[MANHATTAN, NY.] The fashion industry in America consist of vibrant creatives that either immigrated to the United States because of their parents or because they themselves were in search of the American Dream. When it comes to understanding the brand Theophilio, we look towards the founder, Edvin Thompson as he continues to incorporate his Jamaican heritage in each collection since launching in 2016. As most of the world is slowly returning to the outside world after being on lockdown for quite some time. The designer led a visual escape for attendees with his Spring Summer 2022 collection by way of Air Jamaica as the main focal point of inspiration that many legends from that country have interacted with before the airline ceased operation in 2015.
Not too long ago, Thompson returned to his place of provenance to visit family as they celebrated the life of his grandmother and great-grandmother. On that trip is where he got the chance to reflect on all his accomplishments thus far and it gave him the opportunity to cogitate the first time travelling on Air Jamaica to move to New York with his family. The show was a chance to champion major Jamaican idols that have influenced the world to accept Rastafarian culture into mainstream media.
The selected models for the presentation helped echo the sentiments of wearing Theophilio garments by ultimately being yourself with celebrating life to the fullest. For example in look 17, Symone Lu who also shares Jamaican lineage wore a black, red and yellow collared mini dress, a Chinese and Jamaican model that continues to breakdown beauty norms in her daily life as she embraces her “imperfections” that has established her as the most relatable smile in fashion. With mesh fabrics throughout the collection one could say that the targeted consumer for the brand does not lack any confidence, it cultivates a movement.
As much as Jamaica can be seen throughout there’s an undeniable presence of Brooklyn in each look. The style reflects Caribbean yet the attitude exudes New York to a fault with loose-fitting oversized shirts and trousers, extra-long sleeves that hide your hands, and glossy denim. Only three hand bag accessories were shown on the runway which allows the brand more room to explore that territory in the future. Hopefully that’s the surprise announcement on Monday. Best wishes to Edvin Thompson and the Theophilio team as finalist for the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund.
Inherit Love, I AM,
#StyleHeirs.
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