First…Multi-award-winning British actress Cynthia Erivo was recently styled by Jason Bolden in Theodore Elyett. The dress from “Bloooh la la” — a 22-piece resort collection which was a first-time collaboration between Elyett and Bahamian textile factory Bahama Hand Prints — was one of the standout pieces when the Bahamian designer debuted the collection last July on the Jamaica Observer’s Virtual Fashion Show webinar.

Elyett, creative director for his eponymous womenswear label Theodore Elyett, has been a mainstay in The Bahamian fashion industry for more than a decade.

Additionally…

Alison Antrobus, founder, Antrobus Design Collective, is spotlighted in the first annual Women in Design edition, a long-awaited and much-needed celebration to honour, according to its editor-in-chief Cindy Allen, “the talents and successes of female industry leaders”.

Antrobus in the publication speaks to feeling a sense of responsibility “to take all of the challenging experiences that I have encountered along the way and ‘make it right’ for myself and the women around me”.

Antrobus, who has been in the business for two decades and who lists working with Philippe Starck on Miami’s Icon Brickell as her breakthrough project, is featured alongside her culturally sensitive S Hotel, in Montego Bay, which opened in 2019.

She did not have to think twice when approached to renovate the former Breezes Hotel in Jamaica’s Montego Bay. “As a Jamaican who left in the 1970s, I always wanted to return to my island and contribute in some way,” she says.

With the saturation of foreign-owned resorts along the coast, Antrobus felt a keen sense of social responsibility to maintain the local culture in the newly named S Hotel. Indeed, she wove cultural elements into the design, from regional recipes painted on restaurant columns, to tall lobby screens evoking woven-straw crafts. “It never ceases to amaze me what new design vocabularies arise from a project once you are willing to think outside the box and pay attention to clues of place, programme, client, and history,” she notes.

Alison Antrobus earned her BA and BFA degrees from Rhode Island School of Design.

She opened her namesake firm in 2002.

She was invited to open and lead YOO’s Miami studio for several years, working closely alongside Philippe Starck, who remains a major influence.

A true multihyphenate, Antrobus has dabbled in fashion, designing watches and handbags.

She’s also a thoughtful advocate for female designers: “As a woman balancing motherhood, marriage, and running a company, I feel a responsibility to take all of the challenging experiences I have encountered along the way and ‘make it right’ for myself and the women around me.”

Also…

Saint International model Tami Williams covers Numéro Tokyo’s April 2021 issue. Dressed by New York-based fashion stylist Daniel Edley, Williams shines in Louis Vuitton for the Fun! Fun! Fun! edition.

Credits

Tami Williams for Numéro Tokyo

Photographer: Karen Collins

Stylist: Daniel Edley

Hair: Dennis Lanni

Casting: Mark Aguilar

Set Design: Eric Mestman

Cover Design: Takeshi Hamada

Edit: Midori Oiwa

And…

Dancehall artiste Shenseea was named BET’s Amplified Artist of the Month. BET Amplified is the brand’s stamp of approval on the ‘next big thing’ in music, with an emerging artiste spotlighted each month.

Plus…

Barbadian fashion and beauty mogul Rihanna has declared it spring with the Free Spirit Floral Collection — the newest selection of intimates from her Savage x Fenty lingerie line.

Credits

For Savage x Fenty

Photos: Dennis Leupold

Wardrobe: Savage x Fenty