Through the colour and black and white imagery created, the duo have attempted to capture the energetic spirit of the ready-to-wear collection. This, combined with the house’s colourful collaboration with the American artist Josh Smith, makes for a vibrant and dynamic campaign.
For those who may have been surprised to see the French brand collaborating with a Jamaican dancehall artist, but for more than 30 years fashion brands have looked to Jamaica and Jamaican artist for inspiration.
Givenchy’s haute Paris runway featured a street wear collection from the American designer Matthew M. Williams, known for his collaborations with Lady Gaga and Kanye West.
Williams shared a few pictures on Instragram and had said that his inspiration this season was the style of Jamaican dancehall artist, who worked on the show’s soundtrack.
During the summer fashion show as the models walked on water, Alkaline’s hit singles After All, My Side of the Story, Company, Ocean Wave, and One More Time served as background music.
Here are previous 4 fashions trends from Jamaica and dancehall culture that served as inspiration for the world of high fashion.
1. Red Green and Gold Marina
Jamaicans have a love affair with the mesh marina. It is tradition for both men and women to wear the iconic red, green and gold color ones which was a spinoff of Rastafarian culture in Jamaica. The colors are from the Ethiopian flag but the mesh marina itself originated as a European under-garment, or as Jamaicans say “under-shirt”. It became a uniform for the “rude boy” fashion in the ’70s and was usually worn underneath a button up shirt with only one button at the top.
The original marinas were worn as one color but then took on new life as dancehall fashion with more colors added in the 1990s. Artists like Spragga Benz, Louis Culture, Beres Hammond, Buju Banton all sported red, gold and green Marinas during their photoshoots, music videos and live performances.
Fenty Beauty fashion Rihanna was seen sporting the Red, Gold and Green Mesh Marina in her number one hit music video Work with Drake.
2. Jamaican Flag Colors
The Jamaican Flag is used in low fashion resort wear items as local designers and mass producers and T-shirt printers alike capitalize on the excitement of tourists to leave with a piece of Jamaica. However, in 2021 Louis Vuitton came under fire after selling a pullover sweater inspired by Jamaica’s national flag only the expensive item had the wrong colors.
The luxury fashion house owned by the richest men in the world Bernard Arnault, was using the item to celebrate Black History Month but the error upset fans and stirred accusations that they only used Jamaica’s culture for profit with no internal representation to guide the process or give back to the culture and country. The sweater’s incorrect color representations were criticized by fashion critic @PAM_BOY, who tweeted, “Louis Vuitton’s Jamaican stripe pullover & Jamaica’s actual flag. I cannot stress enough how important it is to implement diversity as a value and not a symbol within fashion companies.” The US$1300 plus sweaters were subsequently pulled from the website. A lesson for LV, if you want authenticity, pay a visit to Jamaica and experience the culture or just hire more Jamaican designers.
3. Shabba’s rings and ‘Cut Off Foot Pants’ & Fade.
Shabba brought several fashion trends to the mainstream including leather vest , multiple rings on multiple fingers and the ‘cut off foot’ pants and side high top fade. The Grammy-winning deejay and style icon has inspired everyone from Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar to Asap Ferg who did a song Like Shabba Ranks to pay homage to his legendary status in fashion and music.In 2017 GQ mistakenly credited Harry Styles for the ring finger trend when fans on social media reminded them of the Emperor’s trend-setting ways.
British GQ’s account tweeted, “Thanks to @Harry_Styles , wearing multiple rings is now a thing”. Jessibeng tweeted in résponse, “With how much Jamaican culture has impacted Britain you’d think they’d know better….. Laughs in Shabba”
After the backlash they tweeted, “(Apologies for the obtuse tweet on the weekend, naturally Harry Styles is just the latest to adopt this style.)”. They did not acknowledge Shabba’s contribution as the leader of the trend. Shabba also pioneered the half-high top hairstyle that other singers and rappers adopted in the 1990s and P. Diddy recently wore as he transitioned into Love.
4. Locks.
The dreadlocks hairstyle started with soldiers in Ethiopia loyal to His Imperial Majesty Emperor Hailie Sellasie I who were said to be in protest of His Majesty’s exile. The hairstyle became a formidable part of the Rastafarian culture and identity which originated in Jamaica and has its roots in Ethiopia and African heritage.
The dreadlocks hair also has a history of oppression on the island and many people were locked up, had their hair cut off and even killed just for having the hairstyle and aligning with the Rastafarian faith in the 1960s. As the Rastafarian movement gained more respect with the popularity of Bob Marley and reggae music in the late 80s and 90s, people across the world began to sport a more groomed version of locks outside of the Rastafarian culture. In Jamaica and many parts of the world, people wear half of their hair shaved and the other half locked or a shaved beard and full locks.
In 2016 Locks wearing sparked massive controversy and debate in the international fashion world as Marc Jacobs had models on his runway for his Spring 2017 collection in dyed wool dreadlocks. Vogue reported that hairstylist Guido Palau said “it was a homage to club kids; Boy George; and director Lana Wachowski, among a slew of other references”.
The representation caused discussions around whether Jacob’s choices were an offensive form of cultural appropriation especially because it was worn by a predominantly white cast or models, according to Vogue.com.
Jacobs responded on his Instagram account “I respect and am inspired by people and how they look. I don’t see color or race—I see people”. He later apologized “for the lack of sensitivity unintentionally expressed by my brevity,” adding: “Of course I do ‘see’ color, but I DO NOT discriminate. THAT IS A FACT!”
