Fashion meets food at Grandeur
Published:Friday | December 8, 2023 | 12:08 AMShanel Lemmie/Staff Reporter
Prepared for a night filled with culinary splendour, Grandeur offered a surprising combination of fashion and food. Spearheaded by international designer Nigel Ramsay, the fashion segment of the event showcased over a dozen looks from an upcoming collection that Ramsay is holding close to his chest.
The Caribbean Fashion Week alumni shared with The Gleaner that when creating this mini line, he drew inspiration from every facet of his life.
“This collection is a combination of past, present and future lines,” he began, “So this is kind of like a kickoff for what I plan to do in another six months or so. It’s a combination of pieces I’ve done in the past, redoing with different fabrics, textures and other throw-ins for this cocktail reception. Just wanted something more romantic, something more I wouldn’t even say casual, but giving people an idea of what they’ll be able to utilise for a duster, jacket or something,” he added.
Hoping to elevate evening-wear, his clothes are meant for the type of women who are comfortable pushing the envelope.
“In Jamaica I don’t see a lot of women go out in the evening time in a lot of beautiful jackets. It tends to be a lot more fitted [and] a lot more body conscious. I think if a woman is very comfortable she will be able to pull off an outfit. It’s basically as simple as that.”
He continued, “I am working on a luxury brand. My pieces are not for everyone. It’s for women who are comfortable with themselves and are willing to spend money to know that when they go out in a piece they are not competing with someone that’s wearing the exact same piece or something similar.”
Chief ideator for Grandeur and chef behind the evening’s delights, Karl McDermott told The Gleaner, that when conceiving the concept, Ramsay’s designs perfectly captured his vision.
“Nigel, he is from the old school days of Pulse and I think what happened is that people are going back to basics in the way that they attire themselves. He presents a bit of elegance more like an Audrey Hepburn-type style. It’s very elegant, very class and that is appealing to me based on what my thought process was for dressing the ‘real woman’,” McDermott said.
Not limiting himself to mere Caribbean muses, Ramsay said his designs are truly one of a kind as they take shape solely on the cutting board.
“As a designer, I don’t sketch so it is from concept. I just lay it out on the fabric and then I cut. Who is to say what fashion is supposed to be when it comes on to certain things. For me, something that goes wrong is always something that’s good for something else because everyone has a different taste when it comes on to fashion.”
He continued, “I’m never confined within lines because I know that if something goes wrong I can always turn that piece into something that is more fabulous.”
Utilising taffetas, cottons, linen and a lot of gold, Ramsay said this is the beginning thought for a collection he will fully present in another six months that expresses his unique viewpoint.
“I don’t want to be categorised as a Jamaican designer. I just want to be a designer that is free-spirited and is comfortable utilising different cultures to get my viewpoint across.”