Christal Jonas-Clarke
Christal Jonas-Clarke; CEO, Creator, Creative Director, Marketing Guru and Fashion Designer of the Haute Couture Fashion House “SHONTELL”; an ode to her middle name, which originated from Barbados, meaning “God’s Gift”.
Christal grew up on the sovereign country of St.Lucia; a small, beautiful island situated in the Caribbean. Resources and opportunities were limited and not always readily available to aid her in exemplifying her full potential and pursue her dreams. Thus, leaving her to constantly think of forging her own path and creating her own opportunities. Her innate desire for self-edification and refusal to accept the status quo fostered her to actively take part in pageantry, dance, modeling and community events; from a tender age. This allowed for her resourcefulness to shine through and ignite the first spark in realizing her utmost dream and passion for fashion, design and creative thinking. She took a leap of faith and moved to the Fashion Capital of New York City where she attended the #1 fashion school in the world “The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)”; a state university of New York. After four years of dedication, determination and hard work, she successfully graduated with honors in 2019, earning a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree in Fashion Design and a minor in Psychology.
She began designing and creating custom made pieces for close friends and family members whilst attending college. Her clientele grew gradually as time progressed.
She launched her first fashion house “Shontell” along with her website and social media platforms in the summer of 2017 with her first line being a swimwear collection. Her specialty ranges from formal gowns, swimwear, casual apparel, and accessories and caters to men, women and kids. Throughout the years, she has designed various collections, partaken in runway shows including “New York Fashion Week” and “Paris Fashion Week”; has been a part of fund raising activities, talk show and radio appearances, pop-up events; promoting and creating exposure for Shontell.
Her expectations in life are to rise up and beat the odds, to demonstrate resiliency and represent success. To go beyond what she knows she is capable of achieving and anything she sets out to do because of her industriousness and work ethic. She contends when designing, she escapes mentally into a whole new world. It is her happy place, her serenity, her zen, her place of solace, her joy. It fulfills her and enables her to be an inspiration to others. She has also chaperoned other young awe-inspiring ladies by teaching and coaching them to be the very best they can be. She sees her role as a fashion designer to be a role model to other individuals, whether old or young, creative or not.
Makeup Artist: Maria Atubiga | Wearing: House of Shontell
