JW's resort wear

Designer Jade Wiltshire also hopes to be a doctor some day. The 19-year-old from San Fernando, who was recently accepted into Washington University of Medicine in Barbados, also aims to create stunning resort wear for the Caribbean aesthetic.

Newsday first met Wiltshire at the Rotary Club of St Augustine West's launch of its fundraiser Se’duction De La Mode (Fashion Seduction) at the Rooftop Restaurant, Eric Williams Medical Science Complex, Mt Hope in May. There she showed off her JW Collection designs titled Dream.

Wiltshire spent her teen years modelling, developed a love of fashion and started sketching her ideas. Eventually she got her hands on fabric and started to construct her designs.

"What inspired me really is that I love to dress and look nice. I have been modelling for years now. I’ve been around the fashion industry. I started designing clothes for me, and by demand, I actually decided to do this for people," she said.

Wiltshire does not sew her own clothing, but puts the concept together and gets sewing help.

"I sit down and draw everything. I have a sense of style. The basic stuff I will sit down and sew. I will sit down and draw it, but I don't sit down and sew everything," she said.

Last year, Wiltshire displayed her first collection at the eco-friendly and recyclable materials at Eco Fashion Weekend, where she was also a model.

Wiltshire attended San Fernando West Secondary where she was a prefect and sat on the student council. She also sang calypso and danced at school performances. She was active in the RBC Young Leaders' programme, peer mentorship and National History Quiz. She represented her school for three years at the Maths Olympiad. She is a mentor at the YMCA of TT and Society for Youth Empowerment (SYE) and a youth mentor for young women at the Victims Support Foundation.

She has also been involved in other fashion events such as Republic Bank Decibel at Queen's Hall, St Ann's, and Speak Out Sisters Emancipation Gala at the Creative Arts Centre, San Fernando.