First…

Dawson’s Creek alum Katie Holmes covers Les Femmes Publiques Issue 5 in Diotima’s Crochet Web Top and Musa Lace Knit Queen Suit. The black and white web top is Diotima’s debut collection’s hero piece and was crocheted by hand in Jamaica.

The Rock-inspired, Brooklyn-based label is helmed by designer Rachel Scott. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Scott left the island some 20 years ago to study art and French philosophy at Colgate University in New York. The label — which launched in April — takes its name from the ancient Greek priestess and philosopher Diotima of Mantinea.

Scott is a well-travelled and experienced fashion designer and an Istituto Marangoni alumna. She spends her time between her main occupation as vice-president of design at Rachel Comey and her exciting new project: Diotima.

Additionally…

Harper’s Bazaar takes readers from the design studio to the coffers as they break down the best everyday earrings with, among others, Jamaican-born jewellery designers Chari Cuthbert and Gina Love. The two front brands were ByChari and Auvere respectively.

If you consider yourself a jewellery lover, both brands need to be on your radar! Co-founded by Gina Feldman Love and her husband Steven Feldman in 2016, Auvere specialises in minimalist pieces made of 22K and 24K gold. While ByChari — a brand Cuthbert established in 2012 with $100 in seed money — is a curation of sentimental jewellery designed for the modern woman. The brand was propelled to new heights last year when former First Lady Michelle Obama’s ByChari “VOTE” necklace at the 2020 Democratic National Convention took the Internet by storm.

Next…

British-born, Rock-blooded menswear designer Bianca Saunders’ AW21/PW21 collection pieces are now live on Vault.gucci.com. Gucci’s latest endeavour is an online concept store that immerses viewers in the house’s past, present, and future.

Enter Vault, a retail experience pairs rare, vintage Gucci items with the creations of emerging talents like Saunders, as well as artists Yueqi Qi, Boramy Viguier, and Jezabelle Cormio.

Currently, the shop is home to an introductory selection of the house’s vintage offerings: Accessories, apparel, handbags, and homeware spanning the ’60s to the ’90s. Some pieces — including a Jackie bag from the ’70s — are hand-painted, rendering them one-of-a-kind.

The Collections

Further exploring masculine identity, Bianca Saunders’ capsule plays with cut, proportion and fluidity to distort the traditional forms with a series of sleek structured and unstructured pieces. Her signature cuts have been honed and perfected, with shoulder pads and tucks creating powerful silhouettes. Using innovations in denim and printing techniques, she superimposes images of crumpled denim on structured denim to create the illusion of weight and movement. Asymmetric T-shirts and tops with pulled shoulders feature, as do loose-cut jackets and trousers in strong block colour, along with creased, gathered, ruffled and pleated shirts, jumpers and shorts, to create a purposeful yet nuanced collection that plays with form and function.

Then…

British-based, Rock-blooded award-winning journalist Nadine White is listed on BBC Radio 1Xtra Future Figures list. The new initiative is an annual list compiled by 1Xtra, with the help of community groups, and names 29 notable individuals, groups, and organisations from across the United Kingdom who are ‘Making Black History Now.’ White — the UK’s first race correspondent at British online newspaper The Independent — was born in Brixton, London, to Jamaican parents.

Each day (Monday-Saturday) throughout October, as part of 1Xtra‘s Black History Month content, the station will delve deeper into each Future Figure, highlighting their successes and giving them a platform to showcase their extraordinary work. SO2 looks forward to White’s day in the spotlight.

And…

His eponymous line of purses blew up, in part because of his ‘End Systemic Racism’ tote that went viral last year. Now, it seems Jamaican-Chinese designer Brandon Blackwood is on the cusp of expanding his New York-based contemporary leather goods company to include coats, eyewear, and even more bags. Blackwood, who has mastered the art of suspenseful launches, made the announcement last week on Instagram. “This Fall. Bags | Coats | Eyewear,” he wrote.

And in more Blackwood news, if you’re in New York, check out the brand’s “Soho Sucks” billboard — designed by photographer Jeremiah McNair at the corner of Greene and Lafayette. The designers says there will be more billboards popping up across the city soon.

Plus…

The promo images for season two of Canada’s Drag Race are out and it’s safe to say Canadian actress Amanda Brugel is ‘queening’ in the Dupont dress from the Greta Constantine Spring 2021 collection. Brugel joins the show as a judge for the new season which debuts on October 14.

Also…

In more Greta Constantine news, American actress Tessa Thompson ruffles things up in a look from the brand’s Fall 2021 Ready-to-wear for Netflix Queue‘s Issue 5 cover story. Queue is the new journal from the global streaming service. Thompson fronts the publication’s fifth issue with Ethiopian-Irish actress Ruth Negga. The two play estranged friends reunited in the film adaptation of Nella Larsen’s beloved novella, Passing, which debuts on Netflix in November. Jamaican-American hairstylist Lacy Redway styled Thompson’s hair for the spread. Greta Constantine, a ready-to-wear womenswear label based in Toronto, Canada, was founded in 2006 by Jamaican-Canadian designers Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong.