at the door the entire night because I don’t like butting up with people having on the same clothing and that pushed me to start sewing my own pieces.”

She continued: “I love to stand out; I hate fitting in. I don’t like trending clothing. With designing, you are able to create new and timeless pieces and that’s the biggest thing I love about designing.”

Esther is gearing up to open her public showroom at Enachu Street, Section K, Campbellville which she said would have ready-to-wear pieces. With limited options in fabric available in Guyana, Esther chooses to import most of her materials.

Further, the Vintage Fashion Show and Tea Party that she launched her business with, will be made an annual event to showcase her pieces. She is hoping that the government will continue to help designers with funding so that they can host more events.

“We can have our own Guyana Fashion Week and other countries can come and participate. That would boost our tourism. The government is playing a significant role in the fashion industry because Guyana is on the rise; everything in Guyana is developing and so is the fashion industry,” Esther noted.