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Posted Jun. 17, 2008, 6:02 p.m. ET
Caribbean Fashion Week: Island Vibe on the Runway Pt. 1
By Carol Lee
The island vibe was fully in effect on the runway. The collection after collection of clothes that paraded down the catwalk embodied a wide spectrum of influences from elegant church lady to proud Rasta girl to urban sex-pot. Minka, one of the standouts, is a Jamaican queen of crochet who knits everything from bikinis to dresses. And the more traditional looking garbs by Mutamba, another Jamaican, are made for powerhouse ladies like Lauren Hill and Erykah Badu. All around, bright neon colors were in full bloom as well as the eye-popping prints. The mood shifted constantly among a dozen or so designers who showed each night. Sexy, sleazy and soulful, every outfit was channeling some kind of voodoo, drama, carnival and ghetto fabulosity. What a spectacle!
Comments
minka's crochet collection is irie. tell her to make man-crochet gear - perhaps a hat, or a scarf or sweater.
you're my ganja goddess carol lee!!
Posted at 6:47 p.m. ET on Jun 17, 2008 by PDNYC
"Channeling some kind of "Voodoo"" - you would liken the creativity that you witnessed to - "some kind voodoo"? Do you have any idea what Voodoo is? Or what adaptations of voodoo would look like in clothing? Would you be able to recognize voodoo if you saw it on the runway or on the streets of New York?
There is an old Ghanian saying that goes like this - "No matter how big a stranger's eyes, they cannot see." This in reference to the proverbial blindness of foreigners who venture into other cultures and see only what they want to see and nothing else. It is always better to stay away from blanket terms that you feel would be appropriate based on stereotypes and preconceived notions about peoples and places.
This brings me to my next point. "Ghetto fabulosity" is an American idea and is unique to the relevant sub-cultures in America. It is a cultural idiom that is not applicable anywhere else, at least certainly not applicable to Caribbean fashions displayed at the shows that we both observed.
Posted at 1:33 p.m. ET on Jul 01, 2008 by Fashion Observer!
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