Five questions for Keneea Linton-George

• Mastermind behind Mission Catwalk tells all
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She burst onto the local fashion design scene some years ago with some fresh ideas and interesting takes on retro classic looks. Today, she is not only married to one of the island's leading corporate bosses, (Supreme Ventures Ltd's Brian George), but Keneea Linton-George has scored a big hit with the popular television reality show Mission Catwalk.

Now at the end of its first season, the show gives the island's aspiring fashion designers a chance to pit their skills against each other as they vie for some very attractive prizes, not to mention international exposure. Flair spoke to Mrs George about her journey.

To say you have a passion for fashion is an understatement. How old were you when you first discovered that this is where your career path would take you?

I've been interested in fashion designing and sewing since high school where I started sewing cheerleading costumes, dance-group costumes and ball gowns. I realised my career path could be in fashion in my first year at the University of the West Indies.

What gave you the idea for Mission Catwalk and what was the most challenging aspect of bringing it to fruition?

I developed the idea years ago during the reality show boom after seeing America's Next Top Model. I believed we could do a similar TV show here to promote fashion designers and was even more motivated to pursue the show after Project Runway proved it. With the numerous talented local designers hoping and praying to see the value of Project Runway coming to Jamaica and the realisation that with no fashion school and a dormant fashion industry, this was increasingly unlikely, we decided to make it happen. The most challenging aspect was identifying the corporate support to bring the show to fruition.

What is your most memorable moment of the series?

The most memorable moment of the series would equally be the upgrading of the fashion-design department at Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, which represented the beginning of change in the industry, as well as taking the designers to represent Jamaica at Miami International Fashion Week (MIFW). This was the first time Jamaica was being represented and the reception was overwhelming. The president and founder of MIFW flew to Jamaica to guest judge on an episode of the show and took the excitement back to Miami, where the Jamaican designers were treated like celebrities.

What has been the response from persons who want to participate in the future, and how do you plan to take the show forward?

The participants have expressed how beneficial the exposure has been, and we have seen increased fan base and customers. Looking forward, we are aiming at further promoting the new fashion design programme at Edna Manley College to our local seamstress and self-taught designers. We will dedicate the time immediately after the first season to help build the career of the winner through providing a proper foundation for success.

What about your personal fashion-design career, will you continue that or will you focus on promoting the industry and building it for the next generation of fashion designers?

My love for fashion goes deeper than just creating beautiful dresses and my desire to be part of a thriving industry has been driving my present ventures. I have a love for production, as well, and will attempt to do both fashion designing and television production. Being involved in television production has consumed a significant amount of my designing time over the last two years, however, now that this new show is off the ground, I will be putting more focus on my clothing line.

barbara.ellington@gleanerjm.com