Born in Birmingham United Kingdom, Rose Perkins is a fashion designer and the winner of Diva Designer a the just concluded Divas of Colour event. She is the owner of FashionSistas, and describes it as a “clothing brand for Strong women and men who are not afraid to go against the norm.”
Perkins, who is of Jamaican heritage says her designer Icon is Alexander McQueen. On how she became a designer, she said: “In 2012 I was made redundant and decided to enrol on a sewing course in March 2014. I had been managing an online shop buying and selling prior to that with much success but I felt the urge to take it one step further and invest in myself to learn a new skill. This gave me the opportunity to express my creativity into designing unique edgy clothing.“
On her design inspiration, she says she design “by sight not by sketching”. She says she loves reading magazines, visiting material shops, and creates something everyday through her imaginations.
“Fashion to me is a passion and an expression, where a person can differentiate themselves
and create a style that is comfortable, empowers them and shows their individuality,” she said.
On winning the Diva Designer from Divas of Colour, she said: “I won! This is my first ever fashion award. I am so overwhelmed. When the divas of colours diverse models of all shapes and sizes strutted their stuff on the catwalk it was heartfelt. I couldn’t contain myself backstage I was welling up because they were all so different but unique on the catwalk. They acted in the character of the clothing they wore. I am so grateful for this award as I have had a long journey full of adversities to get to this achievement.”
Happy and proud about receiving the award, she says it’ll help the community take her collection seriously as she’s not a fashion graduate. “ This will be the start of something great,” she said about the award.
“ In the past 6 months I have had some amazing opportunities in the Midlands Awards and with House of Ikons in Dubai and L.A. I am hoping to return there to showcase again. I have styled for musical artists at Brazil Carnival 2014, MOBO awards Lady Leshurr, Miss Brazil UK Paula Souza our Brand Ambassador, Miss Birmingham pageant, upcoming opportunities include Miss England contenders and Miss Nigeria U.K, pending collaborations are in the pipeline too,” she said about the opportunities coming her way.
Talking about how the L.A. show gave her the opportunity to meet influential people, she said: “ it was amazing I met a lot of influential people there including famous international designers, movie stars, musical artists. It was such a red carpet experience with House of Ikons in conjunction with forthestars who dress the likes of Rihanna, Nicki Minaj.”
On her advice for aspiring designers she said: “Do what you enjoy, learn as much as you can whether on a sewing course or via a degree and believe in yourself because believe me you can make things happen if you really want it enough.”
