Krista Henry, Staff Reporter
Left: A design by Barry Moncrieffe at Caribbean Fashion Week (CFW) 2006, held at the national Indoor Sports Centre, Independence Park, Arthur Wint Drive on Sunday June 11. Right: A design from Cedella Marley's Catch A Fire Collection: Sixty and Still Smokin. - Winston Sill / Freelance Photographer
Jamaican fashion seems to be going no further than the boundaries of the island. With a number of factors causing its downfall, the fashion industry is screaming for assistance. One such means of assistance is shows put on by Pulse CEO Kingsley Cooper, who reacted to the story 'Fashion Stuck On The Runway' in last Sunday's publication.
The Gleaner: How developed would you say the fashion industry is locally ? If it's not, how so?
Kingsley Cooper: As someone who has been deeply involved in various aspects of Jamaica's fashion industry for more than 27 years and, as a stakeholder who has invested considerably over these years, I find it imperative to always look at the industry in reasonably comprehensive and balanced terms, when asked. The article appearing in The Gleaner represented the views of a number of stakeholders in the industry. Although views varied, there seemed to have been a general feeling of an industry not developing at the speed or to the extent that it ought to. And this is generally correct.
Has our fashion industry broken grounds abroad?
Interestingly, some of the more successful Jamaican brands are US based - Yardmanstyle (New York) and Cooyah (Miami) are two examples. As producers of Caribbean Fashionweek, it has been refreshing to see these brands grow, but they are not the only ones. Jessica Ogden, a U.K. based Jamaican designer with whom we have worked since the early 1990s, is rated among the 150 most influential designers in the world, shows at the major collections and is represented in stores around the world. Others have gained significant increase in business and market share, qualitatively and to a lesser extent, quantitatively, because of the branding and imaging that we have helped to provide through CFW.
Is there a lot of potential in the business?
"There are several serious business people in the local industry - The Mushroom, Bill Edwards, Wright Style, Mutamba, Loran V, to name a few. Others are equally determined to succeed at a financial level, but lack the required funding, technical competence, production facilities or marketing skills. Even where our designers have the required business mindset there are significant challenges. The harsh reality, though, is that most of our designers are artistes, not business people, and without the required business skills that must be brought to any fashion design project they will not succeed.
Companies based in the U.S. and Europe operate in a highly competitive and developed atmosphere. They either perform or die and they are capable of performance. Once funding is available (it's much easier to find investors in the US, if cash is needed), there is immediate access to manufacturing, choice of top class fabrics, design skills, technical skills and marketing - all of which can be bought through partnerships, employment or contracting. It's just a matter of hitting the right formula; hence the explosion of music based designer brands - popular culture meeting marketing savvy. The big name rap stars are generally not designers, but they hire people who can interpret the street and the impact of the artiste on the street and transform that into successful businesses, selling branded clothing and merchandise to a mass market of adoring fans and others. At the higher levels of the market (couture, etc.) there is equally a process that leads to success, once the talent is there and the funding is in place. Everything else is available for acquisitions at a price, including general know how.
