Cooyah continues to support fashion, creativity and consciousness with relaunch

With an updated look and a strong cohort of designers, the beloved reggae-inspired apparel brand Cooyah re-emerged at its newly renovated 96 Hope Road location last Thursday to resounding applause. It’s a long-awaited new start that was welcomed by customers, retailers, and the fashion, entertainment, and art communities.

Created by Homer Bair and Susan Kreitman, who is now deceased, Cooyah became entrenched in Jamaica’s casual fashion culture in the 1980s. Taking the advice of reggae icon Peter Tosh, in what Bair depicts as a celestial encounter in 1985, he made an important business decision to bring his art to life. In 1987, the year the Equal Rights singer died, Cooyah was birthed as an official reggae clothing brand.

“The name Cooyah is bigger than me; though it was my nickname before [being] a brand, it commanded the attention it deserved. It told people to ‘look here’ into what became a transformational, trendsetting brand for reggae music and Rasta at the highest level. Its presence was respected by persons from the community, who saw themselves represented, and twice as many of the genre’s supporters globally,” Bair told The Gleaner.

“When I met the great Peter Tosh, it was after he spoke at a press conference. A friend of mine by the name of Tennyson Smith, a remarkable artist, wanted us to show the singer some art, and it turned out that he had a deep appreciation for them. Him say, ‘is full-time Jamaica get a brand for reggae that show it as an art’. So, it is inspiring to see the youth’s reaching out and supporting us to this day, to show up at the same location we occupied,” he continued.

The store’s success over the years was bolstered by patronage from most of Jamaica’s recording artistes to global clientele, including the late Gianni Versace, Lenny Kravitz, Missy Elliot, and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell. To date, merchants online are offering vintage Cooyah pieces for up to US$100, which continues to expose Bair’s art.

“We also utilised some of Tennyson’s art, then and now. He passed, but the art lives on. It’s this energy we are looking for – for positive-thinking people wanting to do something, and willing to work hard to create a legacy,” said Bair. “The concept of Cooyah has always been to support creativity, because if you don’t help people, how do you grow? Little by little, people saw our paintings and drawings that were a reflection of Jamaica’s identity, and today, I can go online and find a woman auctioning vintage Cooyah pieces, and wanting more.”

Cooyah’s new collection and style incorporate brighter colours and bolder designs, as well as denim, paired with a few of the iconic pieces that enjoyed tremendous success historically, which were all on display on a mini runway created inside the parking lot at the central location. The new collections are nested under the Colours, Cooyah Vintage, and Cooyah Premium product lines that include simple casuals to modern, elegant wear.

Cooyah’s Director of Sale and Marketing Gary Codner sees great potential for the brand’s relaunch.

“In my travels to countries across the world, Jamaica stands out as a premier culture that serves as inspiration for music, fashion, art, and the list goes on. Cooyah is like that; it’s not just a clothing line, but a culture and a movement that has stimulated young entrepreneurs over the years to make moves, and as a cultural advocate through fashion geared towards consciousness and positive teachings of Rastafari,” he said.

“We’re hoping to reintegrate that consciousness to the fashion industry and within the social gathering space, which is part of the reason we designed the store the way we did,” added Codner, who has strategically partnered with the legendary brand he would have played a role in building, this time through his company, KEMET.

Cooyah and the New York-based conglomerate agreed to expand the product line, availability, market base, and scale the e-commerce operations. This partnership combines the expertise of both companies to develop and accelerate new customer experiences in stores and online, using a range of KEMET’s brand-building solutions.

From floor to ceiling, the store features artwork from local artists, with a DJ booth, approximately ten feet in the air, that acts as a focal point and can also function as a platform for book readings and presentations.

“Our team is now able to accommodate other creatives into the space – outside of planning to have a disc jockey playing on a weekend, we welcome book launches and readings; we envision the possibility for poetry night and small live performances, which are interesting pieces of our culture that are often ignored. We want to curate and culture that as part of our cool factor, to be an open door for positive, for all things creative and culturally themed,” Codner said.

The reformed team has collaborated with local and international brands and designers, including Zaid Smith’s Z194 Kingston Collection, Kasgil and Cassidy Benson, and Pyscho Bunny, which has merchandise inside the store. It will also sell fashion and footwear from Cooyah by Blanco and Clarks as well as hand-painted sneakers by Bair, Zaid, and Amarie Art.

“It’s surreal to have been away for so long, but being able to return right to where the dream became a reality almost a decade later. That was one of three catalysts, telling us it was destiny, along with encouragement from people locally and in the diaspora to wheel and come again. We did just that and were able to come to an agreement, then went straight into editing and conceptualising the collection, because we couldn’t come back looking like we were,” Codner shared.

The KEMET vision is to drive Cooyah’s growth in the global fashion industry by building on its legacy as a brand synonymous with reggae, dancehall culture, and Jamaican authenticity, “seeing that the brand has always evolved with the times, we continue to support artistes doing positive music through emerging social movements, and we also share an appreciation for the neo-reggae space, while, at the same time, taking a stand against violent, murder music,” he shared.

Visual artist, designer, model, and entertainer Zaid said that the brand’s re-emergence was needed, especially with its mission to promote collaboration, as opposed to competition.

“From the positioning of all the clothing collections along with mine inside the retail outlet, you see the energy is good for the growth of each brand. The Kingston Collection by Z194 was something that was created during a period of struggles when I needed to free my mind; and now, I’m being given a chance to share the vibrations and capitalise on it. There’s a wide range of designs coming to Kingston, and that will also promote the positive sides of dancehall,” Zaid said.

stephanie.lyew@gleanerjm.com