From Barbados to the Business of Fashion

Meet Tamara Holder, Fashion Week Columbus Finale Show designer

Age: 24

Hometown: Bridgetown, Barbados

Background: My educational background is rooted in business. In fact, my bachelor's degree is in business with a concentration in international business, and I am currently in a local MBA program. I learned fashion from my mom, who owned her own custom clothing business in Barbados. I combined it with art techniques I learned during my secondary school education in Barbados.

Approach to fashion: My fashion is a mixture of personality and traditions made modern. When I'm designing, though, I am inspired by art techniques, natural patterns and cultural attire.

Style is … I have to agree with Rachel Zoe when she said that style is a way of saying whom you are without having to speak.

Most looking forward to … seeing the completed looks of my colleagues and showing the local fashion community my point of view.

My Fashion Week Columbus collection in five words or less: Unassuming, sexy, bold, unconventional

The celebrity I'd most like to dress: Solange Knowles

The Columbusite I'd most like to dress: Katrina Fontenot

The worst fashion faux pas: Too-tight clothing; showing off your body is great, but it should also be tasteful. Plus, a tight dress is not the ultimate definition of sexy.

I never leave home without … my phone, a scarf and a notebook for ideas.

My favorite local boutique: Royal Factory

My hope for Columbus fashion: I hope Columbus fashion becomes as diverse as that of New York, displaying all types of fashion from all corners of the globe.