Bianca Saunders hasn’t been back to Jamaica for years, in body at least. Instead, the British designer drew on her Jamaican roots and Bradley Smith’s images, from the 1940s, of staff at a high-end Jamaican resort.
Those images show housekeepers, waiters, valets and sommeliers posing in their uniforms. There are also pictures of fishermen all set to measure their catch of the day, and of farmers, laughing as they feed their goats from baby bottles.
Saunders said she wanted to return to Jamaica with the eyes of a tourist, and take a closer look at the tailoring of hotel uniforms, but also of the souvenirs that visitors carry home with them.
It was a sweet, laid-back collection that exuded the heat and bold color of the island — and some of its texture, too.
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Saunders transformed a loose fishnet fabric into slouchy bags, hats and a long, bright blue djellaba, and painted deep green strokes — like ferns blowing in the breeze — onto a cream double denim suit.
A bright placement print featuring a cluster of brightly colored breakfast fruit adorned a cotton button-front shirt and matching tie.
Tailoring took its cues from the waiters. Boxy cropped jackets had skinny lapels while shirts were white and fitted with statement collars. For those precious, off-duty days at the beach there were crinkly cotton shirts and tank tops with asymmetrical necklines that will look good on everyone — not just the boys.
Denim was a standout, and took in shackets, jaunty neckerchiefs and wide-leg trousers with bleached-out streaks. Narrower, dark indigo jeans were worn tucked into Saunders’ fabulous, riding-style boots made by Valuni in collaboration with the Portuguese Association of Footwear and Leather Goods.
The midrise boots (and the bright, square-toed slip-ons for hotter days) marked the launch of Saunders’ first full footwear collection for this growing brand. Saunders is the latest winner of the BFC/GQ Designer Fashion Fund, which comes with 100,000 pounds and high-level business mentoring.
The designer said she plans to use the money to “grow the business internally, keep the sales team in-house, and continue focusing on North America,” where the brand already has a strong consumer base.
