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Mikayla Salmon: Jamaican Designer Makes Global Mark with Shein Collection

NEW YORK CARIB NEWS — What began as a passion nurtured in high school took an extraordinary leap last November when Shein unexpectedly contacted Salmon to partner on a collection. Initially, she was skeptical.

Published

7 months ago

July 8, 2025

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By NY Carib News

Clarendon-born fashion designer Mikayla Salmon has turned a lifelong dream into a remarkable reality, securing a coveted collaboration with global fast-fashion powerhouse Shein—a breakthrough that has propelled her from a small-town creative to an international designer.

What began as a passion nurtured in high school took an extraordinary leap last November when Shein unexpectedly contacted Salmon to partner on a collection. Initially, she was skeptical.

“At first, I thought it was a scam,” she laughed. “I said to myself, ‘Shein just texted my phone? That can’t be real.’ I left the message on read for about two hours until I literally heard a voice say, ‘Respond to the message.’”

When she finally replied, Shein promptly sent over a contract. The result: her debut four-piece spring collection, launched in April 2025, featuring modern, trend-forward designs and a runaway best-seller.

A Star Collection

Salmon’s Shein collection blends her bold creative vision with contemporary fashion sensibilities. It features:

A playful pink romper
A denim bubble mini dress
A sunset ombré cut-out bodycon dress
A standout two-piece orange skirt set

The two-piece quickly became her best-selling item, selling out twice, with Shein preparing to re-release the design in a new, top-secret color.

To Salmon’s knowledge, she is the second Jamaica-born designer to collaborate with Shein on this scale—an achievement that fills her with pride. The company gave her five months to design the collection, during which she submitted 14 designs, of which four were selected.

“Shein handled everything else—the cutting, sewing, branding, marketing, and fulfillment,” she explained. “My only responsibility was to create and send the original 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 won the Campari Pop Style competition in 2018, and last year, she showcased her designs in Cuba. Despite her growing international profile, she still sews for clients attending local events like Chillin’ on the Farm and Teacup Sundays and customizes bridal wear, swimwear, and pageant gowns.

The designer launched her brand, Young Addiction, with a mission to create clothing for all body types—especially plus-size women.“It’s always been important for me to make people feel beautiful, especially women like me who struggle to find stylish clothes that actually fit,” Salmon said.

Her creative energy is heavily influenced by Jamaica’s golden era of the 1990s, when bold colors, daring silhouettes, and fearless self-expression dominated local fashion.

“A lot of people had their own unique style then, and the world was looking to Jamaica for fashion cues,” she reflected.

Overcoming Self-Doubt

Despite her obvious talent, Salmon admitted that self-doubt was her biggest hurdle.

“I second-guessed myself a lot,” she said. “I kept wondering, will people like my designs? Will Jamaicans support me? I wanted to showcase something bold but wasn’t sure how it would be received.”

Her persistence ultimately paid off. Salmon had previously entered two Shein competitions and applied three times to the Shein X designer program without success. She believes her repeated applications kept her on the company’s radar and eventually led to her selection.

Although the Shein collaboration was met with excitement on TikTok and other social media platforms, Salmon noted that many Jamaicans still don’t realize she’s the designer behind the collection.

“I wasn’t expecting the overwhelming response I got when I posted the video,” she said. “People I didn’t even know were messaging me, saying they were proud of me and that it’s a good look for Jamaica. I think this is a really positive push for local fashion on the global stage.”

Championing Local Fashion and Eyeing Lagos

Salmon continues to advocate for growth within Jamaica’s fashion industry but is clear-eyed about its challenges.

“It’s hard to access quality fabrics in Jamaica. We all end up using the same materials, which limits creativity,” she explained. “And shipping costs for international customers are just too high. That really needs to change.”

She believes that revitalizing former industrial spaces like the Garmex Free Zone could reignite Jamaica’s export potential and transform the local fashion economy.

“We used to export garments. We can do it again,” she said passionately. “Designers like me are doing everything—designing, sewing, branding. What we need now is infrastructure for manufacturing.”

Looking ahead, Young Addiction will soon expand into menswear, with Salmon hinting at versatile pieces Jamaican men can wear to church, brunch, or a party. She’s also developing a custom ackee print, a nod to national pride, which will feature in her entry for the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s Fashion and Visual Arts competition.

While she has yet to work with local celebrities, she dreams of styling Spice, Masicka, and Vybz Kartel.

“For now, I always say all my customers are celebrities,” she added with a smile.

Bold Dreams and Global Vision

“Fashion is my life—I live, eat, and breathe it. There’s nothing else I’d rather do,” Salmon declared.

She envisions more international collaborations, more best-sellers, and above all, a fashion world where people like her—‘the fat country girl’—feel beautiful, seen, and celebrated.

Her ultimate international ambition? Lagos, Nigeria.

“If I weren’t doing this in Jamaica, I’d want to be in Lagos,” she said. “The fashion industry there is booming—the fabrics, the culture, the creativity—it’s like a dream.”

But for now, Mikayla Salmon is content making her mark right where she started—proving that even a country girl from Clarendon can set global trends.

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LIVE from the NMA Convention Raheem DeVaughn Says The Time Is Now: Let’s End HIV in Our Communities #2

Set against the backdrop of the NMA conference, Executive Officers from the National Medical Association, Grammy Award Winning Artist and Advocate Raheem DeVaughn, and Gilead Sciences experts, are holding today an important conversation on HIV prevention and health equity. Black women continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV despite advances in prevention options. Today’s event […]

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Black women continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV despite advances in prevention options. Today’s event is designed to uplift voices, explore barriers to access, and increase awareness and key updates about PrEP, a proven prevention method that remains underutilized among Black women. This timely gathering will feature voices from across health, media, and advocacy as we break stigma and center equity in HIV prevention.

Additional stats and information to know:

● Black women continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV, with Black women representing more than 50% of new HIV diagnoses among women in the U.S. in 2022, despite comprising just 13% of women in the U.S.

● Women made up only 8% of PrEP users despite representing 19% of all new HIV diagnoses in 2022.

● Gilead Sciences is increasing awareness and addressing stigma by encouraging regular HIV testing and having judgment-free conversations with your healthcare provider about prevention options, including oral PrEP and long-acting injectable PrEP options.

● PrEP is an HIV prevention medication that has been available since 2012.

● Only 1 in 3 people in the U.S. who could benefit from PrEP were prescribed a form of PrEP in 2022.

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TRUMP: “Washington, D.C. is Safe”

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — President Trump, who typically travels with a full contingent of high-level protection, insinuated that he finally felt safe enough to go to dinner in the District of Columbia. “My wife and I went out to dinner last night for the first time in four years,” said the nation’s 47th president.

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

By Apriil Ryan
BlackPressUSA Washington Bureau Chief and White House Correspondent

“Washington, D.C. is safe,” President Trump declared from the Oval Office today. Those words came while Trump was hosting Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During the question-and-answer session, which primarily focused on a peace deal in the Russian-Ukrainian war, Trump explained, “You did that in four days.” He was speaking of how fast the National Guard quelled the violence in what was once called Chocolate City.

The President deployed the National Guard to D.C. a week ago, to a city with reduced crime rates over the previous year. Violent crime dropped by 26%, marking the lowest level in 30 years. Homicides also fell by 11%.

President Trump, who typically travels with a full contingent of high-level protection, insinuated that he finally felt safe enough to go to dinner in the District of Columbia. “My wife and I went out to dinner last night for the first time in four years,” said the nation’s 47th president.

Trump reinforced his claim about the newly acquired safety in D.C. by relaying that a friend’s son is attending dinner in D.C., something he would not have done last year.

After the president finished his comments, a reporter/commentator in the room with close connections to Marjorie Taylor Greene jumped into the high-level conversation to affirm the president’s comments, saying, “I walked around yesterday with MTG. If you can walk around D.C. with MTG and not be attacked, this city is safe.”

That reporter was the same person who chastised President Zelenskyy months ago during his first Oval Office meeting with Trump for not wearing a business suit. Zelenskyy, a wartime President, has been clad in less formal attire to reflect the country’s current war stance against Russia.

Without any sourcing, President Trump also said, “People that haven’t gone out to dinner in Washington, D.C., in two years are going out to dinner, and the restaurants the last two days have been busier than they’ve been in a long time.”

The increase in policing in Washington, D.C. is because a 19-year-old former Doge employee was carjacked in the early hours of the morning recently.

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Rising Energy Costs Weigh Heaviest on Black Households

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — For many African American families, the cost of keeping the lights on and homes heated or cooled is not just a monthly bill — it’s a crushing financial burden.

Published

3 days ago

February 3, 2026

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

For many African American families, the cost of keeping the lights on and homes heated or cooled is not just a monthly bill — it’s a crushing financial burden.

A new national study from Binghamton University and California State University, San Bernardino, finds that Black households spend a far larger share of their income on energy compared to white households, even when income levels are the same. “We often say that African Americans suffer more, but we often blame it just on income. And the reality is, there is something more there,” study author George Homsy, associate professor at Binghamton University, wrote. “It’s not just because they tend to be poor. There is something that’s putting them at a disadvantage. I think what happened is it happens to be where they live.” The study, published in Energy Research & Social Science, analyzed 65,000 census tracts across the United States. It found that while the average American household spends about 3.2% of income on energy bills, households in the majority African American census tracts spend an average of 5.1%.

Homsy and researcher Ki Eun Kang point to the age and condition of housing stock, along with lower homeownership rates, as key drivers. Their research concludes that “energy burden is not simply a matter of income or energy cost but also race, which might be driven by place.” Older, less energy-efficient housing and high rental rates in Black communities mean residents often cannot make upgrades like improved insulation or new appliances, locking families into higher bills.

Tradeoffs and Health Risks

The consequences go beyond money. Families forced to spend 10% or more of their income on energy — what experts classify as “unmanageable” — may cut back on food, medicine, or other essentials. More than 12 million U.S. households report leaving their homes at unsafe temperatures to reduce costs, while millions more fall behind on utility bills. The health effects are severe. High energy burdens increase risks of asthma, depression, poor sleep, pneumonia, and even premature death. The issue is especially acute for African Americans, who are disproportionately exposed to housing and environmental conditions that amplify these risks.

Washington, D.C.: A Case Study

In Washington, D.C., the problem is particularly stark. A recent analysis by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) shows that SNAP-eligible households spend more than 20% of their income on energy bills. Across the metro area, nearly two-thirds of low-income households devote over 6% of their income to energy, and 40% face what researchers call a “severe financial strain,” paying more than 10%. Pepco, the District’s primary electricity provider, has implemented three consecutive annual rate hikes, pushing the average household bill to $114 per month as of January 2025. Shutoffs have followed — nearly 12,000 customers lost service in 2024, with disconnections doubling after a summer rate hike. Washington Gas has also sought a 12% rate increase and pushed a controversial $215 million pipeline replacement project, rebranded as “District SAFE.” The plan could ultimately cost D.C. households an additional $45,000 each over several decades, or nearly $1,000 annually added to bills.

Historical Roots

Researchers argue that these inequities are not accidental but rooted in history. The ScienceDirect study reveals that African American communities living in formerly redlined neighborhoods continue to face disadvantages today — from poor housing quality to higher climate risks. Homsy says policymakers must make targeted efforts. “It is harder to get to rental units where a lot of poor people live,” he noted. “We need to work harder to get into these communities of color.”