LFW Review: Making it through the “Eye of the Storm” with Jawara Alleyne
A reminder of resilience and sentiment.
During London Fashion Week on Monday 19th February, Jawara Alleyne presented his AW24 collection at St. Mary Le Strand Chapel in Holborn.
by Kenny Downs
Hurricane season annually shakes the Caribbean with destructive and torrential downpour, pressing communities to organise, protect, and rebuild. People in these communities are forced to salvage anything and everything they could by being resourceful. Caymanian-Jamaican designer Jawara Alleyne recalls a childhood story of being caught in one of these storms, Hurricane Ivan, and how the resilience of his community inspired his AW24 collection called “Eye of the Storm.”
“Jawara wanted to visually illustrate the ‘de-construction’ and reconstruction it takes to preserve sentimental value.”
The show took refuge at St Mary Le Strand Chapel, as churches have often been spaces for shelter and safety in Jawara’s upbringing. Recalling a terrifying event, Jawara wanted to keep Caribbean culture alive and well by using uplifting music, keeping spirits and morale high as one would need to during difficult times. While Caribbean clothes are usually marked by breeze and flow, Jawara wanted to visually illustrate the “de-construction” and reconstruction it takes to preserve sentimental value.
The first model emerges with a fun silver tinsel wig and a de- and re-constructed striped hooded top with a peachy twisted maxi skirt wrapped around her legs. This theme continued throughout the show with flannel sprinkled through, sometimes refashioned as skirts, and indistinguishable rolled wraps of fabric asymmetrically criss-crossing bodies.
Denim and corduroy were integrated throughout the collection as they mark casual Caribbean fashion. Jawara uses a lot of layering, which doesn’t feel experimental but feels improvisational, reminding us of what it’s like to pick up the pieces and making do with what we have. This improvisation, though reminiscent of a dark time, is sweet and playful through the pops of blue, red, and pink. Fabrics and colors juxtaposed charmingly and were united by freeform and organic cuts and shapes. Garments that would be otherwise shapeless were safety-pinned haphazardly, giving us the sense of urgency Jawara is portraying to us.
My favorite outfit from this presentation has to be the closer, which was a white fishnet dress, layered, pinned, and twisted featuring a super high slit. The outfit was minimally accessorized with a coordinating headband that appears to double as an eyepatch. I really got the island verve from this fit and it was an excellent and mindful look to close the collection.
“Draping and layering continues to be a signature of Jawara’s work.”
Draping and layering continues to be a signature of Jawara’s work. “Eye of the Storm” was a whirlwind of ideas and inspiration. It was a brainstorm that came into a culmination of growth, resilience, and brilliance. I am looking forward to seeing how Jawara continues to experiment with sustainable design of distressing, underpinning, and over-pinning to make organic cuts and shapes we wouldn’t see anywhere else.
