Kevanna looks to dazzle as a fashion stylist

Kevanna Ricketts believes that she brings a unique flavour to style and fashion. The 22-year-old Montego Bay, St James resident said she has always had a love for fashion.

"Unprofessionally, my entire life I have been into clothes," the past student of Irwin High School said. "Whether to cut, stitch, or to add, I just love clothes. I do not design the outfits but I bring a different flavour of style when dressing people."

But while her love for fashion has always been constant, Ricketts initially saw herself strutting down the runway rather than being in the business of helping people to dress up. Her dream was to be a model.

"Modelling was definitely a struggle for me at a very early stage in my life. I was rejected many times because I am very short and small, so that dampened my dreams. It was just the passion that kept me going," the petite Ricketts, who stands at 5' 2", told THE WEEKEND STAR.

"I entered quite a few pageants but didn't make it far. It really broke me, and rejection can never be easy. I decided to take my 'L' and turn it into a 'W'. This pushed me to work even harder to pursue being a fashion stylist," she added.

With family and friends as her biggest cheerleaders, Ricketts has embraced her passion for fashion, turning it into a business while turning heads at the same time.

"Since doing the fashion stylist more professionally, I have been getting calls to be an ambassador for online stores and clothing lines," she shared.

"If someone wants to do a photoshoot, birthday or event, you can trust me to come up with a look. It is something outside of your normal look but it still expresses something that fits your personality," Ricketts said.

With COVID-19 having caused a shutdown of large gatherings such as parties and events, Ricketts has been using the time to sharpen her skills.

"I like to L's and turn them into W's so I have been at home a lot working on my craft more. I have been thinking and going to the drawing board more to build my craft. COVID has allowed me to actually find myself and made me realise how much I really want to pursue this career," she said.

Even with the shutdown, Ricketts said that fashion is still trending.

"The pandemic has allowed people to create content on their social media platforms. Even if they cannot go out physically to show their fashion and style, they will still take photoshoots and dress up just to feel good," she said.

The young fashion stylist has high hopes of tapping into the international market, as well as locally.

"I am a limitless person. I would love to go overseas and style artistes and supermodels. I just want to grow and be exposed to the world," Ricketts said.