A YOUNG south London fashion designer who has won a host of industry plaudits has notched up another milestone.
After launching fashion design company DK Darling-ton Ltd (DKD) in July 2009, Kimalie Darlington caught the eye of the fashion world with two brands, Kimalie for women and Youngfox, a range of tee shirts, shirts and jackets which take inspiration from modern street fashion.
The former fashion student’s designs have won him major awards.
But now Darlington has created an education programme aimed at inspiring the next generation of young designers who face barriers entering the industry.
The ‘No Stumbling Blocks' (NSB) Education Programme delivers fashion education to schools, youth centres, young offenders’ institutions and prisons.
The programme includes modules such as An Introduction to the Fashion Industry and Basic Fashion Methods. The idea of NSB is to provide students with a structured approach to learning about the fashion industry, with set start and finish times for lessons and workshops, as well as providing access to high quality training.
Darlington told The Voice: “We want to achieve a number of things through NSB. However, the key objectives are to harness the ambitions of school leavers or youngsters who attend youth clubs and to direct students to think about a career path in fashion, to capture those individuals who have fallen outside of mainstream society and hopefully encourage them to think about a change of direction to help them achieve their future aspirations.”
He added “It’s important to give young people a sense of empowerment and control over their own destiny and allow them to have a sense of pride in their own creations and achievements. Hopefully the charity will provide the pathway for individuals to create their own fashion and to recognise their own achievements.”
Students who complete the programme will be provided with an advice service that will support them if they want to go into higher education or work in the industry. And promising designers will have their work featured on the NSB’s website and displayed for sale at its Spitalfields or Portobello Road Market stall.
The decision to create NSB was inspired by Darlington’s own experiences. The ambitious entrepreneur was diagnosed with dyslexia. He says his experience of living with the condition whilst trying to establish himself in the fashion industry helped him recognize how difficult some people find it to achieve their dreams.
OBSTACLE
“I dreamt of being a designer from a young age and it was always an ambition of mine,” he says.
“My main obstacle was converting that dream into reality due to my ability to read and write.
Many people would pass negative comments about my ability, would call me stupid and suggest that there is no hope for me. Nevertheless, I worked hard to silence the critics and look at where I am now - an award winning designer.”
But Darlington said that last summer’s riots which spread across England also inspired the decision to create the NSB programme.
He says: “Amongst the many things that influence young people in our society, one of them is the desire to be fashionable and follow fashion trends. The 2011 riots that swept the country demonstrated that young people, whether through peer pressure or media influence were prepared to commit a serious crime to wear the latest fashion trends. Not once during the riots did the media report on looting in a library or bookstore. The majority of trouble took place at fashionable establishments such as Next, Zara or Footlocker.”
He adds “As a business we have recognised that there is a gap in society for individuals who have either fallen through the government’s back to work programmes, education schemes or who have been released from a custodial sentences. We wanted NSB to inspire individuals in the community who are struggling to find a sense of identity or who don’t know what career to choose.”