ROBERT Anthony McFarlane stood surveying his workshop as we prepared for an interview about his Robb Anthony Fashion House, a business he started in 2008 in his rural village of Sandy Bay, Hanover. A tape measure across his shoulder is the tell-tale sign of a man who has fashion a the forefront of his mind all the time.

As we chit chat he outlined plans for the next year. The opening up of a display area where he operates at Kingston Craft Market in downtown Kingston in the next few weeks is an achievement he can barely can hide after facing struggles in the 15 years he has been doing fashion in Jamaica. So what led him here?

“From a very young age I always dabbled in fashion,” McFarlane told the Jamaica Observer, adding that he knows the phrase may be cliche’ but pointing out that in his case, it is true. McFarlane said to pursue his passion he went to Europe to do courses and to work in the sector, before returning to Jamaica to start his own enterprise.

“When I returned to Jamaica I started doing my designs in my community, then I used myself as a human mannequin in fitting the clothes I produced. I actually wore everything I made, and that continues up to today,” he said. People in the community who were noticing his fashion inquired about the clothes and became his first customers.

“They always say: ‘If you can’t be a king in your own community, it is hard to be a king anywhere else,’ and so I used that to measure the acceptance of my products — which was very favourable,” he continued. Having gauged that success he wanted more and said he created a strategy that would take him to Kingston, to be at the heart of the country’s fashion industry. There, he said he was also able to access raw materials more easily than anywhere else he operated from in Jamaica.

But he was to make stops in-between, first to Montego Bay, St James, then to Mandeville, Manchester, which he said was the last stepping stone before setting up in Kingston in 2013. He said in the capital he was able to feel the pulse of the fashion industry and the business took off, including producing various fashions for entertainers, among other clientele.

But he said the seasonality of the clothing industry presented challenges and he decided to rebrand and add new products “around 2018”, pausing the production of clothing. Then, he said, things were going well until the novel coronavirus raised its ugly head, leaving the economy and his business in a rut.

“We all know what COVID did to many businesses, and I suffered as a result of that as well. That has hampered the projected growth that was in place,” he said.

But, undaunted, McFarlane said as the economy reopened he drafted a new strategy.

“Since COVID we rebranded and brought on new products to the Robb Anthony label. We introduced RAAW, which stands for Robb Anthony Active Wear, which is a more laid-back line including bags and accessories and the denim which we have always done. We also now do purses, wallets, key chains, leather bracelets and so on, which compensates for the lines we took out so persons won’t by short-changed going forward.”

He said while growth could be better, he accepts that businesses go up and down, but he is optimistic about 2024.

“One of the things is that Jamaicans are accepting of local products, and that came about during COVID. And the Diaspora has been awakened also and is lending more support to Jamaican companies, including fashion, because they are specially made,” McFarlane pointed out. He also said he is looking to begin doing clothing again.

“The biggest challenge is the availability of funding. Fashion falls under the creative industries, and that sector is not well supported. However, there are certain initiatives being put in place by entities like the DBJ [Development Bank of Jamaica] and the EXIM Bank but they need to be better streamlined to help,” he said. “Hopefully, going forward, the kinks can be sorted out for us to have better access to financing to grow our business.”

McFarlane also bemoans the cost of exporting products because of a lack of adequate avenues to send products overseas. He said his clients have to use couriers such as DHL, FedEx or the US Post, but while the US Post is the cheapest it takes two weeks to get the products to a client. If he uses the private courier services the charge is exhorbitant, and clients want the manufacturer to pick up the cost.

But, looking foward, he is optimistic despite the numerous challenges he faces. At one point he said he gave away all the clothing he produced because he was frustrated that they were not selling.

“What we are looking to do now is to create a bit of necessary mayhem in the fashion industry. We are rebranding and restructuring, we will be bringing more creativity to the fashion sector, and one of our strong points is quality with style, so expect that more. We are producing goods with First World quality and we believe that makes us competitive.”

McFarlane can be reached on Facebook :Robb Anthony. Instagram account: robbanthony1. Phone number : (876) 431 4998.