“What can’t be measured will never get attention,” said fashion designer and founder of The Designers Guild Keneea Linton George, as she participated in Ascend, a round-table talk presented by MoDA in association with Kingston-based lifestyle concept store Locale and the Jamaica Observer, on Thursday, December 10, inside the Jamaica Observer executive boardroom. Fashion academics, entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, and designers joined co-hosts, Locale co-principals Kerry-Ann Clarke and Aiesha Panton, and chair, Jamaica Observer Senior Associate Editor–Lifestyle & Social Content Novia McDonald-Whyte for an actionable discourse on the way forward for the industry post-Hurricane Melissa.

“I do believe we have a unique ability to turn disruption into innovation… today’s conversations are not about what happened, as much as it is about what is going to happen next. I think we’re going to explore the possibilities and the opportunity on how we can collaborate, how we can plan for the future, and how we can find opportunities in disaster,” said Clarke.

Passion was at the fore as young creatives shared their experiences, while feeding off the wealth of the more experienced around the boardroom table. And while plans to collaborate, formalise business practices, and reimagine how fashion is taught at institutions like Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, fashion designer Troy Oraine Williamson reminded the group that it can’t be all talk. “We can have convos all day, but then we go back in our little bubbles, and not much happens,” he said.

With a plan of action for monthly meetings, and a concord for all to register with The Designers Guild, Kingston Creative co-founder Andrea Dempster Chung remarked, “We are the most talented, but least organised,” striking a chord with all.

The event was bookended by a promise from the creatives to take actionable steps and a group shot on the boardroom’s terrace.

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Honour Roll One thing’s for sure, Tribe Nine Studios Creative Director Troy Oraine Williamson will always get an ‘A’ for branding! The designer was lensed outside the Jamaica Observer boardroom rocking pieces from his brand: Split Leg Pants, 7 Miles Cropped Vest, and branded Trucker Cap. Naphtali Junior

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