WHAT started as a teenager’s dream to launch a fashion line has become reality for Germany-based designer, Yolander James. After 10 years in the business of fashion with regular presentations in Hamburg, Germany, James is one of several young designers set to show her collection at the tenth renewal of Caribbean Fashionweek (CFW) in Kingston, Jamaica scheduled for June 8-14, 2010.

A native of Dominica, James looks to return to her roots to present a line she declares will be full of island creativity and charm with a blend of European quality and style.

The YolanderJ collection is feminine, elegant, and glamorous and will feature several tailored looks including pantsuits, separates and dresses, notes the designer. The importance of work and play will be central in the presentation. Work, James says, will highlight chic tailored pieces in blacks, rich reds and navy blues while play will pay homage to the glamour set with evening and cocktail dresses for the modern woman.

“My label aims to satisfy the needs of all women,” says the designer who will also showcase her latest work in plus-sized fashion.

James was raised in a family of seamstresses and hers is the quintessential fashion story of ‘shear’ talent and opportunity. She knew from a very early age that she wanted to continue the family tradition and pursue a career in fashion and design. After early formal studies in design in her hometown of Marigot, Yolander successfully opened and operated her own fashion design studio in the Dominican capital of Roseau. However, the designer was eager to expand her scope. “My fashion studio was doing very well in Dominica and I had a surplus of clients but I was interested in further studies so I decided to go to Europe in a bid to broaden my technical knowledge of fashion and the industry on a whole,” she said.

Upon completing her formal training in Hamburg, Yolander founded her own label and opened her boutique in that city.

Now a naturalised German, Yolander is still a true Caribbean queen at heart and wants to significantly contribute to the development of the fashion industry in Dominica. She has announced plans to launch the island’s first fashion design academy later this year. She has shown her line regularly in Hamburg as well as in Dominica and now comes home to the Caribbean to make her debut at CFW 2010. “I’m excited about coming to Jamaica to present my collection and extending my Caribbean connections further,” said James.

Caribbean Fashionweek showcases some 50 designers from over 20 countries each year including representatives from the French, English, Spanish and Dutch Caribbean, as well as Africa, Europe, North and South America, Central America and Asia. In addition to the surplus of stylists and celebrities expected at CFW, a benefit night will be added for the Haiti Art and Fashion Project, launched by the CFW Foundation to support the rehabilitation and further development of Haiti’s creative arts, fashion and business industries. One night of CFW 2010’s proceeds will go toward funding the project.