'The hard graft can sometimes leave a sting in your tail and it is easy to give up, but if you have a genuine love for what you do you will keep going.'
With Fashion week having made its rounds showcasing some of the best well known household
brands in design, it got us thinking about what it takes to see ones designs
take shape and grace the catwalk or to even be recognized as a competitor in
the world of fashion.
A young lady springs to mind…she goes by the name of Kel
Ramajong. Now on her gap year, Kel stands out as an exciting emerging designer
and has already paved the way for her Label ‘Iconicity’ to become every woman’s
desire... All this before she’s off to university. She created her first
collection for SS2013 called ‘Colour and Light’ which was inspired by her love
of Marvel comic Heroines.
Iconicity exudes femininity,
with bold African prints against delicate chiffon to floor sweeping dresses and
nipped in waists. The collection is designed to make women feel beautiful and
noticed for all the right reasons. Think about a statement pieces that could
carry you from head turner during the day, to an elegant beauty oozing confidence at night. One thing is for certain, Iconicity will be in
every fashionistas wardrobe and in everyone’s hearts.
What did it take to get your designs on a
catwalk?
It is a struggle to get
your designs on any catwalk when you start out. There were tonnes of tears,
sleepless nights, failed creations etc but the things I always had were my
vision, support from my fashion family and my plan. I finally got my first opportunity by
badgering the Borough of Hounslow who let me put up a fashion show during the
Multi- Cultural Day in Oct 2011. It was such a delight to see the appreciation.
I got some interest from that and hence started my career as a fashion
designer.
How have you gone
from being interested in designing to having a commercial and your own collection?
The commercials,
photography etc have all been low budget with help from my friends and family.
I have formed my own little community of fashion love and I love them terribly.
They always give off their time so willingly to make my dreams a reality. The
quality of the effort they put into each job we have to do is second to none
and they are all irreplaceable.
Tell me a bit about your background
I have always been
fascinated with clothes and had started creating my own clothes when I was
fourteen. This led me to adding fashion and design into my choices for my
A-levels in combination with Fine Art and Photography.
I have an incredible
team alongside me that helped me set up my First collection ( SS2013 Colour and
Light) and to them I am eternally grateful. They spread the word about
Iconicity so far and wide and their belief in me and the product is astounding.
The connections we made are from networking:
attending events, TV Shows, contacting magazine and e-zines and most
especially websites like Be on the scene that support emerging talent.
Working within your
community is also a great place to start. By supporting community and charity
projects you begin to integrate your business into the community and are able
to gain more support and interest in your designs.
What advice you would give aspiring designers?
The advice I can give
is to have a love for what you do first. The hard graft can sometimes leave a
sting in your tail and it is easy to give up, but if you have a genuine love
for what you do you will keep going.
The second thing is to
have a vision: Identify your product, target audience and how to reach them. This
leads me on to our motto – You are only as good as your research. Make sure you
are good at it or find someone that is good at it. It makes a difference. You
need to know what’s going on and what the movers and shakers within the
industry are…
last is finances: The
business should pay for itself. Spend money on developing the quality of your
product. The rest comes with time. Spend your money wisely on promotion,
marketing and advertising when you start out – find partners that are willing
to work with you to achieve your dream with low budgets till the business
starts pay.
To View the full Iconicity collection and website links visit Kel Ramajongs profile at www.beonthescene.com/members/kel_ramajong.php
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