IT IS THAT time of year for office parties, social events, and the annual Christmas-morning-in-the-park outing or December 25. Many seamstresses will be busy making that special outfit for clients to look their best.
Krystal Byer, a fashion designer who studied the art at the Barbados Community College (BCC), is busy sketching and sewing pieces for events as far away as Old Year’s Night.
The 28-year-old has pushed herself beyond her limit and now she is living her dream. She always had a passion for art and from as early as she can remember she was sketching and creating little outfits for her dolls. And although she wanted to be a medical nurse, her passion for fashion exceeded all expectations.
Family members gave her the support and encouragement she needed to accomplish her goals and it was their confidence in her talent that has allowed her to reach this point in life. And though the road to attain her objective was full of potholes and huge speed bumps she had to pull deep and find determination to keep pressing on even when the going got tougher.
After completing the beginners and advance garment-making course at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP) last year, Krystal decided to pursue fashion design at the Barbados Community College.
“My confidence grew when I left SJPP and I felt I was capable of doing more,” she said.
“Seamstresses usually make uniforms, work clothes and alterations, but that was not fun enough for me. I wanted to create my own designs and after a while it became difficult to just do a normal straight stitch. I wanted to come out of this comfort zone and challenge myself because the artist in me was asking for more.”
Krystal was very excited when she was accepted into the BCC programme, but she did not know that she would get exactly what she wanted and more.
“BCC was rough,” she said, laughing.
“I’m not discouraging anybody from doing the course but if you’re not physically and mentally strong the course would break you. You have to be very disciplined and have proper time management when it comes to staying focused or you would not be able to finish the course. You have to commit and tell yourself that this is something you really want and love what you have to do.
“Many nights my mother helped me with my assignments. She grew up learning how to sew so she had an idea of what was going on. She would help me colour my sketches when I had a big project to complete and although she is from the old school she still held her weight when she was helping me. She would also keep my company and stay up with me early on mornings making sure I finished my work; so Mummy was always there when I needed her most.”
Everything was going okay for Krystal, but when it came time for the final project dark skies loomed.
“We had to start preparing for the final project in the second semester. We had to draw 90 sketches based on three themes and the tutors selected ten sketches from each theme. Next we had to come up with a colour scheme and choose fabrics.
“You had to select one of the themes for your portfolio and I chose to go with my black and white theme entitled Unity Blooms. My idea was about eliminating racism and letting unity develop, so I pulled ideas from springtime and designers that I look up to and I was ready to do the toile, a mock exam for all ten garments. We had to pull our pockets and buy fabric similar to that we planned on using, and meeting some of the deadlines was extremely challenging but I managed to pull through even when I was behind time.”
As the day for the fashion show drew near Krystal’s excitement was interrupted by grief when she received news of her brother’s passing.
“When my oldest brother died that knocked me off my game; it wasn’t easy. I stopped working for a week but I told myself I didn’t come this far to fail the course and I knew my big brother would have wanted me to continue so I had to shake it off and I went back at the work.
“A short while after that my close cousin died and I was sad again but I had to press through. I decided that I would do the show in honour of both of them and that was how I was able to get back in a working spirit. I felt that my determination was at its peak and nothing could have stopped me from passing with the highest mark. Plus my tutors Mrs Daniel, Mrs Ward and Mrs Scott-Bynoe helped tremendously.”
On the night of the student’s fashion show she was overwhelmed with tears of joy.
“My whole family came out to support me; they are my biggest fans . . . . People I did not know came up to me and said that my work impacted them. I felt extremely happy to hear complete strangers telling me how international my work looked. People to this day still stop me in town and ask me if I was the girl that did the black and white collection.
“My collection was dedicated to two precious people I spent valuable time with, who taught me how to be the woman I am today. And although they were not physically there to see what I did in their names, I felt their spirits before the models went down the runway and when I gave a little speech about the collection and what it means to me.
“That night was really emotional for me and some of my tutors told me I made them cry.”
The feelings Krystal experienced that night made her strive to be more ambitious, and in no time she became an entrepreneur. She is the proud owner of K Charlette, a home-based fashion company which she does ready-to-wear fashion or haute couture. She works from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. on weekdays.
Although she creates glamorous clothes for her customers Krystal’s personal style is simple.
“There is beauty in simplicity,” said the native of St Philip. Although she is not a fan of competitions she entered the Forever I Do design challenge and came second.
“That was a fun experience. They gave us two hours to create a garment with no machine. We had to hand sew the material and the only other tool we had was a scissors.”
She also helps create costumes for bands in the St Philip Carnival, and in 2007 she had the oppotunity to work with New Horizon Model Agency to design bathing suits for Miss Barbados and Miss Tropical in Guyana.
When she is not busy sewing, she is taking a nap to recharge.
“I consider sleeping to be a hobby,” she said laughing.
“But other than that I love watching television and relaxing, or chilling with friends.”