Fashion Elevation pushes the envelope with style

Models from fashion houses such as Shades of Africa, Endlesz Designs, Yard Pop, Cheryl Robinson Designs and the Septimius Couture Collection, strutting their stuff down the runway and celebrities sitting row, some with expressions as hard to read as those of Vogue's Anna Wintour, were some of the elements of Fashion Elevation 2026: The Essence of Style, held earlier this month at The Summit, Chelsea Avenue, St Andrew.

The event, which was organised by The Mahogany Entertainment Network, was a mixed bag of fashion, entertainment and a mini ceremony honouring stalwarts such as Weston Haughton, Cindy Breakspeare, Althea Laing, Joan McDonald and Marcia Griffiths, and also recognising the current Miss Jamaica World, Neveah Allen.

The fashion included easy-wear, bold, colourful, flowing island prints, impy skimpy dancehall fashion, men with unbuttoned shirts baring their chiselled chests, and men in skirts and dresses, which caused quite a stir, even as the audience cheered them on with enthusiasm.

Designer, Septimius The Great, who dressed the men in women's wear, admitted to pushing the envelope, but he also told The Gleaner that it would not be totally correct to label the designs as "skirts and dresses".

"I deliberately push the envelope," said Septimius The Great, whose mother is Jamaican and was recognised by The Recording Academy for his contribution as a guest artiste on the Best Reggae Album Grammy Award-winning album The Kalling. "In most cultures, men wear kilts or wraps, not skirts, and it’s more common in today’s modern man and a resurgence of men's fashion dating back to thousands of years BC. This was not female attire, but is how our ancestors and modern men dress today worldwide."

Asked about the models' reaction to getting dressed in his avant-garde fashion, Septimius shared that he was excited to see how "hip and knowledgeable" the models were on international fashions.

"For the males, I could see that they were sceptical about the fashion-forward menswear being here in Jamaica, but once they put it on and once they [heard] the loud claps from the women in the audience, they became bold, confident and proud to pay homage to cultural ancestors and to wear what real modern man of today wears internationally. They were happy and proud to be part of history for Jamaica." Septimius told The Gleaner.

Last Saturday, the event got underway half an hour after its scheduled 8 p.m. start time, with an arresting and energetic piece from The Mahogany Dancers dressed in tribal wear, and making piercing sounds. The dancers were an integral part of the more than two-hour-long package, which the audience enjoyed. The organisers are hailing the event as a success."We believe that by starting this event, Fashion Elevation, we will be able to encourage designers and models to get back into this arena and make it bigger and better. We have the talent .... we have designers who are internationally known and recognised, so why not," chief organiser, Brent Maxwell said.

Septimius shared that this trip to Jamaica was made extra special because he was able to perform his songs and debut his menswear fashion collection.

He said that through this initial staging, they were able to secure international and local government and private sponsorship for 2027, with plans for international designers from Europe, Asia, the USA and India, along with bringing in international celebrity and VIP models for the next staging.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com