Krista Henry, Staff Reporter
Left: A model wearing a Kulcha Vybz outfit. - Contributed Right: A model in Cooyah swimwear at the Eclipse Pool Party, held at Rockfort Mineral Spa, Windward Road, Kingston, earlier this year. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
Reggae, roots, culture fashion is one of the hottest, trendiest and most nationalistic fashion movements to come out of Jamaica. Brands such as Cooyah, Catch a Fire and Kulcha Vybz are blazing the trail in distinctly Jamaican fashion.
Jamaica is rich in heritage, a heritage that is being fully utilised to promote Jamaica to the world. Kevin Reid, designer of Kulcha Vybz Kollection, said: "I really wanted something that represented Jamaica. The name Kulcha sounds like patois and I wanted people to not only see Jamaica but hear it as well." He continues, "There are T-shirts that embrace Jamaican culture, language, slangs and famous personalities."
Brands such as Kulcha Vybz, specialise in Caribbean culture, as their logo proclaims 'live your culture, wear your kulcha'.
Jamaican dialect
Cooyah's Gary Codner, director of marketing/designer, claims, "Cooyah had been in our Jamaican dialect, it means look here. We found it to be suitable. We wanted people to look at us, look at our fashion".
Codner continues, "We're Jamaicans, we're being real and selling what we know, promoting our country. Jamaica is like the superculture of the world. It's a marketable idea, promoting Jamaica."
He says, "We use positive images from reggae icons such as Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown, we distribute for Bob Marley. They were the first three icons Cooyah pushed. We are in tune with our African heritage, African words, as well as Jamaican and Caribbean themes, such as 876 (Jamaica's area code)."
But Kulcha Vybz uses a slightly different angle from Cooyah. Reid elaborates: "We don't just use Bob Marley, he's outplayed. Although he has done much for Jamaica and reggae music, there are other personalities just as powerful. So we use national heroes, people who fought for us to be who we are today. To educate persons abroad on who they are".
Paying homage
According to www.catchafireclothing.com, "Catch A Fire pays homage to the legendary I-Three and Cedella Marley's stylish father, the natty dresser Bob Marley, Cedella's biggest fashion influence. Adopting the name of his first album for pieces he influenced, Marley's lyrics brand the belt buckles and tees, while his rude-boy style leaves its mark throughout the line."
It is obvious that Jamaican culture has many different inspirations to offer for the fashion world. Reid says "Jamaican culture has so much to offer, so much positive, as long as I keep my line fresh, it should be good. I don't just use
the usual green, red and gold but diversify while still maintaining Jamaican logos. The graphics are clean for everyone".
Codner also claims, "our line is not only so image driven, but faces like Bob Marley are the most recognised figures. Bob Marley outsells every image except Elvis Presley. Jamaican culture is historic, from Marcus Garvey to Bob Marley, to Rastafari. There are a million different ideas, images and subjects we can use".
Despite all the success of these heritage brands, it hasn't always been an easy road. Gary Codner explains "when we fist started we got a lot of criticism for using the rasta image. Our own people, especially the bourgeoisie, people didn't accept our culture. After touring the world and being well received by others it encouraged us. Now other fashion houses are doing the same thing."
Other fashion houses such as Kulcha Vybz have grown quickly since its inception. Reid: "Kulcha Vybz is a year old now, but we've grown over a 100 per cent already. The line has been seen on a few known personalities such as Busy Signal, Wayne Marshall and more". He continues "now I want to market it to the Caribbean Diaspora. Establish a regional brand, culture Trinidad, culture Antigua and much more."
Left: An outfit from the Kulcha Vybz collection. - Contributed 7nbsp; Right: A Cooyah outfit. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
