Jamaica 55 Fashion Flair - introducing red
Published:Thursday | August 3, 2017 | 12:00 AMStephanie Lyew
The combination of the colours black, emerald (green) and gold is symbolic to the national flag but also represents ideals. Together, they play an important role in our lives, reminding us of our traditions, the culture, a certain time of year and can also influence emotion. Equally, the colour red has been brought to the forefront as a representation of our African heritage. But red also exemplifies love, vibrancy, abundant talent and the heterogeneous creativity of the people.
As such, designers and fashion houses have been inspired to include the strong patriotic sentiment as part of their collections. Patriotic clothing has become more than a grand show of support for our nation - it is also a fashion statement, and luckily for Jamaicans all over the world, more companies are investing in manufacturers and locally made materials to produce unique apparel. Thus making it easy to support our local brands, both here and abroad.
For this reason, Jamaica Cultural Development Commission continues to include festival fashion as one of the highlights of our culture. On Wednesday, August 3 the National Arena opened its doors for Festival Fashion Flair: 'Wear di vibes ... it's Jamaica 55'. The event featured individually decorated booths, promotional displays and exclusive creations of local talents. Among them were designers Mutamba, Minka, Courtney Washington and well-known fashion enterprises Uzuri International, The Mushroom and Carby's Clothing Store.
Each contributor showcased pieces created for various occasions; collections were categorised under the themes global vibrations, pure vibes, irie vibes, kool vibes, spiritual vibes, evening vibes, easy breezy vibes and cultural vibes. Live performances by JCDC 2016 Gospel Song competition winner Marsha Jarrett and other musical performances complemented the show proceedings. Festival Fashion Flair transcended the expectations of a typical runway show and was well received by all in attendance.