Jamaican designer Edvin Thompson, the creator of the contemporary clothing brand Theophilio, presented his Spring and Summer 2021 collection entitled “Migration” on September 16, 2020. The digital presentation, which features Thompson’s approach to design that combines nostalgia for his Jamaican childhood and the modern and progressive culture of the New York where the brand is based, takes viewers for a ride down Dawkins Drive in Portmore, St. Catherine, Jamaica. Items in the collection flash by continuously and Thompson says the background video is created from video of a trip he made to Jamaica in 2019 to attend the funerals of his grandmother and great-grandmother. The juxtaposition of his Jamaican heritage and the New York experience is evident in many of the pieces in which he uses the colors of the flag, leather pants, pleated dress, fringe and mesh tank dresses, colored blocked blazers, and various leopard and paisley prints.
Thompson also showed a musical Jamaican drama that featured a tribute to rockers and highlighted some of the looks that brought the drama, including a yellow button-down with sleeves that extended past the model’s knees paired with a yellow and green pant. Another look featured a crushed velvet pant in black with an electric green inseam topped off with a snake that was wrapped around the model’s neck. Another dramatic look combined a red fur, textured red pants, and matching spray paint that went across the model’s eyes.
Susan Oludele and Sean Bennett styled the hair for Thompson’s show, and the hairstyles ranged from pixie cuts in white and electric green to asymmetrical turquoise blunt cuts and finger wages to locs, breaded braids, and towering pin curl updos from the 1990s. Thompson has made upcycling clothing an essential part of his brand and has established representation and participation in many cultural identities. He is committed to these missions at the same time as he is curating a collection that promotes the visibility and voices of people who look like him.
Source: Essence Magazine, Instagram
