Style has always been part of dancehall culture. Jamaican acts are not one to wear a lot of jewelry but they invest heavily in their attire. This year in particular Skeng reportedly paid over a million dollars for his Burberry outfit and Beenie Man made three changes during his set.
Giving us the overview of the best and worst dressed acts of Reggae Sumfest is Niko
The best men’s look of Night 1 was hands down Iwaata . That yellow striped suit was absolutely impeccable. I was floored to see how well tailored and styled it was. He added the perfect bad boy edge to it by pairing it with a cap with a kerchief layered underneath. This is the kind of fashion statement and consideration more of his peers need when thinking of wearing suits. Iwaata’s look deserves stadium applause.
Jashi was dapper which is a refreshing look from his usual style. It was good to see him looking mature for such an important night of his career as a new artist.
Skeng: There is something weirdly interesting about Skeng’s style which matches his personality perfectly. Since he dropped “London” he’s been on a Burberry binge and he brought it to Sumfest and look great! It’s fresh, trendy and stylish. People might not realize this but Skeng has developed an amazing personal style and he’s making a lot of great fashion choices.
Intence fashion choice was safe like most of the other male performers. It was safe but he looked good. All white can hardly get you on a worst dressed list. However, I would have preferred his pants to be a little longer, but besides that, it was a decent look.
450 : 450 had one of the most memorable suits of that night simply because it was an electrifying purple. It was dapper, well tailored and even without the jacket, it still had charm. The black glossy shoe with a studded rim was the perfect pairing with the suit. A look well done.
Alkaline: Comfort took the forefront and style stayed in the back. Alkaline outfit didn’t reflect that of his dancehall superstar status. It was actually disappointing because he has proven to us many times that when he cares to make a style statement he can. Reggae Sumfest is an event that requires some of that care and he didn’t deliver it. Image is a big part of a performance and Alkaline needs a reminder.
Aidonia: Aidonia is not to ever be questioned or challenged when it’s comes to performance fashion. Aidonia fully understands what it means to look like a star and he does it with ease. He’s truly one of the most stylish men in dancehall simply because he understands that in order to deliver a star performance you have to deliver a star look as well. Aidonia is a walking fashion lesson and I hope the others took notes.
Masicka: I wasn’t thrilled by his outfit and I wasn’t disappointed by it either. It was just ok but an ok outfit is not something for a sumfest stage. It lacked a certain star quality in its styling. The star printed denim jacket and pants were a good choice but he relied too much on that with no thought of styling so it didn’t provide what he thought it would promise as an overall look
W O M E N ⁃ Ishawna understood the assignment and she delivered an A+ look. It was dramatic, glamorous and sexy which are the most important elements of dancehall fashion. I wished the nude bodysuit was actually the right nude illusion for her skin tone but regardless, she looked mesmerizing. ⁃ What I love about Spice is her dedication to creative concepts! The space suit entrance was brilliant and is a creative extension of her album cover and overall album aesthetics. That was brilliant thinking. She then changed into a sparkly Galactic sculptural dress which offered more shine than style but was still enough to keep her performance interesting to watch. ⁃ ⁃ Marcy Chin : All bias aside, Marcy Chin’s sumfest look was the perfect debut performance look for a girl who has her eyes set on stardom and domination. It was like a glamorous and edgy fashion cross breed of Jennifer Lopez and TLC. Importantly, what it really was In many ways is a promise to fans and the industry that no matter how new she is, she can deliver a look and performance like she’s been in the game for some time. ⁃ ⁃ Shenseea was absolutely flawless. The fashion maturation of Shenseea is something to applaud and her sumfest look alone deserved every scream from the crowd. The styling was impeccable. Now that’s how you do it! ⁃ ⁃ Moyan’s sumfest look was safe in comparison to her female peers. It was Safe enough to keep her from landing on anyone’s worst dressed list but too safe to be memorable. Moyan looked good, she really did but when an audience is expecting the likes of Shenseea and Spice the same night as you, you have to pull out all the stops no matter how much of an upcoming artist you are. Gold thigh high boots and gold elbow length gloves would have given her all the drama she needed to shake the table.
Night 2
Beres Hammond – Not even legends are above fashion criticism so with that being said, Uncle Beres needs a lil bit more pep in his fashion step. I would love to see Mr Beres fully decked out in a well tailored suit one day. Something extremely dapper and fitted. Shoutout to his background vocalist. They looked beautiful.
Beenie Man – If fashion was an Olympic Sport, Beenie Man would be a 900 time Gold Medalist. Beenie remains the style standard in Dancehall and it’s because of things like changing 3 times (yes 3 times!) in one set at this year’s Sumfest that extends his fashion reign. This man’s dedication to put on a show and look impeccable while doing it is second to none. Beenie Man will go down in history as arguably the most stylish male dancehall artist to ever exist.
Chris Martin – Christopher Martin knows what the ladies want and he came bearing them gifts in the form of abs. 20 minutes into his performance Chris outfit became 30% style and 70% sex appeal after he took his jacket and shirt off. But before he got “comfortable”, his full look was something to see. Chris Martin in a suit could easily be mistaken for a GQ model and I’m sure GQ themself couldn’t tell the difference.
Cham: I appreciated the route Cham took with his outfit for the Dave Kelly Tribute. It had personal style written all over it. He knew that most of his peers would be in suits so him appearing in a leather button down and shorts was pretty rockstar of him. Besides looking like he could blend right in with the Gen Z crowd, His outfit choice hinted at us that he’s keeping up with the latest in fashion.
Bounty Killer: Bounty Killa isn’t a fashion figure like a Beenie man. However, he does enough to make himself still look like the star that he is. I would love to see him take it up a notch but I’m not mad at where it is right now.
Shaniel Muir- Shaniel’s Reggae Sumfest performance look was a real fashion spectacle. From entering in a dramatic white robe to then revealing a gold embellished bodysuit underneath was as much as a show as her actual performance. It was a glorious full circle moment for her to be performing as a fast-rising music star at the biggest reggae/dancehall festival on earth, on the same Montego Bay soil she grew up in as a little girl. It was only right she looked absolutely phenomenal.
