- FILE
A Jamaican flag tie-dye shirt worn with matching do-rag.
Kavelle Anglin-Christie, Staff Reporter
IT IS highly unlikely that 'the sun shineth, the land is green and the people are strong and creative' is on the minds of those who wrap a towel designed like the Jamaican flag around their waists at the beach.
Still, many are infatuated with the flag as fashion, with no nationalistic intention or sentiment behind the gesture.
The colours went mainstream the late '90s when the Reggae Boyz qualified for the 1998 World Cup Finals in France. As the misuse of the black, green and gold in fashion has become common practice, there has been growth in a lucrative market for 'flag fashion' both locally and abroad.
Not many are aware - or care to be - of the strict protocol around the use of the flag. The rules are:
(1) The Jamaican flag should never be allowed to touch the ground or floor. It should not be flown or used only for decorative purposes on anything that is for temporary use and is likely to be discarded, except on state occasions.
(2) The flag should never be smaller than any other flag flown at the same time.
(3) When the flag becomes worn and must be replaced, burn it.
(4) Do not place any other flag above or to the right of the Jamaican flag, except at foreign embassies, consulates and missions.
(5) Do not raise any foreign flag publicly, unless the Jamaican flag is also flown, except at foreign embassies, consulates and missions.
(6) The flag shouldn't be draped over vehicles, except on military, police and state occasions.
Still, there are designers who claim that utilising the Jamaican flag in their creations is their way of being patriotic. One of them is Karl Williams of Uzuri International, who says that is the intention whenever Uzuri does a piece incorporating the flag. One such came in 1998 when Shani McGraham represented Jamaica in the Miss Universe competition.
Williams says Uzuri had not used the flag in a design before, but they were inspired to do so when the Reggae Boyz qualified for the World Cup Finals.
"That's where the inspiration came from and we did that costume in the Jamaican colours as a way of showing our support and saying that we are proud of our country," he said.
Uzuri is known for their gowns mainly worn in the Miss World and Universe competitions, and their national costumes are usually bandana designs. However, since that landmark Miss Universe contest, Williams says they have used the flag mainly for costumes and special occasions.
SPECIAL OCCASIONS
"Sometimes people have special occasions that they will want a design with it, or when some students come from abroad and they may want something to take back with them," he said.
Williams says using the flag as fashion is a method of marketing Jamaican culture and also giving designers new opportunities.
"With these designs you are basically selling your culture and country to tourists ... People are crazy about the Jamaican culture, even with the crime and that sort of thing, so it goes without saying that they will want whatever we have to offer. We have the whole red, green and gold, but that's not true Jamaican colours; they will want the flag designs," he said.
McGraham isn't the only one strutting her stuff on stage in the flag wear. At Red Stripe Sumfest 2002, held at Catherine Hall, Montego Bay, St. James, the Jamaican flag pranced for all to see.
Entertainer Egg Nog wore a suit in the design of the Jamaican flag, while his musical comrades wore other flag suits as part of their act on Dancehall Night. Danny English's suit was in the design of the British flag, Singer Jay's was the flag of the United States and New Kidz's was that of Canadian flag.
Danny English says the suits were made especially for Sumfest, and this was done both as a fashion statement to excite the fans and out of Egg Nog's sense of patriotism.
PATRIOTISM
"It was our first time at Sumfest and we needed to make an impression ... Now when me and Egg Nog go to England to perform, I will wear my British suit and he will wear his Jamaican flag suit. I wear the British suit because of my name and he does it because we have to represent Jamaica wherever we go," he said.
Patriotism apart, there is an obvious market for those who make the black, green and gold clothes.
"If there was some authority in place to make sure that the designs were used properly then there would be a lot of opportunities for designers. For instance, most of these designs could be seen in Caribbean Fashion Week," Uzuri's Karl Williams said.
There has been no national body to prevent the use of the flag in designs, as such many local and foreign designers have used it on handbags, towels, shirts, bathing suits and other clothing.
"There are other designers making money from these designs and that's where the proper authorities would come in. If there were restrictions on that, it would be both good and bad. There is the side where these people are going to make all this money from our flag and our country doesn't benefit," Williams said.
