THOUGH THE UNTIMELY death of Prime Minister David Thompson last weekend cast a shadow over this year’s Barbados Fashion Week, two of the new talents on show created quite a stir. Rotchelle Parris, 25, and 26-year-old Daisy-Lyn Ward’s line under the brand Pink Lemonade were so well received that today the pair are still in a state of elation.
“We are still on a bit of a high from the weekend and we are really glad it went well,” said Daisy-Lyn.
She said one of the most satisfying moments was when Jewel Shannon liked their designs.
“She is such an amazing designer,” she gushed. “And then Donna Hunte-Cox [chief executive officer of the National Cultural Foundation] liked our stuff; so we are very happy.”
But it wasn’t all plain sailing for the pair at the event. In fact, they nearly didn’t get out on the runway.
Rotchelle explained: “Daisy and I had packed our dresses, but when I got to the Concorde [Experience in Spencers in Christ Church] all I saw was my dress.
So freaking out a bit, I rushed back to Maxwell to get Daisy’s dress, all the while with her on the phone panicking “we’re No. 2, we’re No. 2!” referring to our runway position.
“I was in Kendal Hill but thankfully I managed to get back before the start of the show and we were ready to go on time.”
In a low tone, Daisy interrupted: “I wasn’t panicking; I was quietly freaking out. I even sang a song.”
The young ladies put on a strong showing with their first collection.
Their vibrant colours, asymmetrical lines and bold accessories were eye-catching and, best of all, wearable.
The couple got their big break when one of their outfits was spotted during the annual reggae festival by Miss Barbados World Leah Marville, and she requested an outfit.
“And that was the start of us making clothes for other people,” said Rotchelle. “We even had our dress worn by Leah for her Zing Magazine cover shoot.”
“We were so proud,” Daisy added.
As for their design philosophy, Rotchelle – a former SATURDAY SUN Girl Next Door – said: “We are freestyle designers. Sometimes what we think the dress will be isn’t how the dress ends up.”
Trial and error
“Sometimes it is a bit trial and error but as we go we change it up. We’re kinda like freestyle designers,” Daisy-Lyn added, continuing the thought.
The two women are clearly well matched and their conversations bounce from one to the other with the ease of twins. One will start a thought and the other will finish it. A symbiotic relationship reflected in their clothing.
“Sometimes Daisy will be working on something and I’ll jump in and tell her to stop because it looks great right there and she’ll do the same with me,” said Rotchelle.
The pair have big plans for their work. “We hope to get our stuff in a couple stores and show at different fashion weeks, but we don’t want to limit ourselves to the Caribbean. There are Caribbean designers who have done things outside the Caribbean and we want to be among that group,” said Daisy-Lyn.
So why the name Pink Lemonade?
“Pink Lemonade didn’t even exist until recently,” admitted Rotchelle.
“I just wanted something random and distinctive. We’d had another name but two weeks before the show I was thinking ‘Do I love this?’ Since I didn’t,
I came up with Pink Lemonade, and that I loved!”
Both women are confirmed fashion junkies, who met through social means about a year ago. That vague social connection became a solid friendship quickly and Daisy-Lyn recalled that it just seemed to make sense to go into business with Rotchelle. Now they are a successful duo. World, lookout!