The Met Gala happens every year with design interpretations from fashion houses and celebrities presented on the red carpet relating to a theme. This year’s theme was “American Independence”.
An evening at the Met will treat you to statement pieces reflecting political statements or show-stopping iconic costumes from Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, JLO and new generation stars like Chloe and Hallie, Billie Eilish and many others. Everyone who is anyone in fashion come out to the grand scale event indicative of things to come in fashion.
The invite-only Gala has always celebrated major brands like Givenchy, Tom Ford, Versace, and Balenciaga as it doubles as one of the biggest fundraising nights in New York City at $35,000 per ticket.
That out-prices the independent fashion institution known as Dancehall it has produced some of the greatest inspiration for fashion house celebrated at events like the Met. The street culture from which the music genre is derived, while not boasting any event at such high ticket prices, has been known to set global fashion trends that still highlight the spirit and culture of Jamaica.
The indigenous fashion styles developed in the dancehall are often copied and duplicated by some of these same fashion houses and top-flight celebrities, often inaccurately appropriating and without credit.
Here are 4 fashions trends from Jamaica and dancehall culture that has found their way all over the world and inspired high fashion.
1. Red Green and Gold Marina
Jamaicans have a love affair with the mesh marina. Both men and women 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 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.