Imani Randolph, a Jamaican-American model, fashion writer, and influencer, has been included in a feature article in Teen Vogue magazine that recommends taking a “virtual vacation” to help combat the social isolation mandated by COVID-19 precaution policies. Randolph is one of four fashion influencers invited to choose and dress for their favorite virtual vacation spot. Being of Jamaican descent, Randolph enthusiastically named Jamaica as her dream destination.
Currently, the model and writer is staying in Albany, New York, at the home of her mother When asked by the magazine for the reasons she chose Jamaica as the destination to dress for in the virtual vacation fantasy, she explained that her mother is from Montego Bay and that before the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, she and her mother, along with her mother’s best friend who Randolph considers a “second mom” were planning to take a trip to the Caribbean island. Randolph said that choosing Jamaica for a virtual vacation was her “homage” to those plans. She went on to describe her choice of fashion look for the fantasy vacation, saying “I selected this look because I’m a sucker for a good co-ord and the gingham feels like a fabric my grandma would’ve selected when making clothes for my mom when she was little.”
Randolph told Teen Vogue that the first thing she would do in Jamaica was “EAT!” She said that on her first trip to Jamaica, which she took at age 10, she was “shamefully ignorant” and ate only instant ramen noodles during the entire trip, refusing to try the dishes her family made. The memory now makes her laugh because she has realized since then how delicious Jamaican food is. She is counting the days until she can return to the island and have oxtails and rice & peas.
Randolph said the thing she misses the most since being quarantined is being able to leave her apartment every day and facing “the unknown.” She noted that every day in New York offers a completely different outcome, a situation she finds “thrilling.” She said she is able to maintain her equilibrium while in lock-down by understanding that those thrilling days will come back. When they do, Randolph says she will be even more eager to meet them.
Information and Photo Source: Teen Vogue Magazine, Imani Randolph Instagram
