The Kennedy Years Part 2
It’s taken more than a decade of begging and pleading, but good things, we reckon, come to those who wait, and AW can share with readers that Sandra Kennedy’s collection has found its way back to Kingston.
Kennedy has the distinction of almost causing broken nails, over a single garment. We’re not calling names, but let’s just say that once upon a time on Holborn Road where Kennedy’s collection, then called CHAD, was housed, and limited editions were the order of the day, a whisper was all it took to cause havoc over those black and white collections and specifically the limited-edition two- piece chiffon harem pants and tops.
Seems not much has changed really, for with Kingston under a deluge of showers last week Wednesday, word of Kennedy’s return, albeit under the label SK Collections, caused quite a frisson.
The fact that her atelier was not quite ready — the electrician still on site — went unnoticed as devotees sought to secure as many pieces as possible.
What’s different this time around?
The name perhaps, as well as the tags that read: A Brand Jamaica Product and a clearer statement of intent…
“It’s inspirational, exciting, fresh, simple, wearable, comfortable, classic designs created for today’s lifestyle”, shares Kennedy, whose CHAD sportswear line of clothing was once sold in over 60 resort shops across the island, and whose clientele stretched across the Caribbean with distribution outlets in Barbados, St Lucia and the Cayman Islands.
What has remained constant all these years is Kennedy’s mum Yvonne Hayles, who spent five decades in the ‘rag trade’ in the UK, where she owned and operated high-end garment factories servicing top designers like Arabella Pollen, Jasper Conran, OBE, and Nicole Farhi, CBE, and was contracted to reproduce lines for many of the major shows and then to produce their orders for timely seasonal delivery.
Additionally, Hayles produced for retail in major stores like Harrods and Harvey Nichols.
The mother and daughter duo, pins between lips — they’re old-school superior design skills mavens — plan to nurture talented young designers, train them in techniques and quality production, and contribute significantly to the Jamaican landscape.
AW welcomes the Kennedy Years Part 2.
—NMW
