Clothier Anna-Lisa Guthrie was lately honored with the Prime Minister’s Youth Award for Excellence in Arts and Tradition. The award is considered one of Jamaica’s highest recognitions for younger creatives.
Picture by Anna-Lisa Guthrie
Costume and manufacturing designer Anna-Lisa Guthrie does n0t observe traits; she transforms them. Higher often known as Annaixe, the self-taught artistic has gained consideration for setting up daring, sculptural clothes from unconventional supplies — together with her now-viral designs made totally from previous telephone books, rope, and paper towels.
“It wasn’t historically fairly,” Guthrie stated of the piece. “But it surely was daring. I really like that. Style doesn’t at all times must be lovely; generally it must make you are feeling one thing.”
For the Jamaican-born artistic, design is greater than cloth and thread; it’s an act of storytelling, expression, and experimentation. After years of client-based tasks and business work, she pivoted in 2023 towards creating one-of-a-kind items utilizing upcycled supplies and surprising textures — her purpose: to reignite her artistic spark and push the boundaries of what vogue will be. “I wanted to reconnect with designing for pleasure,” she stated. “I needed to make issues that problem me — that say one thing.”
Her work was lately honored with the Prime Minister’s Youth Award for Excellence in Arts and Tradition, considered one of Jamaica’s highest recognition for younger creatives.
From Ocho Rios to World Shoppers
Guthrie’s artistic journey started on the age of 8 in Ocho Rios, the place she was raised. At 16, she moved to Kingston to pursue a profession in vogue design. Although she later left college, she says this determination helped her take management of her future.
“I spotted this system didn’t align with my imaginative and prescient,” she stated. “I advised my mother I used to be going to determine it out by myself, and I did.”
Greater than a decade later, she’s constructed a various portfolio as a production designer, photographer, and creative director. Her resume consists of work with Caribbean superstars like Shenseea, Jada Kingdom, Tosh Alexander, and Vybz Kartel, in addition to main international manufacturers like Apple, Pepsi, and Adidas.
“I’ve principally labored behind the scenes in set and manufacturing design, however every now and then I get to do costumes, and that’s after I get to play,” she stated.
A New Period of Inventive Freedom
Guthrie’s current pivot into conceptual vogue design started organically, together with her nights out. “I began making outfits for myself from scratch, simply utilizing what I had,” she stated. “Then I believed: what if I pushed that additional?”
Her designs, usually wearable artwork constituted of discarded objects, rapidly caught consideration on-line. Movies showcasing her course of started gaining traction, bringing in new followers and company curiosity.
“The suggestions has been wild,” she stated. “Folks love seeing how far you’ll be able to take a imaginative and prescient with nearly nothing.”
Past the Runway
Along with her tasks, Guthrie continues to work with high-profile purchasers. She designs for Trinidad and Miami Carnivals and serves as set designer for an upcoming quick movie. “I’m at all times engaged on one thing,” she stated. “I need to keep constant, artistic, and evolving.”
She goals of working with experimental pop icons like Cardi B, Doja Cat, Beyoncé, and Girl Gaga, artists identified for treating vogue as an extension of efficiency and identification. “My work is conceptual. I need to collaborate with individuals who aren’t afraid to take dangers,” she stated.
A Future With out Limits
As for what’s subsequent, Guthrie resists the concept of strict five-year plans.
“I don’t restrict myself with timelines,” she stated. “I’ve limitless potential. Regardless of the alternative, I’ll be prepared.”
Whether or not dressing Caribbean royalty or turning telephone books into couture, Annaixe is not only making garments — she is making a press release: fashion has no guidelines.
