KARINA'S GOT STYLE
Edna Manley student aims high with clothing line
AFTER COPPING the top honour in a recent Jamaica Carnival costume competition, third-year student at the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts, Karina Francis, has her eyes set on taking her brand to the next level.
Named Rina Maria, Francis told Youthlink of her line, “It’s always minimalistic, it’s always chic and it’s always elegant.” She explained, “Rina Maria goes from streetwear. It goes to dinner, it goes to swimwear, sportswear – pretty much anywhere my mind tells me to go. I always make sure that it fits any body type; it’s always modern and contemporary.”
About her stint with Jamaica Carnival, the 21-year-old fashion design major outlined, “It started off as a final assignment for a class, which is Caribbean dress studies. Our lecturer, Gianna Fakhourie, realised that we were interested in carnival so she said our final project will be aimed towards carnival. It turned into her having a discussion with Julianne Lee (managing director of Jamaica Carnival ) and then a competition for Jamaica Carnival to create your own costume.”
She said, “I drew my sketch, explained my justification and then, out of nowhere, they said I won.”
According to Francis, winning was never the real intention. “The thing for me is, I wasn’t doing it for a win. I was just doing it because it made me
happy. Any way it would have gone, I would be fine, but then they said I won and now that it’s sunk in, I’m really excited about it.”
For first place, the young designer pocketed $30,000 in cash as well as received the opportunity to design a costume for a section in Jamaica Carnival 2018. She said where she is now is exactly where she was poised to be from an early age.
“It’s always minimalistic, it’s always chic and it’s always elegant.”