Guyana’s tourism minister hails discipline and collaboration at Origins Fashion Festival
Susan Rodrigues said the Diamond Jubilee edition showed a structured fashion industry emerging, as 31 designers took part over three nights in Georgetown.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana. Guyana’s Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Susan Rodrigues, has praised participants in the Origins Fashion Festival 2026 for the discipline and collaboration shown across the industry.
“That is a structured fashion industry,” Rodrigues said at the launch on July 3. “It is emerging now before our very eyes as we celebrate our Diamond Jubilee under the theme A Diamond Legacy Fashioning 60 years.”
Speaking to Caribbean Life at the Railroad Courtyard event space in Georgetown, she said she was inspired by the stories of everyone involved, “from the designers to the supporting staff, the makeup artists, the models, stylists, the coaches.”
The orange economy
Rodrigues said President Irfaan Ali had consistently argued that the country’s ancestral heritage meets “the limitless potential of the Orange Economy.”
“Building industries from creativity, creating jobs from talent, and positioning Guyana as a competitive force in the global creative economy is our focus,” she said, adding that the president wants Origins to become a year-round platform rather than a single annual showcase.
The festival presented a $250,000 grant to support selected creators. The Best Fashion Designer received GUY$1mn, while the best emerging designer, best storyteller, best innovator, best female model and best male model each received GUY$500,000.
Rodrigues also presented First Lady Arya Ali and Mignon Bowen-Phillips, wife of Prime Minister Mark Phillips, with the 2026 Origins Guyana Fashion Festival glossy.
Diaspora on the runway
Thirty-one designers took part in runway shows over three nights. Brooklyn-based Guyanese designer Roger Gary presented a collection inspired by Holly Golightly, the character played by Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, tracing a journey to places he has visited or hopes to visit.
“As she tours, she implements her own fashion aesthetics into each outfit, highlighting and celebrating each city, country, and place,” the couturier said.
Other designers included Andrea Braithwaite, Cherisa Samuels, Amanda Brown, Derek Moore, Sharon Sobers-Christopher, Joshua Aaron, Isaiah Luther, Neilson Nurse and Mwanza Glenn.
