American Designer and Guyanese Officials Clash Over Fashion Show Proposal

The U.S.-based fashion designer Marrisa Wilson has alleged that Guyanese government officials used her intellectual property for an upcoming fashion festival without her consent.

In an interview Tuesday, she said she had recently requested to withdraw her proposal, and issued a cease-and-desist notice on April 7 to Guyanese government officials to stop using her name, photographs and related materials to promote next month’s “Origins: Guyana Fashion Festival.” A few days later the designer aired her grievance via Instagram.

Wilson told WWD that it was her understanding that the project was the centerpiece of a presidential reelection campaign (for Guyana’s president Irfaan Ali) and “they wanted to bring the fashion industry to Guyana.” While still discussing the prospect of participating in the event more than a month ago, the designer said she questioned “who the audience would be and what the event was for.” But interested in the prospect of educational opportunities, she said she tried to work something out and had submitted a proposal and brand material in good faith. But on April 7, she requested that her proposal be withdrawn, because “it seemed like it was all a big political stunt,” Wilson said.

After the designer posted the video on Instagram, the Guyanese minister of tourism and commerce, Oneidge Walrond, whom Wilson had shared her proposal with, disputed the designer’s claims. In a video post, Walrond said that after Wilson had submitted a comprehensive proposal, it was determined that some areas were already covered by Guyana designers. The minister said, “There was nothing original about that proposal. We see government’s role as to define industries and sectors that need support and help.”

Media requests to Guyana’s Ministry of Tourism seeking further comment were unreturned Tuesday.

Designed to celebrate Guyanese culture, “Origins: Guyana Fashion Festival” is scheduled to be held May 2-4. A media request to organizers was unreturned Tuesday.

Wilson said that she had first proposed staging her spring 2023 runway show to Guyana officials in the summer of 2022, but that did not pan out. A first-generation Guyanese American, Wilson was born and raised in New Jersey by her Guyanese parents. The family visited Guyana when Wilson was growing up. The spring 2023 show celebrated Guyanese culture and “this whole idea that you really don’t know where you’re going until you know where you come from,” Wilson said.

The designer said that she had drawn inspiration from her childhood memories of visiting Stabroek Market there, as well as the country’s origins, post-colonialism, the natural land and the pristine rainforest. She said she received an inquiry about a three-day cultural celebration in Guyana a few weeks ago that would include a 90-minute runway show and nightly themes of Kaeteur Falls, Stabroek Market and a grand fusion of the diaspora. “I don’t own those concepts, but the themes of those first two nights are pretty explicitly spoken about in my brief,” Wilson said, adding that the third night seems to borrow from another collection that highlighted Guyana’s heritage.

Now based in Venice, Calif., the designer has a studio that offers one-on-one appointments. At Marist University, she had a double minor in fashion merchandising and product development, studied abroad in Paris and completed internships at J. Mendel, Oscar de la Renta, Global Brands Group and at three other companies before graduating. After early career stops at Rag & Bone, Calvin Klein Jeans, DKNY and a tech start-up (as a concepts and trends director), Wilson started her own company in 2016. She declined to share annual sales.

Describing Guyana as “a developing country with not much of a fashion infrastructure,” Wilson said she remains committed to try to help local and international Guyanese talent, who are interested in trying to develop the local Guyanese community and industry. Not interested in taking any legal action, Wilson said, “The best solution here is to really understand the local talent, and to figure out how we can collectively come together and figure out something,” Wilson said.