Nashauna Drummond, Staff Reporter
Left: Black is one of the dominant colours of the collection and these two I Style dresses are form-fitting and feminine.
Right: Antionette Messam (fourth right), with models from Twilight Tea, a fashion show held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in December.The event showcased some of the new pieces from Ms. Messam's Spring/Summer 2006 collection. - WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
COMFORTABLE YET en vogue. Free flowing material that cascades down feminine contours enhancing the figure of any woman.
That sums up I Style designs by Jamaican born costume designer Antoinette Messam. Ms. Messam who resides in Toronto Canada, has done costume designs for over 21 feature films, cable television movies and television series. In 2004 she worked on designs for Redemption (Tooki Williams) starring Jamie Fox and most recently, Skinwalkers (horror film starring Rhone Mitre and Jason Beer) to be released this Halloween).
FILMS
After 15 years in the film industry, Ms. Messam branched out into mainstream fashion with the introduction of I Style in 2001. She said Jamaica was the main reason she started her clothing line. "Jamaica was the reason I started designing. The scene in the island was very limited, all the stores were offering the same thing. What I offer is basic things, you can build on it, it's easy to wear and care for and you can individualise it."
Now 40 years old, the designer has enjoyed all aspects of the fashion industry. "I modelled for many years. When I finished International Academy of design in Toronto I worked as a stylist doing music videos and advertising. MTV's movie network was doing a show with children who were musicians and I was recommen-ded. It was an incredibly scary 16 hours every day."
DESIGNING
Ms. Messam explained o Flair that designing costumes for a movie is very different from fashion designing but she enjoys both. "With a film you're given a script to adopt written words into clothes and create a look for a movie. You have to make the clothes fit the actor's character. With fashion I'm usually inspired. It may be a colour or a movie or a person." Her 2006 Spring/Summer collection was inspired by actress Rhona Metra with whom she worked with in her latest movie.
"I love the challenges of designing for film. For example fitting Jamie Fox as a bad boy. I just recently finished Skin Walker which is a werewolf slasher movie. From day one, I was part of the creative process. This included watching the characters grow and morph and if they are going to burst out of the shirt. I had to decide where it would rip. For that I worked with Stan Winston Studio which is the biggest special effects studio (that did E.T.) I was like a child in a candy store. I look forward to being a part of the creative process," Ms. Messam said. She notes that when viewing her work in films she is very critical. She watches the movie twice - once as a designer watching how the costumes flow and then as a layman. She notes that if she watches it once, all she sees is the clothes and nothing else.
LIFE IN FOOD
In 2004, the versatile Ms. Messam also opened a restaurant in downtown Toronto; Opao Dining Lounge. They offer French cuisine. "Very simple dishes such as pasta and shrimp or chicken. I wanted to offer something different from what customers were able to get elsewhere", Ms, Messam said. She started working in a restaurant when she was 14 years old and continued until about 21, "basically I grew up in a restaurant," she notes.
PATRIOT
Though she left Jamaica when she was six years old, Ms. Messam has kept Jamaica close to her heart. When she speaks of her homeland, the pride and patriotism are unmistakable. "My comfort zone is home." She describes her her favourite spot in Jamaica, Point Hill in Negril: "This is my Jamaican spot, I just step outside my villa and see the water and palm trees and that is so relaxing."
And of Jamaican food, her favourites are oxtail and a good curry goat and some great roti. "I have to have my ackee and saltfish once in a while."
Ms. Messam notes that there is nothing about her life that she would change. "I'm still passionate about what I do I like it I wouldn't change it for the world."
* Ms. Messam's I Style designs are available at Heart and Sole Shop # 2, 20 Barbican Road. Pieces range from $4, 800 to $12,000). I Style designs are also available at SuperClubs Grand Lido Negril and Grand Lido Braco.
