Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine APRIL 2019 | Page 20

Alexis
Ryan
Fashion Designer & Poet
On the small island of Anguilla, colossal talent abound and
Alexis, a proud Anguillian, lays claim to some of that talent.
A poet, fashion designer and public servant, he wears many
hats, but regardless of his busy lifestyle, each segment is
conscientiously pursued and meticulously executed. He
takes immense pride in his work and it shows!
TheoChris Designs
Alexis of TheoChris Designs, Anguilla
shared with Mélange . . .
About his entry into the
world of fashion and poetry
and which came fi rst. My
entry into the world of Fashion
came by accident I was always
drawing portraits. Later it
evolved into drawing fi gures
in clothing. I believe I was
designing long before I knew
what I was doing. It wasn’t
however until I was 13 years
old, that I was introduced to
the world of pageantry via
watching it on TV. I believe
that chance encounter gave
birth to my love for designing.
My mother always sewed
as she had a love for it, and
one day she saw one of my
designs and she brought it
to life on a doll. I remember
feeling over whelmed to see
something I drew on paper
come alive. Poetry came
much later on. As an adult, I
found it was a tool to express
myself, and I, like most people
would write for themselves.
One day after watching the
movie Slam (a movie about
the art of Spoken Word), I was
intrigued by the art form of
spoken word and the persons
around me realized I also had
this gift of performing spoken
word. I began performing
for friends and family, and I
would challenge myself to
write a poem during church
on Sundays, and by the end
of the service would be able
to perform it while paying
attention to what the pastor
said. Today in Anguilla, I
perform at National events and
I am the current Malliouhana
Spoken Word Champion 2018.
About which of the two is
his main focus Fashion, as I
am always doing something
creative and seem to always
need a creative outlet. It is also
a good source of income. With
poetry, I have to be inspired to
write.
About who inspired him to
explore and express himself
through fashion designing
and poetry My family.
They have always nurtured,
motivated and supported me.
In particular my mom is the
other half of TheoChris. She is
my gift from God; she is the
one that makes my designs
come to life.