By NY Carib Information
Clarendon-born designer Mikayla Salmon has turned a lifelong dream right into a outstanding actuality, securing a coveted collaboration with world fast-fashion powerhouse Shein—a breakthrough that has propelled her from a small-town inventive to a world designer.
What started as a ardour nurtured in highschool took a rare leap final November when Shein unexpectedly contacted Salmon to companion on a group. Initially, she was skeptical.
“At first, I believed it was a rip-off,” she laughed. “I mentioned to myself, ‘Shein simply texted my cellphone? That may’t be actual.’ I left the message on learn for about two hours till I actually heard a voice say, ‘Reply to the message.’”
When she lastly replied, Shein promptly despatched over a contract. The end result: her debut four-piece spring assortment, launched in April 2025, that includes trendy, trend-forward designs and a runaway best-seller.
A Star Assortment
Salmon’s Shein assortment blends her daring inventive imaginative and prescient with up to date trend sensibilities. It options:
- A playful pink romper
- A denim bubble mini costume
- A sundown ombré cut-out bodycon costume
- A standout two-piece orange skirt set
The 2-piece rapidly grew to become her best-selling merchandise, promoting out twice, with Shein getting ready to re-release the design in a brand new, top-secret shade.
To Salmon’s information, she is the second Jamaica-born designer to collaborate with Shein on this scale—an achievement that fills her with delight. The corporate gave her 5 months to design the gathering, throughout which she submitted 14 designs, of which 4 had been chosen.
“Shein dealt with every part else—the slicing, stitching, branding, advertising and marketing, and achievement,” she defined. “My solely accountability was to create and ship the unique sketches.”
From Clarendon to the World
Salmon’s journey is rooted in resilience and ambition. The 29-year-old part-time pharmacy technician first made waves when she received the Campari Pop Type competitors in 2018, and final 12 months, she showcased her designs in Cuba. Regardless of her rising worldwide profile, she nonetheless sews for shoppers attending native occasions like Chillin’ on the Farm and Teacup Sundays and customizes bridal put on, swimwear, and pageant robes.
The designer launched her model, Younger Dependancy, with a mission to create clothes for all physique sorts—particularly plus-size ladies.“It’s all the time been necessary for me to make folks really feel lovely, particularly ladies like me who battle to search out trendy garments that truly match,” Salmon mentioned.
Her inventive vitality is closely influenced by Jamaica’s golden period of the Nineties, when daring colours, daring silhouettes, and fearless self-expression dominated native trend.
“Lots of people had their very own distinctive fashion then, and the world was trying to Jamaica for trend cues,” she mirrored.
Overcoming Self-Doubt
Regardless of her apparent expertise, Salmon admitted that self-doubt was her greatest hurdle.
“I second-guessed myself loads,” she mentioned. “I stored questioning, will folks like my designs? Will Jamaicans assist me? I needed to showcase one thing daring however wasn’t positive how it could be obtained.”
Her persistence finally paid off. Salmon had beforehand entered two Shein competitions and utilized 3 times to the Shein X designer program with out success. She believes her repeated purposes stored her on the corporate’s radar and finally led to her choice.
Though the Shein collaboration was met with pleasure on TikTok and different social media platforms, Salmon famous that many Jamaicans nonetheless don’t notice she’s the designer behind the gathering.
“I wasn’t anticipating the overwhelming response I received once I posted the video,” she mentioned. “Individuals I didn’t even know had been messaging me, saying they had been happy with me and that it’s an excellent search for Jamaica. I feel it is a actually constructive push for native trend on the worldwide stage.”
Championing Native Trend and Eyeing Lagos
Salmon continues to advocate for development inside Jamaica’s trend business however is clear-eyed about its challenges.
“It’s arduous to entry high quality materials in Jamaica. All of us find yourself utilizing the identical supplies, which limits creativity,” she defined. “And delivery prices for worldwide clients are simply too excessive. That basically wants to vary.”
She believes that revitalizing former industrial areas just like the Garmex Free Zone may reignite Jamaica’s export potential and rework the native trend financial system.
“We used to export clothes. We are able to do it once more,” she mentioned passionately. “Designers like me are doing every part—designing, stitching, branding. What we want now could be infrastructure for manufacturing.”
Trying forward, Younger Dependancy will quickly develop into menswear, with Salmon hinting at versatile items Jamaican males can put on to church, brunch, or a celebration. She’s additionally growing a customized ackee print, a nod to nationwide delight, which can characteristic in her entry for the Jamaica Cultural Growth Fee’s Trend and Visible Arts competitors.
Whereas she has but to work with native celebrities, she goals of styling Spice, Masicka, and Vybz Kartel.
“For now, I all the time say all my clients are celebrities,” she added with a smile.
Daring Goals and World Imaginative and prescient
“Trend is my life—I stay, eat, and breathe it. There’s nothing else I’d reasonably do,” Salmon declared.
She envisions extra worldwide collaborations, extra best-sellers, and above all, a trend world the place folks like her—‘the fats nation lady’—really feel lovely, seen, and celebrated.
Her final worldwide ambition? Lagos, Nigeria.
“If I weren’t doing this in Jamaica, I’d need to be in Lagos,” she mentioned. “The style business there’s booming—the materials, the tradition, the creativity—it’s like a dream.”
However for now, Mikayla Salmon is content material making her mark proper the place she began—proving that even a rustic lady from Clarendon can set world developments.
