Kavelle Anglin-Christie, Staff Reporter
GONE ARE the days when 'fashion over style' really ruled the dancehall.
Remember the '90s when wearing a mushroom cut green wig and a pink leather suit with squares precisely cut into it was looking 'bashy'. And let's not forget those fishnet stockings with leather clogs.
As for the men, they just would not be considered such if they weren't donning the latest Jersey hairstyle or the 'Kid N Play' with a word shaved in the back and wearing a patched linen suit.
Where has it all gone?
According to dancehall
fashion designer, Earl 'Biggy' Turner, the clothes were gradually shelved for the 'name brand' ones from the United States.
"Then it was just the fashion of the people. The people would never be caught out without their specific dancehall fashion. They had something that defined them and that they could identify with. The more naked you were, the more
stylish it was ... Our dancehall artistes had a specific look when they went abroad. We were the first ones to bring baggy jeans to the U.S. with man like Shabba, but at the time the people didn't have name brand to compete with," he said.
It started with the Nike shoes and caps, then slowly the green wigs were replaced by toned down black ones; the skintight leather suits were thrown out for the shrugs and peasant skirts, and the large gold grape shaped earrings for chandeliers.
Biggy, nonetheless, says some elements of dancehall fashion will always remain. He says his customers are evidence of this. "The sheer, see-through, the
glitter and bling bling element of dancehall can never escape. Dancehall without sheer is like patty without beef. Even now people who come to me, if they buy an ordinary suit them say 'no man Biggy, yuh haffi do something wid dis fi me'," he said.
He says he realised that dancehall fashion of yesteryear still exists while designing clothes for Beenie Man's recent video Trends. "He called me saying that he wanted me to design the clothes for the video and is when me a do it I realised that it match back to what me ah do presently. That mean say dancehall fashion nuh gone far, is just the music change... Dancehall fashion to me represents confidence," Biggy said.
If that's the case, the confidence of dancehall patrons now seems to be largely dependent on world standards. Paul 'Tu-Lox' Gaynor, one of the members of the duo 'Twin of Twins' and the designer of the clothing line 'Kingston 13 - Line 1' agrees. He says the creativity has disappeared from dancehall.
?We were more original, that is number one. The dancehall now is more geared towards the cable look... That time gave us a chance to explore our creative side. Nowadays when (people) buy T-shirts and print their names on it is not designing... I remember the days of Tiger and Supercat and Ouch Crew, that was real dancehall fashion. Biggy them time deh used to hot like fire, not saying that him not hot now, but the whole cable thing take away from the dancehall designers. There is no emphasis on designing from scratch,? said Gaynor.
He says dancehall fashion simply does not exist anymore. ?Dancehall now don?t have a dress code, we only have some music. If we don?t hold on strong we are not going to have dancehall again,? he said.
Lisa 'NeahLis' McIntosh, also a fashion designer, says some appreciate the shift in designs. ?Image has a lot to do with it. While no one wants to look like the average person going to a dance, they have young children looking on so they are a bit more sophisticated and not trying to take it to an outrageous level,? he said.
As such, this has given birth to a whole new set of designers who will cater to this crowd. Apart from NeahLis, who describes her fashion as a couture-meets-retro-meets-urban mix, there are those like Minka whose Rasta coloured pieces are subtly sexy, Carlton Brown?s with his edgy male pieces and Dexter Pottinger?s hip designs.
Ice, one of dancehall?s top dancers, who is also known for his trend-setting dancehall fashion, says a part of dancehall fashion died with his friend, Gerald 'Bogle' Levy.
Bogle, one of dancehall?s long-time icons was known for his studded necklaces and bracelets, as well as leather trench coats, that many described simply as ?odd?. But for those immersed in dancehall it was not only an obvious expression of self but of a wider community.
?When Bogle did alive the way how people used to come out in them latest original style, that nuh deh deh again. Now every man feel seh dem mus dress up in tight pink pants. That nuh look right. Ah just some of the likkle dance crew dem whe still might have them own fashion. Yuh have some youth come out in some long trench coat like what Bogle used to wear, some of them make style and padlock up themself and then you have the one dem what use pin and write out them name innah jacket. But ah just one an two youth dat, nobady naw really dress a way again? Ice said.
