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Nashauna Lalah
Lifestyle Writer
A
T NINE years old,
Keneea Linton-George
was using the discarded
legs of her mother’s jeans pants to
fashion her own skirt. Today, she is a
renowned designer and the owner of
Keneea Linton Boutique.
Growing up, fashion designing was
not in the cards for Linton-George. She
told
Flair
: “I wanted to be an actress, a
bank manager or hotel manager –
never a designer.”
But fate had other plans. “While
studying philosophy at UWI
(University of the West Indies), I
was doing fashion on the side and
it picked up.”
Today, chic, sophisticated,
elegant designs distinguished
by soft, feminine silhouettes
are the trademark of Linton-
George’s pieces whose
designs are about 80 per
cent a reflection of who
she is. That is simply
because, “When I
started designing, I
designed mostly for
myself.”
Today, she has
achieved her
objective of
making
women who
wear her
designs feel,
classy,
powerful,
and sophisticated – full of confidence,
beautiful and elegant. As she puts it,
“elegance never goes out of style.”
FASHION A NECESSITY
While some persons consider fashion to
be superficial, Linton-George sees it as a
necessity. “Whether you are rich or poor,
when you wake up in the morning, you
are thinking about what you are going to
wear. It (fashion) says a lot about you
including your mood and aspirations.”
A reflective Linton-George stated,
“Now 13 years in the business, I have
grown and learnt a lot, and I still have a
lot of growing to do. And, I’m trying to
mentor more young designers.”
One young designer she has inspired is
Sheena Carby, winner of Season One of
Mission Catwalk
(Linton-George’s
televised fashion competition, similar to
Project Runway
).
Carby told
Flair
that for her, Linton-
George is more of a role model than a
mentor. “She brought out a side of me I
didn’t know I had. When I started, my
designs were purely dancehall and
‘costumey’. She helped me tone
that down and showed me
how to control my
versatility. She
is the one who taught me about fabric,
and how to choose quality fabrics.”
Today, Carby can count Lisa Hanna
and Ann-Marie Vaz among her loyal
customers.
Linton-George’s passion is inspiring the
next generation of designers. As she tells
it, she sees it as her duty because, “When
I started there wasn’t any guidance. I saw
a need to grow the industry to be vibrant
and you can impact people’s lives, and
they won’t be taking away your customer
base or business from you. Everyone has
their space and their own clientele.”
Linton-George is currently getting
ready to launch Season Six of
Mission
Catwalk
in September, after taking some
time off after the death of her husband,
CEO of Supreme Ventures Brian George.
“Life is so unpredictable. I’m spending
more time with my family, creating
memories and trying to enjoy life since
my husband passed.”
She is also making a documentary
about her husband’s life, and
establishing a scholarship for
boys through his
Foundation.
7
THE GLEANER’S FLAIR MAGAZINE • MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2018
D
istinguished
THE
Fashion
Keneea Linton-George
Sophistication personified
‘Elegance
never
goes out
of style.’
l
l
PHOTOS BY
RUDOLPH BROWN/
PHOTOGRAPHER