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.

The Mosiah Clothing Company has been around since 1997 providing Jamaicans and Jamaican fans alike with urban, cultural clothing in earth tone colours and top-notch designs. They’re primarily a jean company coming from a different place than the usual Bob Marley-esque designs that have become synonymous with Jamaican cultural designer lines. They have done Caribbean Fashion Week a couple of times and have been seen on many of our Jamaican celebrities such as Spragga Benz, Busy Signal, Baby Cham and Richie Spice and have graced the backs of international stars like Talib Kwali, Scott Storch, Lil’ Kim and Akon.

I recently sat down with the man behind the Jamaican leg of the Mosiah brand to find out what’s the latest. His name is Richard Pearson and he and his brother Marvin carry the Mosiah Jamaica flag. Here’s what Richard (pictured above) had to say:

• Why the name Mosiah? The line was started by Aidan Jones and he is a big admirer of Marcus Garvey and his movement so he decided to pay tribute to him by naming his own movement "Mosiah’
  
• What exactly can I find in the Mosiah line? Mosiah is a full line offering blazers, jeans (skirts, pants, shorts), tank tops, t-shirts just to name a few
• What sets apart Mosiah as a Jamaican urban brand? we don’t just print things on t-shirts, we take our time and carefully design our pieces and our quality is superb
  
• Do you customize pieces? Not really but we are looking into that, we recently did a piece for Akon

• Where can I get my hands on Mosiah? In the US you can get Mosiah @ 799 Rogers Ave, Brooklyn New York. In Jamaica you’ll soon be able to get Mosiah in all major stores.
• What was the response like from doing Caribbean Fashion Week? Our first fashion week was good, but as it relates to the last one, personally I think we were cheated. Being the first line displayed on the first day did not sit well with me as you are the "Guinea Pig" and it leaves you open for any mistakes the production team may have, like the lights going out in the middle of our set, the wrong music being played and it being a Friday no one was really there. But respect to pulse still
• The after-party held for fashion week was hot! Any more parties soon? Remember we’re not just a clothing line, this is a movement, so the party was the launch of our clothing line, and our first party for Mosiah Ent. Look for more blazing hot parties coming from Mosiah Ent…
• What is the latest with Mosiah? We have just placed the final artist on our first riddim (Mosiah Muzik) and is set for released early late this year early next year. We’re also looking forward to having the line placed in some of the major department stores here in Jamaica.
  

I am a huge fan of the colours of the line and the way they mix the urban with the cultural feel. From hot blazers to cute skirts and high waists (which you know I love) Mosiah is blazing a hot trail as a clothing line and promises to keep it burning. Check out their line from CFW 07 in the FOS Galleries and stay tuned for Mosiah ENT updates. Richard can be contacted at richard_pearson07@yahoo.com for any Mosiah enquiries.

Jaunel McKenzie in Mosiah @ CFW 07 (this is my one of my favorites of the line the colour and the shoes are hot!)

Related info:

Here’s a site for Jamaican style shoes or victoria secret style bras . The fashion bug site has got it all! For apparel from different designers like burberry , fashion bug has all the brands you need at affordable prices! It’s an all designer website, which includes ralph lauren and calvin klein. Before you buy your wedding ring , get your designer clothes and shoes from here.

If you do not know what a Sprawl Tee is yet, you’ve been hiding under a rock somewhere and you NEED to get out! No worries, that’s what I’m here for. Sprawl Tees is making strides as one of the freshest t-shirt brands to hit the market and they mean business. They’re a graphic tee line that puts urban Jamaican sayings on their tees, appealing to the younger generation who are the driving force behind many of these sayings. I spoke recently with Kesi Gardner, the creator and driving force behind the line, to get some insider info on the Sprawl story:

Sprawl first hit the market in December 2006, at Stanley and Empress exclusive boutique in Cross Roads. It has been showcased on RETV, TheGleaner, Youtube,Hi5, myspace and facebook. We put out new designs every couple of months and to build up enough
interest we encourage people to vote for their favorite tee on myspace.com/sprawltees for particular designs.

Sprawl is a limited edition, t-shirt line. There are only 250 of each made, so its almost like a collectors item. It’s distinguished and not overdone. It is sophisticated, witty but also funny and sometimes over the top. Sprawl is not logo conscious, it is about the individual. The commentary is based on the Jamaican culture, and its for the hipster crowd who just wants to go out, hang out and have a good time. Sprawl is set to launch its online store in September 2007, as well as to continue to put out designs that the Jamaican young people can appreciate and enjoy.

Sprawl’s goals are to become a household name within a certain market, particularly younger people from ages 14-25, and to become a collector’s item so that years from now, they will still have their sprawl tee as a reminder of that time in their life.

Kesi Gardner is a graphic designer by training, she attended Pratt Institute and graduated in 2001. She works in the advertising industry. Sprawl is full time. Between delivering t-shirts and setting up the website, sprawl tees is an entity in and of itself.

Sprawl is easily identified, just like any other t-shirt brand. It is branded on the back and the inside of the tee. Sprawl is very exclusive, so you won’t see it branded all over the place. We rely alot on guerilla advertising, the web and demographic marketing. Alot of our buyers are internet users, alot of our buyers go to special live events which sprawl sponsors.
The people who rep for Sprawl range from Sean Paul, Jovi Rockwell, Katherine, Wayne Mcgregor of Black Zebra, Rootz Underground, Supahype, Cezar to people like Andre Bello who is a motivational speaker and boom party promoter, and Steve Wilson, owner of Mystic Urchin.

The website has since been launched so wherever you’re reading from, make sure you’re sprawling out as well. I visited the website to participate in the voting process and their “unable and worthless” design has a soft spot in my heart for reasons known to some of you. Of course I voted for that and if it comes out in the next set of designs(which it should since its one of the leading designs by votes) I will be first in line, iIt should be a hit at the day job! Check out what I’m talking about exactly here and vote for your fave.

After so much success in the relatively short time since Sprawl hit the shelves, the new designs are now being anticipated and should become available this Christmas. Kesi sure has a winner on her hands. Remember that Sprawl boasts exclusivity so get yours early before they’re all copped and Sprawl out fresh this Christmas!

You know what I love about finding up and coming designers before them actually "buss" and "gone a road?" They’re cheap!!! And extremely flexible too. They’re open to suggestions alot of the times and will do lots for some publicity (like send on some swimsuits!). Good publicity anyway, even if its just to say, I’ll tell my friend about you, instant discount!

In this land of beaches and bikini bodies, swimsuits and sexy lingerie should be overflowing from our dresser drawers… And I have found the perfect way to have lots and lots of cute dezines to set us apart from the rest without spending a fortune. Her name is Nikki and she makes the cutest lingerie, costumes and swimsuits! She calls them Dashielle’s Dezines and I’m in love. She pays great attention to adding little, unique detailing and her craftsmanship is just great! She specializes in swimsuits that can be worn a variety of ways as well as different colour pipings and thongs with skirt coverings! One of my favorites is this white one with the patterned detailing.

And I have a few modifications for this butter yellow one to order…

She is currently in design school and I can just see the quality that is to come! Take my advice and get in now while the prices are still way below market value. My most recent purchase is this blue swimsuit with turquoise belting that I sometimes mis-match with this turquoise top I had purchased before. Do you like?

Here I will leave you with some of her swimsuits but check back for an update on her sizzling costumes…do you think he can handle it?

Nikki’s number is (876)8829619 or (876)4554990. Tell her you heard about her on Fashion Over Style.

[Show as slideshow]

I popped in to have a chat with designer Keneea Linton to talk about her line and get some insider information about our local fashion industry. I was a familiar face to her having had a short stint doing sales in the fashion industry

myself, so she welcomed me inside and poured out her thoughts openly. I was quite shocked to learn that she has no formal training in fashion design or even sewing!

How did she get started?

This beautiful, vibrant, 20 something year old, one half of a twin started off by designing cheerleading costumes for her high school teams in Mandeville. She giggles as she remembers the days of altering articles of clothing bought for her by her parents and doing other “girly things” saying this is how she learned to take a part and reassemble different pieces. She continued to design pieces for dance troupes and dresses for pageants, individual pieces for friends and took orders from a friend’s, but never thought about going pro. She always thought she would end up doing law or marketing and considers herself a business person at heart.

So…yeah, how did she get started?

She started a marketing firm with a friend and was searching for designers to do a show for a local modeling agency when she decided to use her own pieces instead. She caught the eye of the agency CEO who suggested she consider a career as a fashion designer. It took her all of three days (mi think a lie she a tell) to put together a line for Caribbean Fashion Week 2006. This was a huge turning point in her career and describes CFW as a great platform for young designers, because of “the incredible experience of meeting other designers and receiving immense media coverage.” This is when she decided to go pro and get her business started. She went to HEART, the training institute, to hire local persons and went to Singer for machinery and the rest is cliché J

What challenges are there in our local fashion industry?

Keneea went on about the many ails of not having much support from the government or local stores. I’ve always heard that the government should do more to help our fashion industry, but I never really figured out for myself how they could help. Well Keneea wants better access to loans and machinery as she says it is too difficult and expensive to bring in industrial type machinery and so she settles on second hand or the old, outdated machinery available here. She compares our fashion industry with that of Barbados and Trinidad points to how involved and committed their Government is to their fashion industry and its success. There is also a need for skilled persons who pay better attention to detail and quality of work, and she really wishes there was a factory of these skilled persons where she could send her designs for them to be mass produced.

And the stores?

“They don’t want to buy your designs and put in their stores they want to take them on consignment. The problem with this is that if somebody comes in for something…say a black dress…the sales people will push other dresses that they have already paid for and therefore must sell, instead of your design. Other than that, we the local designers are selling unique, sometimes even handmade pieces of a higher quality and the stores are selling items mass produced in China, the competition is just too much.”

Speaking of competition, how is that locally?

Well the competition is more from the stores carrying cheaper items, that is where we designers face our competition. There isn’t any competition between designers per se, as no designer really advertises a lot. There is a love and respect for the art form and so supporters of the industry buy from all of us and are not necessarily tied to one designer.

How does she describe her design style?

“Very classy, clean-cut, trendy”

She currently makes party dresses, cocktail dresses, formal gowns, swimwear, tropical pieces to be marketed to the hotels and is eager to get started on her corporate wear line. Looking around her studio I noticed that she works a lot with silks and satins and is riding the current trend of the empire waist in fine style.

How does Keneea find the industry and the local market? She beams about her love for the industry and how much fun she is having. “It is great that Jamaica is not defined by seasons as with Northern industries as that would pose a challenge of pumping out new designs every season. We are not faced with that challenge thankfully and so we’re not faced with the task of making sure our pieces are sold before winter comes. The market is very foreign minded, everybody wants to wear “foreign clothes” and so right now I am aiming to go international with my designs and be that “foreign presence.” It would be great to sell my line abroad and boast “designs from Jamaica mon” Keneea says she has no regrets as everything has been a learning experience and advises young designers not ask “what can the industry do for me” but instead “what can I do for the industry” We have to bring the industry to where it ought to be ourselves and so must be prepared to put in the work.

My chat was great with the budding designer and I fell in love with her pieces. She is currently finishing up her degree at UWI Mona where she studies International Relations and Philosophy. You can find her at Suite 14, 38a Trafalgar Road Kingston Jamaica. Email keneealinton@gmail.com

Check out her line in the FOS Galleries, some of which are displayed in this site’s banner above.