Sewing wasn’t exactly a popular hobby for boys when Anthony (Dean) Williams was a teenager, but he found his mother’s sewing machine irresistible.“I started watching my mother use a sewing machine and I started bugging her to teach me how to use it somewhere around the age of 15 years old,” said Mr Williams. “My mother, Velda Darrell, was a hobby sewer.“She taught me how to operate the machine. It wasn’t considered normal when I was growing up.“There was always a stigma attached to men sewing and designing. People said you had to have a real job to fall back [on].”He graduated from the Berkeley Institute in 1981, determined to pursue his passion for fashion.He studied at the Bermuda College for a few years before attending the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and the Traphagen School of Design in New York.He has been a professional designer for more than 20 years.Under the label ‘Definitions by Deane’ he runs a custom fashion design and dressmaking service that specialises in women’s wear, and also has a men’s wear label.His mission statement is ‘helping each spirit discover its skin’.Mr Williams is one of several fashion designers featured in tomorrow’s Bermuda Fashion Collective Show 2011 organised by the Bermuda Society of Arts (BSoA).His work can also be seen at The Moonlight Bazaar, held the first and third Thursday of every month through September at Hamilton’s Moon Nightclub.“I see my work as eclectic, creative and unique,” said Mr Williams. “I tend to be proud of what I do, but I would say I am probably most proud of my bridal pieces. The brides tend to be very, very satisfied with my work.”He will have one bridal piece in the Bermuda Fashion Collective that is a combination of traditional satin, Indian sari and African kente cloth.Outside of designing Mr Williams enjoys kayaking, paddling, mountain biking and hiking.He is a self-professed sun and water worshipper features he believes are reflected in his designs.“I am inspired by all things natural whether it be flowers, trees or sea shells,” he said.He worked for designer Albert Sakhai while living in New York.“Working for him, I learned that it is a business and deserves to be treated as such,” said Mr Williams. “I have also been strongly influenced by designers such as Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen.“I like the fact that they are very edgy, creative, unique and very outside the box.”His immediate goal is to get international exposure and take his label global his work has already been shown in New York a few times.Mr Williams said he would like to see more events in Bermuda like the Bermuda Fashion Collective.“I would like to see more, because there are so many unrecognised designers and creative types. But there is a danger of over-saturation as well. There is a fine line to it.”Merely obtaining the materials needed to do the work is one of the challenges of being a designer in Bermuda, he said.“More than anything else the challenges are the availability of fabrics,” said Mr Williams. “There is one Hamilton retail store that has a good selection, but it would be nice to have additional options.“I do buy a lot of stuff away. I tend to try to get away once a year on buying trips and I also shop online.”He said he is part of a strong community of designers in Bermuda, as evidenced by the list of names in the Bermuda Fashion Collective 2011.He praised the BSoA for getting them together.“There is a lot of fellowship going on and I am assuming that will continue,” he said.Other designers in the Bermuda Fashion Collective will be Amethyst, Ashley Aitken, Consuelo Verde Perrin, Dana Cooper, Edith Rookes, Nicole Iris, Rene Hill and Shay Ford.The event will be held tomorrow at the BSoA at City Hall at 6pm. Tickets are $30 and include a glass of pink bubbly.Tickets are available online at www.bdatix.bm or at BSoA, 292-3824. All ticket holders are eligible to win a BlackBerry from Digicel.Useful website: http://definitionsbydeane.webs.com.