Our favourite of the season - Duro Olowu

 The SS '11 fashion season has come and gone - filled with island folk on the catwalks, in the front rows and occasionally, making the final turn as the designer.

And we are ready to crown our favourite - because out of the many, many, many designs we saw this season, one small collection reached out to us and spoke to us - Jamaica/Nigerian designer Duro Olowu's eponymous line.

Originally drawn to it because it showcased the talents of Jamaica's newest model find, Orenthia, we were drawn in, nay captivated by Olowu's use of colour and vintage-y prints and the exquisite lines and tailoring - the voluminous sleeves on the 70s style maxi dress and the wide, well-cut lapels on the all-black skirt suit.

It is totally and completely wearable and gorgeous.

Small wonder then that London-based Olowu, who came by his love of colour from his Jamaican mother, Nigerian father and Lagos upbringing, has been making waves in the fashion scene for a while now. In 2005, he won the British Fashion Council's Best New Designer of the Year award and his signature 'Duro dress' was named dress of the year by both British and American Vogue.

The Duro dress is one of those dresses you've seen even if you didn't know you'd seen it - a cheerful multi-patterned kimono type dress with flowing sleeves that was everywhere in 05-06.

Originally a lawyer, he turned to fashion and teamed up with his shoe designer first wife on a label Olowu Golding, he created his own label after their split and struck gold with the Duro dress which was spotted first by British Vogue's Sally Singer. Since then Michelle Obama and Iman have been known to wear his designs.

His Spring/Summer 2011 collection looks set to be another hit, with a mix of his signature 70s-influenced cuts and groovy (yes, groovy) vintage prints. Check out some more of our faves from his collection!

Barbados' biggest Crop-Over bands launch!

 

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Islandistas, I know it has been a minute - my apologies!

How could I abandon you, especially at a time like this when Barbados' Crop-Over festival is now heading into full swing?

The last week has been the unofficial official start to the festival - Baje International launched last Friday, Power x 4 is officially launching this Saturday, Brewster's Road Crew starting their fetes this Friday and Passion Network this Saturday!

Oh, and two of Power x 4's sections are ALREADY sold out, after 'early registration' started on Monday.

Yeah-  is like da this Crop-Over.

Baje seeing real action too - they launched on Friday and by Saturday, the two Trini sections run by Island People and Tribe were sold out - had chicks in Bim scrambling to pull strings in TnT to get into the sections. Mind you, we never hear of Trinis having to pull strings any place else to get costumes in dey own island but dem must know ...

Take a look at our faves in each band after the cut...

Trend alert: true blue @ the Oscars

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The Oscars were last night and from the Kodak Theatre to the after parties, one colour stood out on the red carpets -blue.It seems as if everyone was wearing blue, including many of the nights' biggest stars.

 

 From 'Precious' star and best actress nominee Gabourey Sidibe wore a cobalt blue Marchesa to her co-star and Best Supporting Actress winner Mo'Nique in royal blue, it was all over.

Check out the rest of the blue parade after the cut. 

Islandistas turn out for Rihanna's Rated R album launch party

The launch party for Rihanna's Rated R album was held last night at the Juliette Superclub in the Big Apple and pure hotness ensued from the islandistas in attendance.

They were led of course by Ri-ri herself in a spiky gold dress and gold Louboutins that aren't even being sold to the public yet - ye, a so de girl hot.

Check it.

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She was accompanid by BFF Melissa and changed into a red look later that night which we're not quite as enamoured of... though she is working the sheer black stockings trend that is making some waves right now.

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Cayman's own Selita Ebanks was also working this look at the event in sheer tights, a big, luxurious fur and long leather gloves.

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Trini-descended 'socialite' islandista aka the chick people love to hate, Ms Genevieve Jones in a dress that looks like something a slutty pixie would wear - with the sheer bodice and kerchief-hemmed skirt. Only Genevieve could get away with it.

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Rihanna frills us at Glamour Awards

So the Glamour Women of the Year Awards ceremony was on Monday night.

We could (and probably will in a later post) go on and on about the star power at the event - three Beatles wives, President Obama shouting out via video, Maya Angelou, Bill Clinton and Serena Williams.

But for now, we have just this to say.

WE.

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LOVE.

Photo credit: AP/Evan Agostini

THIS

Photo credit: AP/ Evan Agostini

DRESS!!!

Dammit man! Ri-ri hit it for six with this dress... if you're a regular Islandista reader, you know the sharp folds and angles on the bodice and skirt would have us dotish.

Oh, origami folds, why do you have us in your thrall?

Trend alert: Guyanese-Canadian singers

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 No seriously!

 

 The old saying is 'three is a trend' right?

And in the last few months, we have seen three Guyanese-Canadian singers who are definitely on the rise in the international music scene. Shoot, they all hail from in or around Toronto too. It's a freaky but fabulous coincidence.

First up was Melanie Fiona, whose track Give It To Me Right made some waves. She opened for Kanye West on his European tour in 2008 before she had even released her debut album, The Bridge and she was one of BET's Rising Icons.

Next to get our attention was Anjulie.

Again, she opened for a big name act - Jesse McCartney on his U.S. tour this time. Her debut single Boom reached number one on Billboard's US dance charts and her songs have been featured on several shows - The Hills, The City, the new Melrose Place and the Vampire Diaries, among others.

And now comes news that N.E.R.D. (aka Pharrell Williams and the not as cute guys) has added Guyanese-Canadian Rhea as the only female to their line-up.

And Pharrell and co. clearly have high expectations of Rhea. He told MTV.com:

"Musically, we're just somewhere else [with her].... The music is now very 3-D. It's something you have to hear. But you'll see. We're definitely somewhere else. I want to leave that impact moment for when you purchase your download and you purchase your CD.

... Now you have this little Tinkerbell that's just stepped in and has been amazing. ... It's made it a fun process. We can go in so many more directions, because we have the vocal support."

Whooooiiiiieeeee. No pressure, dread!

Of course, there's something more these (undeniably talented) chicks have in common than being Guyanese-Canadian warblers from T-dot.

Something that probably makes them more... marketable.

Not that we're being racial.  But we do call it as we see it. After all, we've observed something similar as increasing numbers of Barbadian singers have snagged record label contracts. Take a look at our collage below and see if you spot it. 

 

We're just saying...

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 Hums Sesame Street song (one of these things is not like the other...)

Rihanna rips the runway ... front row @ Paris Fashion Week

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Tit tape and (please god) nude underwear at Gareth Pugh."][/caption]

Lawdamercy!

Who send de red girl from Westbury Road fuh dem in Paree?

Rihanna chose Paris Fashion - the most elite of the fashion seasons to kill. it. with her all-black everything fashion game. Not to mention she's hitting several of the other hot new trends for the  season- sporting dark lipstick again at Gareth Pugh and over the knee boots at Vivienne Westwood (please Lord, do not let this trend make it to the Caribbean - I will slap the fool I see in knee highs in this heat).

No lie - we don't agree with every one of the choices but yuh gotta give  her points for effort. She has the paparazzi and fashion folk in Europe going mad with her style choices - popping up at the hottest shows in outfits that put the rest of the front row (what front row?) to shame.

Check out some of the looks from Rihanna's Runway below.

Trend alert: dark lipstick

Didn't we predict it?

Just a few weeks back, we mused that we may soon see the return of early 90s trends like dark lipstick and now, one of the key makeup trends for the fall 2009 season is ... dark, vampy lipstick.

Celebs like Kelly Rowland and Amerie were seen sporting dark, wine coloured lipstick at New York Fashion Week last week and Vogue magazine's September 2009 issue highlights the trend in an article and it is also featured on some models in their editorials.

And now dark lipstick has the fashionista/islandista stamp of approval - Rihanna has rocked the look two days in a row.

So go and dig out your dark lipstick and if you don't have it, go out and buy it!

Trend Alert: All black everything

Get y’all black tees up, all black everything

Black cards, black cars, all black everything.

How many times have we said ‘black is the new black’?

Well, get ready to hear it again and see it again because black is back in a big way, heavily influenced by the iconic lines in Jay-Z, Rihanna and Kanye West’s smash hit ‘Run This Town’.

The all-black look is doing crazy rounds at New York Fashion Week with everyone from Ciara to the Simmons sisters to Rihanna herself rocking … what else… all-black everything.

There are many ways to wear all black and this particular black out look is more elegant gangster or edgy fashion stylist/editor than creepy goth.

Of course, the subtle sub-text underpinning all of this is Barack Obama’s presidency. After all, with a black man leading the most powerful nation in the world, it really is a time of ‘all black everything’.

Check out how many celebs have been wearing the all black look in recent days.

Islandistas working the runways at New York Fashion Week

Islandistas, do you know what's in style this season?

ISLANDISTAS!

That's what.

Maybe it's just us, but we are definitely seeing changes in the colour of the catwalks of New York Fashion Week. As you would know we have been tracking this for some time and the last season (Fall/Winter 09) definitely looked more colourful than it had in ... ever?

And it seems the trend is continuing. We have been poring through style.com to get an idea of how models of colour are being represented and thus far, we are pleased to report that out of the 32 collections we've reviewed thus far, all but four designers have included models of colour.

The four offenders so far are Preen, William Rast, Lyn Devon and Helmut Lang - though Lang might get a bligh since he only used two models and one was the Asiatic looking Russian Ranya Mordanova.

Anyway, these more colourful catwalks have been a boon to Caribbean models and there are islandistas all over New York Fashion Week. Honestly, we  have never seen so many.

And what is interesting is that it is not just the more familiar faces like Arlenis Sosa and Jeneil Williams that we are seeing popping up.

Check out more pics and the info on their island connections after the jump.

Islandista Fashion Notes - Fashion Night Out & Alex Burke's saucy dress

Oh islandistas, so much is happening right now in the world where islandistaness (yeh, just made it up), and fashion intersect, that we can scarcely keep up!

New York Fashion Week is on like boil corn and you know we will be giving you the news from the runways and red carpets.

And of course... the parties. Vogue did it big like only they can last night when they hosted the global Fashion Night Out (FNO) - a night of retail therapy, model mingling and retail recovery in every city and country where Vogue is published.

Naturally, some of our fashionista islandistas made appearances at various FNOs - Rihanna and Estelle were spotted at events for the New York City FNO while supermodel preggy Jourdan Dunn was at the London FNO.

Oh Ri-Ri, what have you done? Fools in the club are still stumbling around wearing those Kanye West shutter shades all two years after the 'Stronger' music video - now you give them this?

Bring back the 90s!

It's inevitable isn't it?

Just like how 70s fashion came back in the 90s with bell-bottoms (flares anyone) and afros being ok again and the 80s has hideously resurfaced in recent years with everything from acid-wash to shoulder pads and (urgh*) Hammer pants, being regurgitated, we figure the 90s has to be the next decade of fashion to come back in fashion.

In fact, we're already on the border of late 80s/ early 90s style anyway.

Yes, it's a rather scary prospect to us here at Islandista too since that fashion moment will officially mean that we're... not so young anymore. Truth be told, having the 80s come back into fashion is pretty horrifying to us too. It's waaayyy too close for comfort.

But it is surely inevitable.

In fact, we spy signs of it already. The August issue of US Vogue talking up velvet as a key trend for fall was a hint. New York Magazine is also trumpeting velvet as a fall trend too.

And surely we can all remember how big velvet was in the 90s. Long velvet skirts and long velvet dresses in rich colours like ruby red, forest green, deep blue, purple and jet black were the thing in the early to mid 90s.

And to be honest, this is one 90s trend we don't mind seeing come back. Velvet looks and feels good and is more forgiving than other fabrics. Plus - no ironing!

Fellow bloggers are also foreseeing the return of the 90s - Jezebel had a hilarious post about it and Fashion Bomb chronicled the mostly stylish tv students of  (mostly) the 90s.

So without further adieu, here are the Top Ten 90s trends we here at Islandista want to see come back - just for shits and giggles.

Hot Islandista style

Islandista Rihanna and Selita Ebanks hit the scene in recent days looking as hot as a Caribbean summer!

First Rihanna was at the London premier of Inglourious Basterds in a black Alexander McQueen jumpsuit. Now we are not real big on a lot of jumpsuits/playsuits out there - too many folks wear them badly and end up looking like either a mechanic or a baby with a disturbingly sexy onesie.

But of course Ri-ri rocked it out... with mounds of pearls, a dramatic pompadour, lace gloves ruby red lipstick and attituuuuude gyal!

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Rihanna's (kinda) new do

Islandista good girl gone bad Rihanna has constantly kept her hairstyle changing in the last few years and this week she unveiled yet another look - the half-baldie.

Yes, Ri-ri has gone the way of Cassie and shaved off half  her hair. From the side it looks ... interesting. I'm not a big fan of the half-bald look but with Riri's hair being short already it is not as shocking or ridiculous looking as Cassie's... at least that is what we think, but see the pic for yourself.



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From the front, it doesn't look that shocking at all. It just looks like a spikey version of her pompadour-esque hairdo.

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So what thinks you, islandistas? Chicks have faithfully been following Ri-ri's hair incarnations for the last two years straight now. Will they follow her to the half-baldie?

[polldaddy poll=1792571]

Which all-inclusive will run tings this year?

We know that islandistas STAY partying - even though the recession is real, we still need to ease the tension with a li'l fete. And this is the season for it - summer!

In Barbados, the Crop-Over season is just hitting high gear - three more weeks of frenetic partying to go! With the demise of one beloved all-inclusive party - Brian Lara's Crop-Over party; and the demise of another not so beloved so-called-inclusive event - C&W-now-LIME's eNVy, the market for Crop-Over all inclusives is wide open and a number of folks are stepping into the breach.

High on our islandista radar are four events over the final weekend of Crop-Over.



 Two of them - Esquire Entertainment's Bliss and Island Mas' Breakfast Party are familiar and have been on the scene for a few years now. Bliss in particular has a great reputation and is a hot draw for young professionals who come from all over the region.

Drawing on their own experiences from living, studying and working in Trinidad and Jamaica, the directors of Esquire have been showing Barbados how proper, genuine all-inclusives are supposed to be held, since their first one back on Old Year's Night 2005. They do hot venues like Lion Castle's polo club and the Barbados Concorde Experience headquarters, good food and nuff drinks and wuk-ups. What more could you ask for?

Island Mas is a combination of Bajans and Trinis in Barbados - hence their slogan "a TrinBajan experience". They held their first breakfast party (and the first breakfast party on the Crop-Over scene) back in 2007, seeking to bring a Trini Carnival season staple to Bim.

 

 Following hot on their heels this year is yet another breakfast party - a new introduction to the Crop-Over scene called Sunny Side Up. Again this is another Bajan-Trini connection, as it is being hosted by BashBrothaz from Barbados and the Sunny Side Up crew from Trinidad. You know we're all about regional love and unity on Islandista - which is what nearly all these events have in common. U-ni-ty!

 

 

 

Right now the menu looking real Trini-ish - the website says the breakfast will include:

"Hot tasty doubles, Spicy Corn Soup, fresh succulent fruits, various breakfast items."

They do promise that the menu will be updated soon so we expect to see some fishcakes and bakes up in dey soon! SSU is billing itself as 'the premium all-inclusive breakfast party' and at US$75 for singles and US$130 for couples, we trust it will be!

 That like it is an intro price to hook Bajans, because the Trini Carnival version is even more expensive. Another new event is the Bathsheba Experience - an all-inclusive party at a villa in one of Barbados' most beautiful and rugged East Coast villages.

There is not much more information on this event other than it is up Bathsheba which is gorgeous. We hope the promoters will forward with some more details in short order!

So islandistas what do you think? Who will run t'ings on the Crop-Over all-inclusive scene this year?

Islandista on the rise: VV Brown

Islandistas, have you heard of VV Brown?

If you haven't, you probably will soon.

The British-born soul rocker of Jamaican and Puerto Rican parentage has only been on everyone's Hot List for 09.

Seriously.

The Guardian, the Daily Mail, the LA Times, the Independent and BBC all placed her on their lists of ones to watch in 2009. 

Her musical style is a bit vintage, like that of other female stars of this new Brit invasion such as Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Adele.

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 However, unlike them, VV draws more on  more up-tempo, 50s and 60s era doo-wop and rock, as heard in her breakout hit Crying Blood which is easily the most cheerful sounding song about a heart-wrenching break up that we have ever heard.

If that is not enough for you, VV (real name Vanessa) is well set to take her place among the ranks of other islandista it girls such as Rihanna and Vashtie Kola, whose sense of style is so quirky, fierce and yet independently theirs, that fashionistas are falling over themselves. 

Trend alert: Distressed jeans

Like it or not, the 80s fashion train keeps rolling on... and on. Isn't 20-odd years just a little too soon to be bringing trends back, though? Then again, maybe that is how people felt in the 90s when trends from the 70s came back in (boot cut jeans = bell bottoms as far as my mother was concerned) so it is our turn to feel old.

Just ... the 80s. Damn. That was such a sad decade for fashion, I really thought we would have skipped that one and just gone straight to the 90s. Ah well...

The latest trend from the 80s train? Distressed jeans - or damaged jeans as we used to call them or "what the hell is that - you buy new brand jeans that rip up already?!" as our mothers used to call them.



Distressed jeans are roaring in as one of the biggest trends of the summer. Though I have not spotted many chicks wearing the look yet here in the islands, it is only a matter of time as celebs galore, both islandistas and non-islandistas, have been rocking them with a vengeance in the last few weeks.

 Rihanna of course has been at the front of the pack, wearing distressed jeans with anything she can find - blazers, corsets, jackets. Islandista-by-descent Cameron Diaz (ha! didn't know she was an islandista did you? Well she is - her late father Emilio Diaz was Cuban-American. Cameron however, no habla espanol) also wore distressed jeans to the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards a few months back.  

Beyonce, lil sis Solange and singers Keri Hilson and Ciara have also been spotted wearing distressed jeans. 

Chicks have been doing everything from dressing them up to dressing them down, wearing them with sneakers or with stiletto heels, wearing them rolled up or just straight and everywhere from the airport to shopping to dinner at Mr. Chow's.

So don't say we didn't warn yuh. Distressed jeans in yuh pweffen this summer.

Rihanna's Met Costume Institute Gala comeback

I've been dying to post about the Met Costume Institute Gala for days. 

The theme was the 'Model as Muse' and as usual, it was the most fabulous merger of high fashion and high-wattage celebrity in the word, as it is every year.

Call me biased - hell, I'm an islandista! but the standout for me was Rihanna making her first red carpet appearance since the Grammy night Chris Brown battering incident.

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The girl is back. on. top. of her fashion game. The Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo suit with the leg-o-mutton shoulders sent the fashion chattering classes into a frenzy, especially since she was the last one on the red carpet.

Some loved it, some hated it and some are whispering that she may be in line for a Vogue cover appearance.

Me? I'm loving it. Now, I know  we ripped Estelle for the leg-o-mutton sleeves on her dress in another post but somehow Rihanna made this outfit look incredibly fierce. Though I pray leg o mutton sleeves do not become a trend, it worked in the particular circumstance - the most high fashion night of the year.

Paired with the slimmer silhouette of a suit and the androgyny of wearing a tuxedo suit in the first place, it was a loud pronouncement that Rihanna is back.

Gone is the distressing jherri curl-esque, Michael Jackson-reminiscent hair do she had been wearing for the past few weeks since the battering incident.

Either her stylist or her style sense has gotten a hold of her once more and she is wearing a dramatic yet sleek version of her previous Prince-esque pompadour with some blond streaks for added drama.

Since then she has turned out in a succession of sometimes eyebrow-raising and sometimes fab but consistently attention getting outfits, including this one she wore a few days ago to go apartment-hunting in New York



Love the combination of the rough-edged look of the distressed jeans with the soft pink cardigan and pink snakeskin heels.

Another fierce outfit was the white suit she wore to the opening of Derek Lam's new store, which got her a favourable mention on style.com the online home of Vogue magazine.

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More on the actual Met Gala and the islandistas in attendance in a later post... look out for it!

Zoe Saldana is rocking it

Islandista Zoe Saldana has been mashing up the fashion game in recent days as she circles the globe to promote the new Star Trek movie which she stars in, playing the iconic role of Uhura.

For non-trekkies (i.e. probably most of you), Uhura, played originally by Nichelle Nicholls was one of the first significant (i.e. non-servile) black characters on American television and in the role, was part of what is frequently referred to as American television's first interracial kiss - in 1968 this was no joke.

So a big deal and big role for islandista Zoe and she has been raising the bar on her usually tight fashion game as she promotes the movie. Check out her outfits that she wore to press junkets in Germany and Madrid, Spain recently.



 



Sigh... y'all know I get dotish for any outfit with origami-like fold detailing already (as evidenced by the multiple previous posts dedicated to this trend) and it is displayed at its best  here on the dramatic shoulder of this cold-shoulder outfit - gorgeous! Btw, one-shouldered outfits are also a big trend for 2009 - blame Mrs. Obama and that Jason Wu dress at the inauguration, so Zoe is combining two key trends here in this dress.

Not to mention the sexy strappy, gladiator-esque shoes - the outfit is tops, no lie.



Also loving this black and white patterned dress that she wore in Madrid - and the shoes again, make the outfit.



And this outfit that she wore earlier this week to yet another Star Trek press junket is yet another instance of her shoes making the dress.

Get in dey Ms. Saldana!

Michelle Obama in Europe - fashion hits and misses

The ever-fabulous First Lady of the US, Michelle Obama is in Europe with her husband right now on his first major foreign tour.

Thus far there has been a G-20 summit, a meeting with the Queen and there is still a NATO summit and a US-EU summit to go before the whirlwind trip is over.

There is the matter of a global economic crisis to solve (G-20 leaders decided to give a trilli to the IMF as part of the solution), the Afghan war and Gitmo detainees to discuss and North Korea is huffing and puffing and threatening to shoot off a missile in the midst of all of this.

But the prospect that has really captured the attention of fashionistas the world over and had them slavering is... what will Michelle wear?

This question has quickly been followed by fevered speculation over what will be worn when Michelle meets the other glamazon First Lady - supermodel Carla Bruni-Sarkozy of France.

The thought of it has had fashionistas dizzy with excitement for the last few days and the moment finally arrived today when the two met in France. Both ladies stuck to their favourites - Mrs. O to a patterned, black and raspberry Thakoon coat and dress and Mrs. B to cool grey Dior.

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I was a bit relieved when I saw Michelle in the dress and saw how lovely it was because I really did not care much for the coat.