Wanna see what $80,000 US dollars looks like? Model Canise shows off this b Michael creation shown at International Mecca of Style.

Go ahead, click the thumbnails and take it aaaallllll in. The full b. Michael gallery is available here along with Jamaican designers Bunmi, 3D, Yola Grey, Mdiz and Dominique Acevedo here .

All pics were courtesy of our very own make-up guru and photographer Brass.Angel.Photography

I took a vid clip of the Ed Hardy line rocking the 150ft long catwalk in the middle of New Kingston’s Knutsford Boulevard. Ed Hardy done brung it y’all…check it out.

Styleweek Jamaica is well under way and will culminate tonight with it’s history making catwalk in the middle of Kingston’s busy busy business district (well on a Sunday night there’s not much business eh) and I can’t wait to be front and centre. The shows have been great thus far, with the normal setbacks such as HUMONGOUS delays between collections (man, we need to get over this ish!) but its all fab none-the-less.

Here’s your favorite fashionista snapping a shot with hottie model Tafari Hinds of GQ and French Connection fame. He’s such a gracious soul.

I also spotted Saint Top model Canise mingling in the crowd in a FABULOUS pair of black mary-janes with a red heel. She rocked it well in all black including the full length black leggings you all know I adore. Hot eh?

Of course I’m not about to leave you all out of the scene. I got a few clips of the final walks especially the fabulous Les Campbell, noted Jamaican menswear designer, Rojoe from Barbados and the dynamic Dexter Pottinger closing the show with the 3D 08 line. Check the vid for the fabulosity below.

Rojoe

Les Campbell

Dexter

Mynka is a fashion designer from rural Jamaica who is really a free spirit at heart. She chants nam-myoho-renge-kyo and practices Nichirin Daishonin’s Buddhism to keep her grounded and attract her good fortune and needed support. She’s got many ventures under her belt and the drive to succeed at them all. I spoke to Mynka recently about her roots and her latest efforts:

The Beginning

I started designing at about ten, cutting up my jeans and other clothes and sewing sequins on everything I wore including my shoes. My aunt and my stepmother taught me to crochet around the same age but I really started designing seriously at around age 21. I actually moved to Kingston [Jamaica] to pursue a musical career and [while] hanging out at the studios people would always love my clothes. I started out as a personal shopper at first and then people started ordering hats and then I would make clothes. I really dont know when the transition happened, I just know that Buju Banton was one of the first people to start buying my hats and he said to me one day “you know everybody a go want dem hat ya now, you a go crochet ’til you hand dem bun you” and it has been like that ever since: me crocheting ’til my hands burn me, lol. I used to write for the Teenage Observer and one day they did a feature on me and as they say the rest is history. Shortly after that I was introduced to Dewight Peters [of Saint International fame] who put me on my first fashion show.

Challenges

Lack of raw materials like fashion yarns, buckles and other trimmings.

Alot of [Jamaicans] will spend a fortune on foreign name brands but try to negotiate my price.

There really isn’t a supportive body to help us designers. Other Caribbean countries, I know their government sends the designers to school, give them buildings to sell their stuff or sponsor them to travel and go to different fashion shows. Our government does nothing for us. I am not saying I need a hand out, but even the business development center , that claim they are there to develop businesses, will order things from you, bawl down [i.e. negotiate] your price to little and nothing and then still take a month to pay you after the goods are delivered. The hotels are the same.

I am on a fashion committee right now and I am pushing to change that and trying to work with the government to improve the situations. Everybody keeps telling me I need to be a politician. I am so about fighting for justice which is the meaning of my name.

Who and where:

I’ve worked with Buju Banton, Cecile, Truth Hurts, Roberta Flack, Gyptian, Deon Silvera, Audrey Reid, Pam Hall, Nadine Willis, Arturo Tapping, Faye Alibocus, D’angel

My pieces are available at the CFW boutique in the Pulse Complex, Shades of Africa and la Pluma Negra [all in Kgn, Jamaica] for now. I am building a boutque in Grange Hill [Westmoreland, Jamaica] and thats where my base will be. That hopefully will be opened before the end of the year.

So Mynka, what else is new?

I will be opening a restaurant as well, been writing recipes for that. It is going to be all vegetarian and [located at the] same place in Grange Hill. [I'm] also writing lots of songs and planning to go into the studio real soon to start some recording. I have a cosmetic line to be launched, just have to get the products approved now. These natural cosmetics will be homemade and free from chemicals of all kind. Most of the herbs used will be from my mother’s garden and there will be something for everyone [from] baby diaper creams to wrinkle removers to formulas for naturally enlarging or decreasing your breast size. I am also wrting several books, the first out will ofcourse be about fashion. It will have original crochet patterns from me and fashion tips. My next book will be a cook book with all my favourite vegan recipes and the other books will be on stories of my life portraying mostly my spiritual side and how I’ve used my practices to attain success. I’ve also started an organization called The Love for Life Foundation, which is focused on getting people, especially teenage girls, to love themselves for who they are and also to help pregnant teens financially. What I do is go into the girls homes, teach them how to crochet or whatever else I can teach them. I also counsel them and help them to educate themselves. My intention is to have other people come in and teach them other skills.

I have a show in Harlem [NY] on the 18th of [May], then there is Caribbean Fashion Week and then I was invited to take part in the Islands of the World Fashion Week in Bahamas in November, so I’ll be pretty busy. A boutique here in Harlem wants to carry my line so we are planning a party to launch here in the states. I also plan on opening a school as I have a few students that I am teaching designing to.

As you can see, Mynka is a pretty busy woman with a tun-load of titles attached to her name!  The challenges she faces have been echoed by so many of our local designers , I wish Mynka nothing but luck on her efforts to enlighten the government on the need for investment and aid in our booming fashion industry. Come out and see her new line at this year’s Caribbean Fashion Week and stay tuned to FOS for more designer profiles. The pictures are from Mynka’s showings at CFW 2007, more on her myspace page .

Myspace is a great tool for networking, can I tell you?! I got a friend request from a site RepJa.com and a message to be featured. Its one of many that I receive from myspace, but you wouldn’t believe how pleasantly surprised I was when I clicked through to the site! RepJa is an exciting brand of vibrant, youthful and representational pieces that surrounds the popular dancing culture that has exploded in Jamaica in the last few years. I was so pleased to find a line that didn’t give me a full out red, green, gold and black line simply because it’s Jamaican. Let me put on my accent and simply say “the line sell off” “it a occur” “RepJa to di worl’!!! LOL You’d have to be Jamaican (and current) to get it folks…but don’t worry ‘bout that just cop you a few and be down with the in crowd. Let’s hear from the innovative designers themselves, shall we:

The Beginning

RepJa started at the end of 2006 out of a thought, which led to an idea, then a vision, that manifested itself into a fashion icon. The path of Repja chose us, we are all artists, graphic and web designers by trade. We simply applied the same talent and science of designing to the fashion industry. We are currently based in Atlanta GA

Sales

Sales have been great; every month there is an increase in sales and traffic to our site. We are getting orders daily from the Caribbean community nationally and also a lot of international orders. It has been extremely encouraging to see orders coming in from (Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, Sweden, Netherlands, and many more).That love and support only shows us that our unique product is needed in the industry. The best part of our sales is the request from stores to carry the line, so far we are currently in (Vinnies Styles (Brooklyn, NY), DSK (Brooklyn, NY), Reggae Wear (Miami, FL), Leigui (JAPAN),4Seasons (Stone Mountain, GA), Reggae Unplugged (Maryland, DC).

Challenges

One of the hardest things for us is getting our name recognized. Letting everyone know exactly who we are and what we are here to offer the industry. The marketing is very important for any company and it is also the most challenging. There is also the financial aspect which every small company struggles with.

Growth

RepJA will be the face for our culture our lifestyle and our people. We have too much style and charisma as a people to put us in red, gold and green only. We are bursting out of the traditional and the expected we are totally catching people off guard with the concepts and the ideas that our designers have been delivering. We will expand our line to offer jeans and cut and sew products. We are also gearing RepJA to launch a few spin offs for our diverse culture, meaning we will have a couture line. We want the company to be recognized not only for its style but also for the first clothing company that bridges the gap between dancers, DJ, singers and fashion and show you how they work hand and hand.

Check out www.RepJA.com for more pics and of course to shop! Thanks Omar for reaching out to FashionOverStyle.NET, we love you right back! Now follow the riddim and tek weh yuself!

Images from site

 Megan Allison

I met Megan last year as we worked together on a major fashion production. She out-shined fellow interns as a meticulous and talented young woman that got the job done. She wore very interesting jewellery and I was very drawn to some of her bold, vibrant pieces. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she made them herself and was currently in school honing her craft. We went our different ways soon after, but then I saw her featured on the cover of the local Gleaner’s Flair Magazine and made contact immediately. She definitely deserves the shine.

“I’ve always loved art. I believe it was my father who first recognized my artistic ability, because he is a painter. We would take trips with my two sisters to the country and to the Edna Manley School of Art where he took a Saturday class in landscape painting. Sometimes it would be a family trip, other times it was just he and I; he’d take out his acrylics, and I…my crayons.”

Megan’s line is available at the National Gallery of Jamaica Gift Shop and also Casa de Xaymaca in the Norman Manley International Airport, Kingston Jamaica. She’s almost done with school, preparing the new line for the big end of year exhibition, and hopes to be able to continue on in her craft once she graduates. She has one fashion show semi-lined up *fingers crossed* and is on the up and up that more stylist roles will come her way. She admits that most graduates end up in more corporate roles, leaving the arts behind because of financial obligations, but is optimistic that she will be able to make a name for herself and a living from her line. If you’re in the area of the Edna Manley School for the Visual Arts in June, be sure to check out the exhibition and make a few purchases.

Contact Megan at 876-425-6842 or meganallisonjamaica@yahoo.com

[Show as slideshow]

If you’ve ever watched Project Runway and wished there was something like that in Jamaica for you to get your shine on, well here’s your chance. The fresh and innovative team at Cashmall Media Productions, producers of the young Yardie Guide series, have chosen to target the booming Jamaican fashion industry by giving away fantabulous prizes to new designers bursting with talent but in need of that little boost. They’ve chosen the name “Fashion Terror” for the series and here’s some tidbits taken from a recent release:

“Fashion Terror: A Passion for Fashion” is a reality TV Program that will feature amateur Fashion Designers selected from a group of applicants. Each week a designer will have three days to receive task, design and complete task and at the end of that week a designer will be eliminated from the group. Fashion Terror’s primary aim is to promote fashion designing as a serious profession and a career with great potential. We also hope to encourage and reward new designers as well as giving these aspiring designers a leg up in the highly competitive and progressive fashion industry.

So who can enter?

Applicants should be students or young adults between the ages of 18 -30 years that have a strong interest in Fashion Design but limited or no experience in a professional capacity. They must be born Jamaican or have migrated internationally no more than five (5) years ago. The application process includes completing entry forms, writing a short essay and a compilation of work with at least six (6) pieces. Interested individuals can request additional details and applications at fashionterror@gmail.com or visit our facebook group “Fashion Terror: A Passion for Fashion”…….Deadline for applications is May 15, 2008.

Is it worth your while?

The Grand Prize Winner will receive a scholarship to a major Fashion School for a Summer Fashion Designing Program or an internship at one of the major fashion houses across the world. They will also have the opportunity to show their pieces at Jamaica’s Caribbean Fashion Week. (June 2009) A full feature in one of the most popular regionally and internationally distributed Caribbean magazines, “Ocean Style”, along with other prizes and surprises.

This program is still in development but I have chosen to put it out there as early as now to pique the interest of the young Jamaican designers, and maybe pull the ear of a sponsor or two. Designers, you’ll need the extra time to create those fabulous couture pieces if you wanna win that internship! It’s a really good idea, here’s to hoping it will materialize into fabulous, grandiose fruition. Get your creative juices flowing, start that sketching and that research. The producers are hoping for a June ‘08 production start and are in talks with sponsors and stations to get the big go ahead so… get ready, get set…GO!

P.S.

Feedback and suggestions to make this show REALLY worth your while are welcome below, as I said, its all still in development.

Imani is an acclaimed fashion designer and interior decorator who has been in the fashion industry for over 25 years, racking up a long list of awards and accolades along the way. She’s from Portland, Jamaica but has been living away for over 30 years. Her affinity for fashion design came at an early age and when she was inspired by Bob Marley and the I Three’s dressing, especially their head wraps and she begun to create and wear them as well. She went to school to develop her talents and interest and as her studies grew deeper, she discovered the works of European designers. She was particularly drawn to the designs of Coco Chanel who used natural fabrics with luxurious textures, designed to follow the body’s movements with organic grace. She began to include European silks and chiffon in her collection of head wraps, creating elegant, flowing designs. Some of her earlier designs from the 1980s: (click for larger view)

Imani’s designs have been featured on the runways of New York, Bermuda, Lima and of course Jamaica where she has designed for the Bob Marley museum and recently for Queen Ifrica. Her line was shown at the recent Rebel Salute. Imani still focuses on head wraps only, saying that this was her entry niche into the fierce fashion industry. She does custom design upon request and plans to launch her signature wrap dress line, one of which Queen Ifrica wore in the “Daddy” video, later this year.

Imani works in association with the American Cancer Society, speaking at forums and Universities teaching the history of the head wrap and helping to lift the self esteem of cancer victims who have had their hair removed for treatment. She describes her head wraps as a “fun and elegant alternative to the prefabricated caps and uncomfortable wigs, they are created with natural silks and cottons which feel luxuriously soft on the skin, and are designed to drape and wrap gracefully around the head for a snug fit. The House of Tafari Collection have modernized this ancient art, by introducing the concept of creating Tucking Pockets™ for stability and elegance. Our head wraps are designed to eliminate the usage of pins and clips. We specialize in creating safe and comfortable head wraps for both men and women. ”

Here model Charonda Raye  shows off one of Imani’s gorgeous head wraps.

You can contact Imani here for creating custom pieces or here to shop her head wraps. Queen Ifrica’s “Daddy” video can be viewed here and the pictures are of her performing at Rebel Salute in a custom Imani design, taken by Organiza of Flames Productions.

Dashielle’s Dezines, a new swimsuit designer that I wrote about sometime ago has been up to some cute things! I visited her recently and picked out a few pieces that would make a man go gggrrrrr and drool all over you this Valentine’s Day. Don a whip and some boots and kick up the intrigue behind closed doors this Valentine’s Day with this hot black leather-looking number or go traditional in red. What about this blue number though, are you feeling it? I am really digging the island design in strategic places on the piece. Remember you can call 876-882-9619 or 876-455-4990 to order these or any one of Dashielle’s original designs.

Once upon a time, a graphic artist was sitting in his 9-5 job at the Sun Island T-shirt factory when he thought “i should be doing this for myself” and voila…a t-shirt brand was born! November 6, 2006 would be the fateful day and Kingston, Jamaica would be the inspiration.

A quick search at dictionary.com and even wikipedia.org will tell you they have no results for such an entry “notchilous” and that’s because you would have had to be a part of the Jamaican ‘in’ crowd circa 1970 to understand what it meant to be “notchilous.” Ok so it’s really not that hard to figure out…it’s back when everyone was a “dongorgon,” you know a “top don” “top notch” “notchilous!” Yeah you got it! The Notchilous brand embodies the “rude bwoy” culture we grew up on and includes several risque graphic tees that would make you blush if your Grandma saw you wearing it. They say its for the shy people, well… a t-shirt saying “just like candy” with uhm…that arrow there…great way to break out of your shell! Or how about one saying “bumbo rass clatt” Yeeah…that’ll do the trick. They describe the line as a rootsy, urban mix of top quality t-shirts. The plan is to stick with tees for now as they work on expanding the variety of the graphics and their customer base. They promise not to flood the market with the same set of designs as only 50 of each are printed. Competition must be rough out there now for the newer t-shirt brands emerging on the market and the designers of the line admit that most of their focus goes into finding that delicate balance between cost and pricing in an effort to stay competitive and profitable at the same time. After being on the market for a little over a year, Notchilous is poised to take their piece of the pie with t-shirts appealing to the introvert and the extrovert at the same time. You can get your Notchilous tee at www.notchilous.com

A finalist in Miss Jamaica Universe 2007, Camesha Powell radiates beauty and elegance and these attributes are clearly displayed in her clothing line, aptly named Poshe. It is amazing that this is her debut year as a designer as she has created quite a stir with her line. Camesha is another talented Jamaican designer with no formal training in design. She describes her transgression into the fashion industry as a natural occurrence, growing up aspiring to be a model or fashion designer. She works in the fashion industry at Poise Jamaica and has partnered with Pulse in their annual model searches. I asked her about her beginnings as a designer and she relates that she was always obsessed with fashion, was always commended on her style and was always sketching designs. Having only created her first piece in January of this year, Camesha debuted a full line at Caribbean Fashion Week 2007 and is most excited at the strides she has taken since then.

I caught up with Camesha at this month’s TGIT event at the British High Commission after her fashion show, where models strutted to the beautiful sounds of Tessanne Chin. Courtney John and Cezar came out to show support as well as dozens of fabulously dressed patrons. She basked in the compliments of an amazing line and smiled brightly for the many flashing bulbs around her.

We spoke more today about her new and exciting path in the fashion field. Her crowning moment of course is debuting her line at CFW 07. She explains being inspired by the song used in the advert for the event - Fergie’s Glamorous and infused Jamaican colours into this theme. A line that drew upon the colours green, black, yellow and white, she creatively displayed the national colours in a way that was much less cliche cultural and much more glamorous indeed. She uses stretch satin in many of her pieces explaining that she loves the versatility of the fabric while keeping the glamor.

When asked about her favorite designers, Dsquared and Gwen Stefani comes to mind, both lines again illustrating Camesha’s love of glamour and the eclectic. She also names Carlton Brown as a local favorite, commenting on his excellent craftsmanship. She shares similar ails with Keneea about the Jamaican fashion industry, in particular the lack of financial assistance for fashion designers and the limited supply of quality equipment and supplies. With these limitations, designers are forced to source raw materials elsewhere in an effort to be unique and this drives up costs. At a higher prices, it can be difficult to compete with designs imported from fashion houses overseas. She wishes that the powers that be would acknowledge the amazing talent of the designers in Jamaica and invest in the industry more, as other international designers have already seen and capitalized on the vibrancy of the Jamaican culture in their own lines and achieved successes in these ventures.

She notes however that the fashion industry here will continue to thrive because of persons like herself who have that innate love of fashion and are committed to seeing the industry succeed. Currently she works only from orders and can be contacted at poshejamaica@gmail.com (tell her you heard about her here!) Plans are in place to open a store of her own in the near future, featuring her designs and others. She encourages persons aspiring to enter the industry to dive right in. Make your pieces, approach fashion houses with them, seek sponsorships from your friends, family wherever, show your desire and go for it! Hot tip: I asked Camesha what’s hot for this Christmas! Her answer? mary janes, purple and cobalt blue! Cobalt blue??? Not a common one that is…more on that to come!You can see her entire line in the FOS Galleries and more pictures of the fabulous patrons that came out to support.