News
Life’s a Bēchë for TCI’s Cyprianna Jackson
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, August 22, 2022 – Over a decade ago, Cyprianna Jackson left the Turks and Caicos Islands to study pre-medicine and ended up with a Master’s degree in Epidemiology. Today she is making her mark in the fashion industry, having launched a scintillating beachwear line: Bēchë.
The tropical designs do a remarkable job of fusing whimsy and sophistication for attire which has captured the attention of iconic fashion magazines, including British Vogue.
Hers is an interesting journey and in a one on one with Magnetic Media, Jackson explained to how one goes from an aspiring doctor to an epidemiologist to internationally acclaimed fashion designer; the journey may surprise you.
“Honestly I don’t have any background in fashion apart from being a consumer.”
Jackson, who is a stunningly beautiful woman herself, is clearly a lover of all things gorgeous; she explained, She had never aspired to become a fashion designer but always had a love for beautiful bikinis and with the advent of Instagram in her college years in Florida the love grew.
“That is truly all of my experience in fashion. I can’t even say I have any family members involved in fashion.” She said.
But once Ms. Jackson came home to the Turks and Caicos from college, her supply of bathing suits became basically non-existent.
“So I’m going around and I see that there is no swimwear stores and the hotel boutiques that did sell swimwear were from these really expensive brands all over the world even Australia and the US— there was nothing that I think complimented the Turks and Caicos. There was nothing that was inspired by or even resembles who we are, the colors, the culture of who we are and the people,” she shared.
Realizing that the Turks and Caicos culture was not on display for the locals or visitors Jackson set out to change that and to show the soul of the Turks and Caicos through swimwear. That inspired her to create Bēchë which she was determined would not just be cute clothing.
“It’s not just swimwear but also storytelling of the TCI and our culture through each of the collections so that we are like a walking history lesson.”
And Jackson has managed to do just that, in the five years since Bēchë launched the brand has released three
“Physical inspiration is definitely how aesthetically pleasing my country is with our native flowers, beaches, and trees but I think apart from the things we can see physically I do, do some deep diving.” She explained,
That ‘deep diving’ includes inspiration from the undersea reefs and coming soon, the Turks and Caicos’ history as a salt producing nation.
All three collections are filled with pieces that are undeniably inspired by Jackson’s homeland. The brand was a hit at home and it wasn’t long before the international community started to take notice.
“I absolutely love that Bēchë is getting the attention of various industry professionals whether it be magazine photographers or even different production companies,” Jackson said
That attention has landed her in some of the top magazines in the world including Vogue, Condé Nast and Sports
Jackson was scouted by a company and invited to participate because they were so impressed with her work.
“Flying Solo out of New York City reached out because they work with, on an annual basis, fresh new designers. They showcase at Paris Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week, and this is their second or third time doing Miami swim week so they were scouting swimwear brands from all over the world and it just happened that they selected Bēchë as a ones to watch for 2022/2023 and that landed me a slot in their showcase.”
The exposure from Miami Swim week was “exponential,” Jackson said.
“From a design perspective it was a whirlwind. It was so great to network with like-minded creatives, do press interviews and just have people experience Bēchë and see it on a runway and international stage and to have people know it and inquire about orders. It was just a great experience”
But Jackson is determined Bēchë won’t peak here as she still has big dreams for the company. She hopes to make
Miami swim week a yearly occurrence for and in a decade Cyprianna wants the brand to at least have its own storefront and smaller stores in the US as well as contracts with retail chain stores to put her brand out there even more.
“I hope to take Turks and Caicos with me-– that’s the main purpose of the brand ” she explained, This philosophy has been a long-standing one as even before she started Bēchë and throughout her success one thing that has bothered Jackson is the lack of TCI owned businesses on the islands.
“There were just gaps that I was identifying in our cultural presence in the community I was noticing that there’s not much of a cultural representation of who we are. I realized that you know if it’s more of a social problem that we have because I wasn’t identifying much local brands in general.
I was familiar with at the time Konk Apparel and the Wellington Collection— but there was nothing that was a standing piece of fashion from a Turks and Caicos Islander.”
She has advice for Turks and Caicos Islands youth looking to start up a business of their own on the islands: “My biggest takeaway truly is that it’s achievable, one of the issues for young people and returning students is that being from a small country we think there’s a ceiling.”
Cyprianna Jackson, whose mother is Sabrina Green, the TCIs Human Rights Commissioner explained that there were many discouraging barriers to being an entrepreneur on the Turks and Caicos Islands but she hoped her success was a beacon for other islanders with idea.
Jackson hopes it encourages them to focus on the bigger picture and the wider world noting that if she had depended on the TCI market alone she would’ve shut down years ago.
Finally she maintained that belief in a dream was the thing that would push it furthest and encourage them not to be
afraid to stay away from people who reacted negatively to their dreams.
“Long-term dedication is the key to making anything successful, Surround yourself with people that motivate and push you and believe in your dreams as well.” She stressed.
You can see Jackson’s designs at www.shopbeche.com .