Colorblind designers err in branding ‘Jamaica Stripe’ sweater
Cedella Marley in her design studio. Associated Press/Rolo De
Campo, fi le
Caribbean Life, FEBRUARY 12-18, 2021 11
French, fashion luxury
designers of Louis Vuitton merchandising
erred in replicating
the Pan-African colors to sell a
tri-colored, $1340 sweater they
branded “Jamaica Stripe.”
That the LV pullover associates
the red, gold and green
fashion item with Jamaica —
whose colors of black, green
and gold represent the island
— resonated with absurdity
during Black History and Reggae
Month.
Soon after the fashion house
introduced the chic knitted
item last month, an observant
Twitter noticed the merchandise
and quickly assailed them
citing cultural misappropriation.
The Daily Beast picked up the
story followed by BET Style.
According to BET, “whether
it was a case of good intentions
gone wrong or something
far more malicious, there is
no question that this advertisement
is cringe-worthy
and displayed a blatant lack of
research.”
The headlined of their
damning article read “A Fail:
Louis Vuitton Designs A Sweater
‘Inspired’ By The Jamaican
Flag, And the Colors Are Completely
Wrong.”
The writers did not mince
words, they said the fashion
company had completely missed
the mark. The story enlightened
fashionistas, reggae music fans,
Jamaicans and readers who said
they were in disbelief that the
European outlet was ‘inspired by
the Caribbean island’s national
flag.’
“Understandably we are
speechless, primarily since this
so-called tribute does not feature
the same colors as the
Jamaican flag,” the BET writers
noted.
In fact, the colors represent
Ethiopia and Pan-African
nations that adopted the colors
in tribute to the African nation
that eluded slavery.
History records that Ethiopia
fended off Italian invaders
whose quest was to colonize the
African nation.
It may seem funny that LV
could have been as clueless as
it seems but it was no joke to
fashion designer Cedella Marley
whose Jamaica-born father’s
76th birthday anniversary coincided
with the launch.
During the Feb. 6 celebratory
week the eldest daughter
of Bob and Rita Marley resorted
to Instagram to inform LV of
their error. She used a photo of
her legendary father to illustrate
how the Rastafarian attributed
to popularizing the red, gold
and green fashion trend.
She juxtaposed a photo of the
reggae singer wearing a track
suit in a picture posted against a
contrasting banner of the island
nations distinct colors.
Marley wore tracks-suits,
sweaters, caps often embellished
by the red, gold and green
colors.
Allegedly the Rastafarian,
reggae, singer who died in 1981,
wore them as a homage to Ethiopia,
the sacred birthplace of his
spiritual leader Emperor Haile
Selassie I.
Marley’s fans adopted the
style cue claiming it for both
the music and the mantra associated
with a lifestyle reflective
of natural and organic vitality.
In her own right, the firstborn
daughter of the king of
reggae is renowned in the fashion
industry for her Catch A Fire
designs.
The brand became all the
rage throughout the industry
and in high end stores such as
Nordstroms, Saks etc when she
created colorful outfits in both
the Pan-African and black, gold
and green colors of her native
Jamaica.
As a matter of fact, Jamaica
commissioned her collaboration
with Puma to outfit the
island’s Olympic team in 2012
when they competed in London,
England.
Catch You On The Inside!
Inside Life
By Vinette K. Pryce