Best Gown hat-trick for designer Kimon Baptiste

Fashion Designer Kimon Baptiste is presently in a celebratory mood.

For three years in a row, dresses she designed have won the approval of the judges and the hearts of the audience, resulting in the ‘Best Evening Gown’ award in the Miss St Vincent and the Grenadines pageant.{{more}}

“Gosh, I feel… really, really, really good,” Baptiste told SEARCHLIGHT in an interview on Wednesday.

In 2010, Baptiste’s blue lace evening gown, worn by Anna Ellis, proved to be the best of the lot. In 2011, her stunning black and silver dress, “Legend of the Black Pearl”, worn by her sister Shemon Baptiste, also earned the judges’ nod.

This year was no different, as the talented young designer again proved that her designs are no match for her competitors. Her royal blue gown, “Poseidon – God of the Sea”, worn by Terranza Franklyn in last Saturday’s pageant, was again on top.

Baptiste explained that it is very difficult coming up with different design concepts each year, but so far, her creative thinking has paid off.

“To be able to meet people’s expectations another year, and I know that not everyone would embrace my thinking outside of the box, but I think the vast majority was satisfied that I came and I brought something new to the table.

“I think that’s what fashion is all about and I feel really blessed and honoured to have been able to do that three years in a row,” Baptiste said.

She explained that she has been intimately involved in the fashion industry for over 10 years, designing and sewing every piece of clothing neatly and flawlessly – from the fabric selection to the finished product.

Baptiste said her aim is always to design a dress that matches the contestant’s personality and Terranza’s case was no different.

Also Terranza’s chaperone for the Miss SVG 2012 pageant, Baptiste revealed that she had worked with the contestant as a model for the Image Modelling Agency before she entered the pageant.

“Initially Terranza said to me that she wanted something that would have been light and flowy, that she could play with as she walked on the stage. And I knew that she would have been able to pull anything off… so I decided to build from that,” the designer said.

Proud of her achievement, Kimon says she enjoys “working outside of the box”, which was the form of thinking that allowed her to create the winning gown.

“I don’t necessarily do traditional. I wanted something that would be different…

“I knew I wanted something that would embrace the past, the present and still be a little futuristic. So, that’s how I came up with the concept and incorporated a bit of what she (Terranza) wanted for herself on stage.”

Baptiste said her selection of colours is unusual, and over the years she has managed to captivate persons with her presentation.

“When I think outside the box, I think colours as well. Last year, I did black and not many people have been able to pull off a black gown on stage…

“This year I decided royal and did royal blue. We did have other ideas about colours, but when I started my fabric hunt, I saw that colour and I said, you know what, let’s stick to the royal blue,” she explained.

With regard to Terranza’s performance on the night of the show, Kimon said she was “quite satisfied” with the way the young lady portrayed the dress.

“When I heard that she won Best Evening Gown, I felt really, really good because I knew that the gown was different.

“I knew that not everyone would embrace it being that different and I was really happy when I heard she won that category and it was my third year winning Best Evening Gown, and I was even happier,” a smiling Baptiste said.

Satisfied with the overall effort by herself and Terranza, the designer noted that preparations for the show were hectic, but nevertheless they are content with the outcome.

“We worked really well together and I must say, she is a very good person to work with and she is a very positive girl and we made a good team.”

Baptiste began to develop her Fashion Designing and Dressmaking skills from the age of 13. Her debut into the world of fashion and runway shows came in December 1999, at the Fashion Caribbean show in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Also a former Miss SVG and graduate of the University of the West Indies, Baptiste has participated in numerous fashion shows, including the launch of the St Kitts Fashion Week, held at the Harlem School of Arts in New York in 2008, the Fashion Has No Borders fashion show, held in Toronto, Canada, Islands of the World Fashion Week, held in the Bahamas, and Miami Fashion Week.

Since receiving the award of Island Designer of St Vincent and the Grenadines at the 2008 Caribbean Fashion awards, she has been highly sought after for her glamorous, non-traditional evening gowns and fabulous ready-to-wear clothing.